A Mending Soul
by Torrenta
Summary: A dimensional traveler with an extremely troubled and violent past stumbles into the My Little Pony dimension after committing a heinous felony. Now trapped in the dimension, he must learn what it truly means to forgive and live while an evil from the past approaches slowly and surely.
1. Chapter 1 - Welcome to Ponyville

**Table of contents:**

_**Season 1: Rise and Fall**_

**Part 1 (Chapter 1 - Welcome to Ponyville): Of Heroes and Demons**

**Part 2 (Chapter 11 - Faliure): Broken**

**Part 3 (Chapter 24 - Revival): A Game of Chess**

**Part 4 (Chapter 46 - This is Goodbye): Invasion on a Larger Scale**

**Part 5 (Chapter 68 - A New Uprising): Deaths Untold**

_**Season 2: Hearts of Darkness**_

**Part 6 (Chapter 96 - A New Day): Inquisition**

**Part 7 (Chapter 136 - Impending Dark): Ultimate Sacrifice**

* * *

><p><span>Season 1: Rise and Fall<span>

Part 1: Of Heroes and Demons

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Princess Celestia was agitated. Quite so in fact. For the past few weeks, she had been having the same dream over and over and over again: she would wake up in a brightly-light, whitewashed room. After a pause, the room would slowly begin to degenerate and crumble into dust. As the walls would collapse, she saw the outside world. The world she saw would be Equestria… burning. Canterlot, Ponyville, Manehattan, everywhere… burning. As this transpired, a voice would echo out from every corner of the planet.

"One heart will be mended,

One demon will rise;

If there is hope in his friendship,

Dark will demise;

But if the good cannot win,

A victory in turn;

Then Canterlot, Ponyville…

Equestria will burn."

Celestia had consulted with Luna, Cadence, and even Twilight Sparkle for the answer of the riddle, but their answers had all been the same: "Wait; only time will tell."

"But what is the evil that is coming? What can we do to stop them?" Wondered Celestia out loud as she looked sadly over the land of Equestria on her perch on the top tower in Canterlot.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Earth Prime<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Stanford Hospital, California, United States of America_

_Time: 2013 Anno Domini_

Beep… beep… beeeeeeeeeee…

The sound of the electrocardiogram hitting the stop… the sound of death… One of the worst sounds one could possibly imagine after an apprehensive wait.

Mellissa, the best of best friends anyone could have, had died, and Joseph Torrus had caused it.

Joseph screamed. He could have saved her, he could have prevented it all, but he hadn't. His wrath, foolishness, and pride had gotten in the way.

It hadn't started this way though.

Ten years ago, a nine year old boy was approached by a mysterious entity called the Paradox. This entity bestowed upon the boy the ability to traverse the fabric of time and space, matter and dimensions. The boy had understood his task from the start: bring light and justice to the dimensions and cosmos where there was none. And so, at age nine, a small boy, Joseph Torrus, set out with hope, justice, determination, and joy in his hear. He would travel the dimensions, he would use his powers for good, and he would bring hope to everyone. At age nineteen, the boy had returned to Earth. However, his return heralded chaos; for he returned with hate, treachery, tyranny, pride, and malice. The ten years of travelling had changed him… and not for the better. He had initially made friends and allies, and even managed to defeat the demon-god of hate: Abbadon. But over time his friends had been assassinated, turned against each other, or betrayed him. "It is all in the line of our nature," one had said before he was beheaded by Joseph when he had tried to backstab him. These betrayals dug deep into the heart of Joseph, and had torn it out, replacing it with cold, black, stone. And thus Joseph too became a traitor to his cause. He had killed hundreds innocents, vaporized entire solar systems, and brought down peaceful empires; all in the name of himself… justice was no longer a factor.

Why was he returning? Love, of course. When he had left as a boy, he had promised his sweetheart, Mellissa, that he would return to ask for her hand in marriage, and that is exactly what he had intended when he returned to Earth Prime in a flaming chariot, with the skulls of innocents and kings strewn across the outside. When he proposed, she said no. She would not, could not, marry a man who had been so corrupted by evil. She loved him dearly, but he had to uncover the hope he still had deep in his heart. And thus Joseph slapped her across the face, the force of which shattered and cracked half her skull. She was quickly borne to the hospital by her family, but they couldn't do anything. Joseph could though; with his great powers, he could mend her skull in time with love and care. But that is not what he did. She had denied him the last hope he had ever had: love, and he was going to make her pay. But as he roved the dimension in a rage, he realized something… she still loved him, and she had said so… and he had still struck with a killing blow. In a flash he had teleported back to hospital room to save her. He was still good, he had to be! But as the room phased into view, he hear a quiet…

"I forgive you Joseph… Wherever you are…"

Beep… beep… beeeeeeeeeee…

And then… Joseph screamed.

The scream shattered all the windows in a mile radius, and a few walls began to crumble. A doctor quietly walked up to Joseph and placed a hand on his shoulder, "It is over," he said.

Joseph whirled and punched the man in the chest; the man flew backwards and exploded through a wall causing that half of the hospital wing to collapse. Joseph turned around and buried his face in his hands and began to sob. He had to get away, he had to get far… far… far away.

As police sirens begin to sound in the distance, Joseph opened a dimensional portal, he knew not where, and stumbled through.

He had murdered, lied, cheated, and manipulated… and he was paying the ultimate price.

Stumbling blindly, Joseph staggered across what felt like a lush and crisp field of grass and collapsed against a tree.

And there the great Joseph, the dimensional traveler, the tyrant of the multiverse, slept a trouble sleep. Plagued by the ultimate felony he had caused because of his black heart.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: The Inferno<em>

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

Far into the deepest ring of the infernal dimension, the malignant destroyer, Abbadon, sat… biding his time. Every few minutes, he would tug at the glowing chains of energy that bound him to the ground to see if they were weakening… nothing. Abbadon sighed, his adversary had been very unusual, it had been a dimensional traveler, but this traveler had been different. Abbadon had been defeated and bound before, but no dimensional chains had ever held him for long… but these… these chains were absolute.

Suddenly, the second Abbadon had finished the though, the chains flickered, and a hairline crack began to form on the left chain link closest to the base. Abbadon began to smile… the chains were weakening, the soul of the traveler who had bound him had been compromised.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Joseph slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Lush trees and crisp grasp. Birds twittered back and forth in the sky, and a gentle breeze flowed through the meadow… but something was different. Joseph looked around, no, it wasn't the landscape. Then Joseph's eyes looked down at himself, he had hooves.

At first Joseph was only little surprised, after all, Dimensional Travelers' bodies inherently shape shifted to match the current dimension's laws of physics and chemistry, but the second Joseph tried to phase out of the body, he realized he was stuck in that specific shape. Then panic set in.

"What… the… hell?"

Immediately Joseph began to shift through his powers… Yes, he still had control over the basic and periodic elements, but he could no longer shape shift, and he could no longer open a portal to another universe. He was stuck.

"Goddamn… shootshootshootshootshoot…"

Frantically Joseph shook a hoof and then tried to stand up. He was unsuccessful, and was forced to reside on four legs. Immediately Joseph began to run in circles as he attempted over and over again to open a portal.

"I am the lord of all! I control all elements of time and space! How can I be stuck?!" He shouted.

After a bit of running, he sat down, panting… His diagnosis was complete: he was stuck in the universe, for good.

"I swear, if the Paradox has taken my traveling powers, I will rip his kidneys out, mush them with his gall bladder, and force feed the mix down his throat." Grumbled Joseph.

After a full thirty minutes, Joseph walked over to a nearby stream and looked at his reflection.

"What the hell am I?" He wondered aloud at his rippling reflection.

A weird creature, resembling something rather like a pony in features was looking back at him. Joseph had been tall, fair skinned, and black haired. The creature that he now saw was a dark blue, with some sort of unicorn horn, a dark purple mane, and large wings.

Granted, Joseph had traveled through many dimensions in many years, but never had he ever encountered a universe where he had morphed into such an unusual creature… let alone be stuck in that form.

After a second or two of looking at his reflection, Joseph backed off, and he then began to look around, his sharp eyes picking up every little detail. Then he noticed a house off in the distance, in a thicker part of the forest bordering the meadow and a path intersecting the field beyond, his eyes immediately identified it as a ruin, something had been abandoned for at least a decade.

Joseph quickly strolled up to the house and looked it up and down. Then, sitting down on his haunches, Joseph raised his two front, brightly colored, hooves and began to move them as if conducting a band. Immediately raw stone began to rise from the ground and melt into the shape of a house seamlessly. In less than an hour, the house was complete… furniture and all, though no electricity.

Joseph then remembered what had happened not yet a day ago, and despair began to set in. His love, his life, had died at his hand.

Tears slowly began to well in his eyes, and he slowly sank to the ground. How had he become like this? He flicked his tail slowly back and forth as his memories wandered back to the first betrayal.

It had been at least four years into his adventures... Joseph and his buddy Robert had been preparing to breach a Nazi fortress in the north of Switzerland in a universe where World War II had never ended. If this fortress went down, the Nazi would no longer be able to produce nuclear bombs, and the Allies would be able to regain Russia and France, and begin constricting the Axis out of Africa. But as the approached the fortress, Tiger II and E-100 tanks rolled up from all sides. Joseph had but up his hands to fight, but felt a cold blade pressed against his neck.

"Sorry buddy," whispered Robert, "but their offers were too good. The allies are finished, and they offered me a whole continent… a WHOLE continent if I helped kill you."

Joseph simply sighed, "Is even that much land worth the life of a good friend. I saved your life in the Delta-7 galaxy!"

Robert shrugged, "Hell yes. It is all about money and survival, and I damn well say your screwed… buddy."

Joseph twisted to strike Robert down, but Robert's stab was even quicker, catching him in the stomach.

"Oh Joseph, a gutshot. Your last moments of resistance will now make you suffer."

As Joseph slowly collapsed to the floor, Robert walked away, laughing. The sound of the laugh introduced something Joseph had never quite felt… hate.

Joseph didn't die, he nearly bled and froze to death, but he didn't die. In less than a month he was up, and he proceeded to kill Robert, the Nazis, the Italians, and then the parliament of France when they attempted to stop him from nuking a French town that was said to have Nazi spies. The American's then threatened to attack him if he didn't cease, so Joseph left, shaking uncontrollably with grief and rage…

Joseph snapped out of the memory as if he had been slapped. Looking around, he then gave a sigh, half sob, half gasp. How many of those terrible betrayals and subsequent rampages had he gone through? Seven? Eight? And each time a betrayal occurred; a new ideal had come to light: hate, treachery, malice, pride… Grief.

Joseph looked down and slowly closed his eyes, as if willing to relinquish his soul. There was nothing left for him to live for. He was wanted in hundreds of dimensions, and hated and feared in hundreds more. His best friend, the only one willing to forgive him, had died by his hand, and he was trapped in who-knows-where. Joseph slowly got up, walked into his new little cottage, got into the bed, and closed his eyes. It was over, he was going to die… right… now…

Then a knock resounded at the door. Joseph's eyes shot open. A knock? Impossible. Joseph began to close his eyes when another knock rang out. Joseph slowly rolled out of bed a slowly dragged himself to the door.

"Helllloooo?" A high-pitched voice called out.

"Quiet Scootaloo! We don't know who lives there," another voice rang out.

"Yeah… nobody, Sweetie Bell. Zecora said this place had been abandoned for… like… foreeevverr, this is the perfect place see if out special talents involve building!"

"But it sure looks like somepony lives there," another voice sounded off.

"No, it doesn't Apple Bloom." Scootaloo said.

"Yes it does."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does!"

"No it doesn't!"

Joseph sighed slowly and said, "Who is there? Leave me alone."

Immediately the arguing ceased.

"Sorry sir!" said Apple Bloom, "we didn't know you lived here!"

"Apparently," replied Joseph slowly, "now get out of here and leave me here to die."

"Huh? Die? Are you okay?" chirped Sweetie Bell.

"No! Screw you kids! Go away," snapped Joseph. He was going to hurl off one of his routine threats when Scootaloo interrupted

"Are you new here?" she interjected, "Where did you come from?"

"What does it matter where I came from? I obviously came here to be alone!" With that Joseph pointedly turned around and began to walk away. Then the door opened. Joseph whirled and prepared to immediately vaporize the trio when he stopped. They were looking at him in awe, something he rarely got. Immediately, Scootaloo began to rail off questions like a hail storm.

"Wow! You're an alicorn! Wow! Are you a prince? Or a king? Are you related to princess Celestia? Are you?!"

Joseph, caught up in the moment, began to reply at the same pace, "Huh? Alicorn? What? No! No! No! What?"

Joseph then took a deep breath and shouted with such force that the trio in front of him stumbled backwards, "NO GOD NO! I have no idea what you are saying! I just came here to get the hell away from everyone! Including you! Leave me alone before I kill you all! And believe me; I have done more than my share of killing! Just leave me here, I no longer wish to be a part of anything."

Apple Bloom quickly covered her friend's mouth, "sorry sir! Scootaloo here doesn't know when to shut her mouth."

Joseph snorted with a quick chuckle, "that's an understatement."

He then began to raise a hoof to vaporize the trio when he realized something unique: they had made him chuckle.

Over the past six years Joseph had done a fair share of screaming, and crying, and yelling; but no laughing or even chuckling. Joseph then looked at the three oddly. There was a long an uncomfortable pause, finally broken by Sweetie Bell.

"If you like, we could show you around Ponyville. It's our home, and it is right nearby."

Still a little speechless, Joseph slowly said, "Okay…"

"Great!" exclaimed Scootaloo, her tiny wings buzzing loudly with excitement, "let's go! Everyone will want to meet our new friend."

Joseph felt a lump in his throat… friend. No one had called him friend in a long, long, long time. The three trotted promptly out, trailed slowly by Joseph, onto a beaten path shrouded by thorny bushes, not far from the cottage. Noticing the hazardous environ, Joseph slowly commented, "Why were you three here? Aren't you all a little young to be wandering in such a dangerous place?"

Apple Bloom looked a little cowed, but replied, "Yes, we ain't really supposed to be here, but we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Joseph considered killing the three again and going back, but the thought perished faster than the last idea involving violence and he said, with a tad of interest, "Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

Scootaloo, who was whizzing along on her little scooter stopped long enough to say, "Yeah! That's us! We don't have cutie marks yet, so we have been trying to find them!"

Joseph shook his head and said, "What's a cutie mark?"

Sweetie Bell chuckled and gave Joseph a little shove, "why, silly, it's on your flank! It shows everyone what your special talent is!"

Joseph had almost responded with an attack when Sweetie Bell touched him, but the feeling of some form of companionship stayed his hand from spreading their innards across a ten mile radius. After a short breath of barely managing to force his twisted and hostile urges down, he looked at his own flank. A picture was there no doubt. It was a purple and black infinity sign. Though it may have seemed wondrous and mysterious to any pony in Equestria, the sight of the diseased infinity sign sickened Joseph. Had he really become something of the infernal realm? Had he really become a monster?

"Um? Are you okay sir?" Apple Bloom's voice broke through Joseph's thoughts.

"Oh… I am okay. Well, I am sure you three will find your own, er, cutie marks in no time the way you are working towards it." Joseph replied.

Sweetie Bell gave him a huge smile, so huge, in fact, that Joseph almost fell over. No one had ever smiled at him before, well, after the betrayals, that is.

"Thank you sir!" She said, "by the way, what's your name?"

Joseph halted as his brain ran a quick diagnostic of the upcoming issue. From what he had gathered, Joseph was in no way a usual name, and he did not intend to use it if he was stuck here for the rest of his miserable life. Additionally, by the virtue of the fact that there were two ponies here that were named Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom, the general gist for naming seemed to be two generic objects, generally attached to nature, strung together into a name. Then Joseph decided on the perfect name, a combination of who he was, and what he looked like.

"Sunset Shadow. My name is Sunset Shadow. But you may call me Sunset," said Joseph with purpose.

Sweetie Bell gave him another stunning, almost epileptic-inducing, smile, "well Mr. Sunset, we are happy to have you with us."

Scootaloo suddenly skidded ahead of the others and turned around, proclaiming dramatically, "And here we are. The greatest place in the world… Ponyville!"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: In this story, there is one massive multiverse surrounded by smaller separate dimensions. There is an elite group of superheroes called the Dimensional Travelers who travel through the many dimensions attempting to spread justice and peace. These Dimensional Travelers have abilities such as control of the periodic elements, fire, water, earth, air, lightning, light and shadow energy, etc. As well as super strength. However, they are still mortal, and can be killed like any other being.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2 - Fluttershy's Cottage

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Sunset Shadow really couldn't have cared less. In fact, the sight of happy, caring, living creatures sickened him deeply. He had had an active hand in ending things like this, and these three young ones had fairly lead a wolf into the midst of sheep. He was a monster, no better than Abbadon the demon.

Sunset Shadow nodded, and then slowly began to turn around and walk away. Sweetie Bell jumped in front of him.

"Where are you going? We haven't even started the tour yet!" she said.

Sunset Shadow shook his head, "I have had enough. I cannot go back. I- I really need to get away."

"But you can't leave!" Scootaloo too jumped in front of him.

"Yeah!" Apple Bloom joined in too.

"Look, I really cannot go there… It- it- it… It's too GOOD for the likes of me." Sunset Shadow sighed.

"What? You didn't hurt us, though you seemed a little grumpy at first. You don't look at all evil to me," said Sweetie Bell as she walked up and placed a hoof gently on his shoulder.

Immediately, Sunset Shadow began to perform a killing maneuver that would have ended Sweetie Bell's life in an instant, but he slowed down enough to the point where he simply gently brushed the hoof off.

"No Sweetie Bell. I can't. I just –"

Suddenly, a pink pony with balloons on her flank hopped out into view. She looked at the three Cutie Mark Crusaders for a moment, and then she noticed Joseph. Then she began talking faster than rain falling from the sky.

"Hey! What's going on? Who are you? Oooohhh… You're new. IknowthatbecauseIknoweveryponyinponyvilleandsinceIdon'tknowyouthatmustmeanyou'renew! Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you?"

Sunset Shadow almost broke then, he could literally see himself, in his mind's eye, ripping out this pink pony's heart, crushing it to pulp, and the burning the Cutie Mark Crusaders to ash. But once again, he managed to pull himself off the brink, though he could smell energy and ozone crackling faintly around his front hooves.

"I… am… Sunset… Shadow… Leave… me… alone."

"Oooohhh… Sunset Shadow! What a name! I like that name! I like all names! But I mostly like kumquats! I like that name the most! Watch me say it three times fast! Kumquatkumquatkumquatkumquatkumquat! Wow! That was tiring! No it wasn't! Let's do it again! Oh, why do you want to be alone?! It isn't fun to be alone!" Pinkie Pie continued, her mouth going off faster than a Gatling gun.

Sunset Shadow had to pull himself off the brink of murder once again as he slowly began to walk away, his ears pressed flat against his skull.

"Must… not… kill… the pink one!" He muttered quietly.

Totally ignoring him, Pinkie Pie continued with her prattling "Where are you going? Come back! Let's have fun! Oh, I haven't showed you around Ponyville! Let's go!"

Sunset Shadow finally reached the breaking point. Sitting down on his haunches, Sunset raised his front hooves and began to aim them straight at Pinkie Pie's flapping mouth, preparing to cauterize it with a lightning bolt.

"What are you doing, silly? Sitting down? Let's go!" Pinkie Pie then hopped over to him… and gave him a hug. Not a small hug, a great… huge hug.

This act surprised Sunset so much that he quickly powered down the lightning and put his hooves down before he went supernova and demolished the whole solar system.

"Did… did you just hug me?" He said, as if he was in some sort of nightmare.

"Of course I did silly! That's what friends do! Let's go! I want all my old friends to meet me new friend!"

"Yeah! Let's go!" said Sweetie Bell as she trotted over to where Sunset sat.

"Yeah! Off we go!" said Scootaloo, and with that, she began to whirr off to Ponyville on her scooter.

Sunset, still acting as if he was in a nightmare, got up, and was literally pushed by Pinkie Pie, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Bell over to the main street. And then began the tour… it was hell.

With every new pony Pinkie Pie briefly introduced, the worse Sunset felt. The ponies here were so… happy. Something he could never have. This place was literally the polar opposite of his very existence, and he could feel the positive energy conflict with his heart and summersault his stomach back and forth. Soon, they got to Twilight Sparkle's library.

"And here is Twilight Sparkle's house! It's a library! I love libraries! I also love cupcakes! Ooohh! My friend is in there! Twilight Sparkle is my friend friend friend, not just friend friend, or friend. You're a friend friend right now, but if you keep it up, you can be a friend friend friend too! Oooooohhh! Maybe you could even become a friend friend friend friend! Wow!"

"Um, Sunset? We have to go. More Crusadin' you know!"

Sunset turned to the voice of Apple Bloom. He nodded, "you three be careful."

He wasn't able to say much more, for Pinkie Pie immediately dragged him inside the building.

"Hey Pinkie, who is this?" Twilight said as she walked down the staircase. She was levitating a book slightly above her head, but as soon as she saw Sunset, she dropped her book and gaped, "Are you… an alicorn?"

Sunset had been looking at her as if she was a potential threat. Magic was dangerous, something even Dimensional Travelers were vulnerable to, but when he saw the purple alicorn gape at him, he was taken aback. So much awe, so little fear… was this truly a world free of the influence of chaos?

"Er… no… yeah?" He stuttered.

"Oh my gosh, you are! That's amazing! I didn't know there were any other alicorns out there! Where are you from? Are there any more?" Twilight immediately levitated a notebook in front of her and dashed towards him.

Almost on the spur of the moment, Sunset stumbled backwards and shouted, "NO! We already have one Pinkie Pie! We don't need two talking like her!" He then began to prepare a bolt of energy that would most certainly reduce the place to dust, but his comment had done the trick, and Twilight stopped.

"Oh, um… sorry. Heh… Who are you?" She said with a faint blush.

Sunset recovered from his stumble and straightened up, "I am Sunset Shadow. And actually, I really, really, want to get out of here. But your friend friend friend… Pinkie pie will not let me go. Apparently I am her friend friend, and that in some way authorizes her to keep me in sight at all times. I came to Ponyville to get away from people, I mean ponies, not be integrated back into society."

Twilight then looked at him curiously but then turned to Pinkie Pie, "Pinkie, let the poor pony go. I think he looks tired."

Pinkie Pie gave a huge smile, "Okay! See ya' later alligator! Actually, I have a pet alligator, would you like to see him?"

But by the time Pinkie Pie had finished the sentence; Joseph had already leapt out the door and pelted towards the town center. But he didn't get far, for he was unaccustomed to the area, and subsequently… he got lost.

"I am NOT going to ask anybody… god… anyPONY for help." He said under his breath as he trotted around. But his dark thoughts soon became to well inside him… He was in a dangerous situation wasn't he? Assassins could be all around, he was totally justified if he vaporized the town and spread fallout radiation across a couple of kilometers. I mean, so what if a few ponies died in the process, all for the greater good. As the last word in his train of thought passed through his mental station, he sighed. Greater good, what a lie. Where was this "good" the Paradox had promise him? The multiverse was screwed, there was no good, and even if there was, and it somehow outnumbered evil, evil had always been and always will be stronger.

Almost as if to compound his ever-darkening thoughts, the storm clouds that had been hovering overhead began to release their load onto the expanse below.

At first Sunset simply used his control over H2O to push the water directly above him aside, after a few moments he let go of his control and formed a shield of pure energy around him to divert the drops, and then after a full minute, he simply let it drop. Who cared if he got soaked? He was going home to commit suicide anyway, who needed him?

By this time he had made it to the borders of Ponyville, and the forest that his house bordered came into view. But then his sharp eyes noticed the different topography. This undoubtedly was the same forest, but it most certainly was not the same location of his exit with the CMC. Then his eyes registered something else: a small cottage just ahead.

Sunset sighed, he supposed he could ask for help just once, and if he needed to, he could just murder whoever was inside and vaporize their bodies.

Slowly Sunset walked up to the door and raised a hoof to knock. The sound was deep and melodious, and it hung in the rain-soaked air for a second before it too dissolved into the cold deluge.

Then, Sunset heard a light squeak, almost a whimper, "Who's there?"

The meek, fear-laden voice almost made Sunset laugh and vomit at the exact same time. Who did this pony think they were to be afraid? HE had seen true fear. But after a moment of teetering between rage and hysteria, Sunset suppressed his ravaged emotions and said slowly, "Nobody… god… nopony. I just want some directions into that large forest over there. Give them to me and I won't kill- I mean, I will be on my way."

The door opened a crack, and a bright blue pupil gazed out at him. After a moment, the door was flung open. It was a yellow pony with a pink mane, blue eyes, and wings, that had thrown the door wide.

"Oh my goodness, you poor pony!" the flying pony exclaimed, "Let's get you inside and all warmed up."

Sunset almost choked on the moment. Some random pony was literally letting a freaking stranger straight-up walk into her house? My god, he had seen his share of strange dimensions, but he had never ever encountered a situation like this. Immediately he wanted to kill the pony and escape the situation. But the kindness was so overwhelming that he couldn't do anything but be dragged inside.

"Oh my goodness, you're soaked! Here, have a towel. Do you have somewhere to stay? Do you want to stay here for the night?" The Pegasus continued as she piled on towel after towel upon Sunset.

Sunset was now bordering on panicing. This pony was being too kind; there had to be a catch. In fact, last time someone had been kind to him, they later tried to rip out his throat, forcing him to crush their face against a wall. Was it happening again? Did he need to kill her? Sunset then thought about the situation again and then realized something… this was different. Was it just him, or was this little pony literally radiating kindness?

Sunset shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He was a killer, he had to keep his faculties alert. His attempt failed miserably

"I- I- I don't know what to say…" he stuttered as the pony pushed a hot bowl of soup in front of him.

"Don't say anything, just eat. As soon as we're all warmed up we can talk." The pony than began to fill a pot full of water to heat by the fire.

Sunset ate slowly, it was good, but the flavor nevertheless died on his tongue. This phenomenon had really begun to take precedence after the third betrayal: a pretty girl who turned out to be an assassin hired to kill him. In the end, one half of her ended in space while the other ended strewn across some city called Gotham. Nevertheless, he forced himself to eat the soup, just to show he was thankful. Thankful? That was a mouthful, literally.

"Now, how do we feel, mister pony?" said the Pegasus as she trotted in.

"I- I- I feel fine. Um, thanks?"

"Oh my, you're stuttering, do you have a cold?"

"No I am fine, I- I've just never been in such a situation like this before-"

"You must have a cold! Poor thing. I will be right back."

Sunset didn't even try to protest, or even think of a way to kill her. He simply waited, his mind literally numb from the onslaught of feelings he had thought he had abandoned years ago. In seconds the pony was back, she placed a thermometer in his mouth and sat in front of him, looking carefully at it.

"You don't have a cold, thank goodness. How do you feel?" She said.

"I feel… um… fine? I really should get going, I don't think I can take much mo-" He said.

"Oh! But it is still pouring, I knew it was a bad day for the scheduled rainstorm. You must stay here tonight." Replied the pony as she pulled out the thermometer and put it away.

Sunset was getting more uncomfortable by the moment, but couldn't help but ask, "My name is Sunset Shadow, what's yours?"

The pony looked down at her hooves and mumbled something, but Sunset immediately picked up the whispered words, "Fluttershy. That's er… a… um… great name."

The pony looked up and peeked between her flowing mane, "you think so?"

Sunset shrugged, "It's… um… great! As I said. Look I really should be go-"

"Oh, but it's still pouring, stay here one night, I insist."

"But… no… kill… what… weapon… how… Okay." Sunset said as he gave a huge sigh.

Fluttershy smiled quietly. "I don't have a guest bedroom," she said, "but I have this couch over there. I can sleep on there, and you can have my bedroom… if that's okay with you."

"No! I should sleep here; you can have your bedroom." Sunset immediately realized he had said it too forcefully, as Fluttershy immediately looked down at her hooves.

Though it went against literally every nerve in his body, Sunset smiled, and then he said, "Sorry, I will take your gracious offering. Thank you for your kindness." Kindness… what a word. Almost immediately Sunset felt depressed… another mood swing thanks to his ruined emotions and ravaged personality. But at that moment, Sunset noticed a rabbit hopping across and tugging at Fluttershy's mane. She let it hop onto her back; she then carried it to him, "This is Angel," she said, "He wants to say hello."

Sunset looked at the rabbit and said flatly, "Hello. My name is Sunset Shadow."

The rabbit looked at him and waved. To his horror, Sunset found himself waving back. He quickly put his hoof down and said, "I think I will go to bed. I need to wake up early so I can… um… get home quickly."

"Okay, goodnight Sunset!"

"Goodnight… er… Fluttershy."

He went up to the bedroom and climbed onto the bed. As he lay there, he felt worse and worse and worse. The night always brought his emotions out, and slowly he tormented himself to sleep; with thoughts of those who had betrayed him, innocents he had mercilessly killed, and the one who had forgiven him seconds before her wounds he had caused killed her. After hours of torture, Sunset drifted into a hellish sleep.


	3. Chapter 3 - The Mane 6

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy's Cottage_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Despite his indicating that he would wake up early, Sunset didn't wake up until sunlight was streaming through the room. Immediately he took stock of his surroundings, after a moment he made a diagnosis: nothing in this room could kill him effectively. Death… the first thing always on his mind. After that realization passed through his mind, Sunset almost gave up, closed his eyes and collapsed back onto the bed, but he stayed the action when he heard dishware clattering downstairs. Sunset slowly got up and walked downstairs.

"Hello Fluttershy," he said through strained teeth, trying not to kill her, himself, or anyone else as he became painfully aware of the awkwardness of the situation.  
>"Eep!" Fluttershy yelped at the sound out his voice. She almost dropped the pan, but she then quickly recovered herself. Turning to Sunset, she smiled calmly, "Hello Sunset. How are you?"<p>

Forcing a smile, Sunset replied, "I am fine. I really should be going now."

Fluttershy looked surprised, and quickly said, "You can't leave yet! Here, have some breakfast first."

Sunset looked at the proffered bowl, and then to Fluttershy, and then back at the bowl. After a full minute of combating his feelings, Sunset said, "Fine."

He sat down next to Fluttershy and ate. As soon as he finished, he quickly got up and said, "Thank you for your hospitality, but I really have to go now."

Fluttershy too got up and said, "But it's all muddy outside! You should stay here until everything dries up."

Sunset glanced out the window, "It looks fine."

"But it could still rain!"

"Uh huh… I don't think so." After he said that, he looked suspiciously at Fluttershy, who in turn looked down at her hooves.

"I would like it if you stayed a while," she mumbled, "I like your company."

Sunset snorted, he doubted that. A sweet little pony like her probably never was in any need of friends. At first he thought about simply turning around and getting the hell away, but there was something about Fluttershy, the kindness coming off her that was somewhat hypnotizing for him. She was his polar opposite, and it was fascinating. Once again Sunset had to fight off his darker emotions and ground out a single word, "Fine."

Immediately Fluttershy perked up, "Wonderful. Let me show you to all my animal friends."

Sunset almost choked on air… animals? He hated animals. Something about their instincts alerted them of his blackened heart, and caused them to openly loath him. However, if they were scared of him, perhaps he would then be able convince Fluttershy to let him go.

He was totally wrong, the animals loved him. The moment she called them out, the creatures, both big and small, gathered around him chirping, barking, etc. Sunset simply stood there, eyes narrowed, trying not to groan.

"Oh! They love you! I knew you were special. Is your special talent animals too?"

"No," Sunset said as he gave a mouse who was hugging his left hoof a death glare. The mouse promptly ignored him and went on hugging. After holding the death glare for a few more seconds, Sunset continued, "I don't think it is."

After a few minutes of being overwhelmed by animals who seemed to see something in him that he himself couldn't, the creatures began to disperse. Fluttershy walked over to him and sat on her haunches and said, "That was wonderful." After an awkward pause, she looked down at her hooves again and blushed through her pink mane and mumbled, "Could you tell me a little about yourself?"

At first Sunset wanted to tell her to shut the hell up and mind her own business, but the way she had been kind to him stuck in his mind. He suddenly realized he really wanted to tell her about everything. About how he had been betrayed, about how he had turned, and about how he had become a murderer. Slowly he sat down and began.

"A long time ago, I use to live a far, far, FAR away place. In this, er, place, there was a talented group of ponies called… called the travelers. They had amazing abilities way beyond the scope of any cutie mark talent, and they were our designated peacemakers. When I was just a little, um, colt, I was approached by a special being called the Paradox. This being granted me the abilities of a traveler and tasked me with the mission of spreading good and justice throughout the land. I tried – Honest! – But it was difficult. The world isn't all sunshine and rainbows; it is degenerate, diseased, and twisted. I tried my best to help ponies, but slowly the darkness of the world began to seep into me and my friends' souls. Then the betrayals began. There was a betrayal, then another betrayal, and then another betrayal. Soon all my friends had either betrayed me, turned their backs on me, or been killed. The situation kind of broke my heart and mind. I became like the traitorous ones, and I began to hurt many ponies. I hurt a lot of ponies a lot. I was feared and hated. Nevertheless, I tried to ask the only one who had ever believed me her hand, er, hoof in marriage. She said she could not. She loved and cared for me, but she could not. I was mad and I wounded her. So much so that… that…

Sunset's voice caught, and after a trembling sigh, he said, "That's it. There is no more. After that incident, I stumbled here, and here I will stay. Either by design or by chance, I am trapped here in Equestria."

Fluttershy looked at Sunset with sorrow and compassion; she then got up and moved over to sit next to Sunset. She calmly put a hoof on his shoulder and said, "If you were once evil, you are not anymore. Look at how my animals loved you!"

Sunset simply looked down at his hooves and shook his head vigorously.

Fluttershy then smiled, "Tell you what… Why don't I tell you about what has happened to me?"

Then Fluttershy began her tale. About how she got her cutie mark, how she met Twilight Sparkle and discovered her element of Harmony, how she had gone many places, and how she had befriended Discord. Many hours passed, and the sun was slowly setting as Fluttershy finished her long tale.

Sunset was still feeling extremely depressed, nevertheless, so Fluttershy said, "Why don't we have a picnic dinner? I am sure the ground has dried up by now."

Sunset looked up at the sky, which looked a little overcast, "Are you sure?" He said, too numb to really assert his own scorn for her idea.

"I think so. Let's go!" After that, Fluttershy leapt up and began to pack a picnic dinner. As this transpired Sunset continued sitting in the exact same spot he had for the past ten hours as he mulled the adventures of himself and Fluttershy over in his head. She had had such a different past. She had started off on the bottom, but her love and kindness had changed everything. Now she had friends and loved ones, and her life was golden. He had started at the top, admired and worshipped by many, but his adventures had corrupted him, and now his life was as black as the darkest night.

Fluttershy soon trotted in with a basket brimming with food. After she put it down, she said, "Let's go! I know a wonderful place a while from here that is perfect!"

Sunset stood up and said, "I will go on one condition: you let me carry the basket and you ask no more of my past."

Fluttershy smiled, a little abashed, and nodded quickly. Sunset walked over and stopped next to the basket. At first he considered reducing the gravity around the basket, or using telekinesis to levitate the thing, but he then got an idea. With a quick mental push, he activated his unicorn horn, causing the basket to levitate. It felt weird, but somehow enjoyable at the same time. The two trotted promptly towards the field for a full ten minutes or so. By the time they arrived, the large grass field was soaked in red light from the setting sun… a wonderful sight. By the light of the setting sun, Sunset and Fluttershy sat together eating.

At first Sunset felt incredibly uncomfortable, and considered killing himself or teleporting away to escape the situation; but slowly he warmed up to the situation, and allowed his worries and thoughts of violence to slip away. Then it started raining.

Suddenly the light of the setting sun was gone and the overcast clouds began the deluge. Immediately Sunset used his control over H20 to shift the water above himself and Fluttershy, but as he looked around, he could not see where they had come. After a bit of frantic searching, he noticed a large tree bordering the meadow.

"Follow me!" Sunset said quickly, nudging Fluttershy to the tree. In a minute they were there, sitting under the tree at night trying not to get soaked to the skin.

"Well," Sunset said sarcastically after a long pause, "You were right about the 'no rain' prediction. I can't see a cloud in the sky."

Fluttershy dropped her gaze and whimpered, "Sorry."

Sunset gave her a small smile and lightly touched her shoulder, "It's no problem. But it looks like we are stuck here for the night. Despite my good eyesight, I cannot see anything past one hundred yards in this weather."

Fluttershy sighed as she settled down in the resting position as Sunset sat a few feet away, observing the storm.

"What was it like in your homeland?" Mumbled Fluttershy, in her tiredness, she had forgotten that he had asked for no questions about his past.

Sunset almost immediately pointed that out, but then sighed, "It wasn't much to look at really. Dirty, polluted, terror-stricken. The ponies there had not yet understood the meaning of peace, and from what I can tell, they were also a lot more technologically advanced then here. I mean…"

Sunset glanced over, Fluttershy was sleeping, but she was also shivering. Sighing deeply, Sunset walked slowly over to Fluttershy and lay down next to her and spread one of his wings lightly over her back. Almost immediately she stopped her quivering and gave a contented smile. Sunset laid his own head down next to hers and closed his eyes. He too fell asleep quickly, but unlike Fluttershy, his dreams were apparently not as nice. Fire, screaming, death – always death – was prominent throughout the early stages of his dreams. However, as soon as the nightmare began to increase in intensity, and Sunset was positive his brain would snap, a gentle calming mist covered the scarred battlefields of his consciousness, and he drifted into a mercifully empty sleep.

The sun had just begun to stream through the hills when Sunset snapped awake. In a panic, he quickly gathered his situational data to determine what was going on and who wanted to kill him next, but then he noticed he was safe, and the events of the previous night returned to his memories. Then he noticed Fluttershy. His wing still covered her lower body, but her head was burrowed almost painfully into his side, with one of her hoofs draped over his back. For a moment Sunset simply lay there, blinking stupidly off into space, as if he hadn't the slightest idea in the world what the hell was going on. Then after a long, long, long pause, he noticed Fluttershy's eyes beginning to open.

Knowing now that she was awake, Sunset slowly said, "Fluttershy? What are you pressing your muzzle into my neck?"

"Eep!" She gasped, and she quickly shifted backwards and gazed down at the grass. After a pause, she said, "You were groaning and whimpering in your sleep."

Sunset then remember the first stage of the night and sighed, "Peace rarely ever comes to me in my dreams nowadays, Fluttershy."

She nodded and said, "It got so loud that it woke me up. I noticed that you had been kind enough to cover me with one of your wings… so I… so I… so I thought it would be okay if I pressed my cheek against yours. I thought it might comfort you, it does with Angel when he has nightmares."

Sunset felt a lump beginning to form in his throat… The kindness… it was unbearable…

Sunset switched from the "laying-down" position to the "sitting-up" one as he said, "Oh, um… thanks. I… I really think we should get you home now."

Fluttershy continued laying there, her eyes almost adopting a dreamy look, "No, I think it would be fine if we stayed right here…"

Sunset looked at her, and his stomach began to ball up in nervousness, then he remembered something that would get him most certainly out of the jam, "But what about Angel and the rest? Won't they be worried about you?"

Fluttershy bolted up, "Oh my goodness! You're right! We have to hurry!"

Sunset got up grumpily. Was she going to continue to use the royal "we?" If she did, he would never be able to feel obligated to leave. Nevertheless he followed her back to the cottage, and they arrived in half the time it took to leave. She burst through the door and exclaimed, "My poor Angel! Where you worried while mommy was gone?"

Angel simply glanced up and proceeded to go back to sleep. Fluttershy looked relieved, "Oh… Maybe not."

Sunset trotted in, levitating the basket. He put it down and cleared his throat, "I really should be going now."

Fluttershy looked up, almost mournfully. "Already?" she replied.

Sunset gaped disbelieving at her. Was she freaking kidding him? How was he supposed to go on to finish off himself if she never gave him a second alone? However, after a long and exasperated sigh, he said, "If you want, you can come with me. I can show you what I've done with the place.

Fluttershy got up quickly. Sunset rolled his eyes and walked slowly out of the door. He then stopped and turned around, "what forest is that?" He said, pointing to the forest in the distance.

"That's there Everfree forest." Replied Fluttershy.

"The hell it is. Free, sure." Muttered Sunset. He then cleared his throat and said, "Is there a path that leads from there into Ponyville? My house is off to the side. A few yards from the path."

Fluttershy nodded, "Follow me!"

In a few minutes they were on the path. In a few minutes more, they were approaching the house. During their walk, Fluttershy and Sunset had said very little, but despite this, Sunset's mind had been working like clockwork. Did this Fluttershy "like" him? How was this possible? Was it possible? And if that was possible, was it possible that his deeply scarred feelings were mending as well?

In a few more moments, the house began to come into view. However, the sight that greeted Sunset's eyes gave him pause. In front of the door was a small congregation. Sunset recognized the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle, and the rest were undoubtedly the rest of the Mane 6 and the baby dragon Spike Fluttershy had told him about. He slowed down to a stop and slowly began to back away with his ears pressed against his skull. More ponies… this was very, very bad…

Then Sweetie Bell turned her head around and sighted him, "There is Sunset!" She exclaimed pointing a hoof in his direction. The entire group began to move towards him.

At this moment, Sunset was literally terrified. More ponies, and they were Fluttershy's friends. If they got to loud or too close and physical, they might trigger his atrophied emotions, and he could end up hurting or killing them all. Fluttershy noticed his growing alarm and flew ahead to meet the group.

"Who is that guy? Is he the one Twilight told us about?" said the one that Fluttershy had said was Rainbow Dash.

Twilight nodded, "That's him!"

Fluttershy stood between them and said, "Careful friends! I think he might be a little nervous about strangers. He's had a terribly rough time in the past, he's here to recover, not be crowded."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell then trotted up to Fluttershy and stood beside her.

"Yeah," said Sweetie Bell, "I think he's had some trouble before."

"Trouble? Nah. He's just unhappy! Unhappy?! We must make him un-unhappy! Then he will be more than happy to be happy!" Pinkie Pie tried bouncing around the Fluttershy, Apple Blossom and Sweetie Bell, but Fluttershy blocked Pinkie Pie from bouncing any further.

"Be slow! I don't think he likes you all yet."

Sunset had been bordering on hyperventilating, but after a few gasping breaths, he pulled his nerves together and trotted slowly up.

"You wanted to see me. Why?" He said, speaking directly to Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight replied, "Well, you're an alicorn! No alicorn stallions have been sighted since the Paleo Pony era! And yet… here you are!"

Sunset immediately was bothered, why hadn't his stupid body chosen this form? God, now he was going to draw attention wherever he went, the last thing he wanted. Was killing everything still an option?

Sunset quickly gave his head a shake and said, "So? Is that something bad?"

Twilight looked slight aghast at the reply, "Of course not! But look at me! I am an  
>alicorn! There are only supposed to be four of us! Me, Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire, and Princesses Celestia and Luna! In fact, that is what we are here: to take you to see Princess Celestia."<p>

Sunset blanched has he had a quick flashback. Last time he had meet a princess, he had ended up murdering her and her family when they refused to decrease their tax laws and create a statue in honor of him. It took a second to break free of that terrible memory, but Sunset managed, telling himself that he no longer was that kind of being. He was going to change… or commit suicide. Whichever came first.

"I really don't think that's a good idea. Last time I met royalty, things didn't end to well." Said Sunset after escaping the memory.

"DID NOT?" Exclaimed the pony Fluttershy had said was Rarity, "Why? How is that ever possible?"

Sunset snorted in frustration, and slowly began to back away, only to find he escape route blocked by Pinkie Pie, who had somehow managed to get around him. "It just happened. Look, I made some mistakes and I am still paying for them today. Why can't you ponies understand that and move on? Find yourself another alicorn! Hell, I am sure Rainbow Dash there would look great if you grafted a horn onto her! Then she could be one and you could take her to this princess!"

Twilight shook her head, "It doesn't work that way. Just give us a chance!"

The last phrase triggered yet another memory. Last time someone had said that, he had given no chances… It had been swift and deadly, and the hope of a second chance died with the person who said it by Sunset's own hand. He quickly pulled himself into reality once again and sighed, "I suppose the only way I can maintain my sanity and yet not have a plagued conscious is by saying yes. Okay, when do we leave?"

The group cheered, except for Rainbow Dash who had been thoughtful after Sunset's outburst.

"Hey guys… COULD I get myself a unicorn horn? Would it work?"

Twilight ignored her and turned to Spike, who pulled out a pen and parchment.

"Take a note, Spike," she said to the baby dragon, "Dear Princess Celestia, I have found another alicorn. I am bringing him – yes, him! – To you immediately. Yours faithfully, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Spike finished scribbling and raised the parchment into the air, after taking a deep breath, he swathed the paper in green flames, vaporizing the thing immediately.

"It's on the way Twi," he said.

Twilight nodded her thanks and turned to Sunset, "Let's go! We will have to get tickets to Canterlot, and then leave immediately."

Scootaloo then spoke up. "Great!" she said, her tiny wings buzzing in excitement, "Can we go too?"

"Yeah!" Said Apple Bloom, "Do we get to go?"

The one who Sunset decided was Applejack then spoke up as well. "Sorry sis," she said, "But you three have to stay here."

Sunset up to this point have been thinking specifically about how to NOT kill everypony he would soon meet, but at this new declaration, he pulled himself back into reality, something that he was doing less and less now. The sight of the disappointed Cutie Mark Crusaders gave him pause, and he then decided to pull something, as a little "thank you" to the trio from keeping his self-induced death at bay.

"If they stay I stay," he said simply.

There was a long pause… then Rarity, Applekack, and Twilight said in unison, "I suppose they could go."

Suddenly Sunset was buried underneath the CMC, who were hugging him tightly.

"Thanks Sunset!" said Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, thanks!" added Scootaloo.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell.

Sunset staggered to his feet. His initial reaction was rage at being touched without his consent, but it strangely melted away as the three continued to hug him tightly.

"Um, girls?" interrupted Twilight after another long pause, "I think you can let go of him now."

"Oh yeah, sorry," said Scootaloo. "Well, I am off to ask my parents! Bye!"

With that, Scootaloo, followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell, zoomed off.

"Oooh! Can I have a hug now?" said Pinkie Pie bouncing up to Sunset and extending her hooves and her smile wide. Sunset pointedly took a step in the opposite direction, "Eh… don't touch me."

Pinkie seemed in no way hurt by the comment and exclaimed, "Okie dokie! Well, I have to skedaddle! A lot of jumping has to be done!"

Twilight turned to Sunset after watching Pinkie bounce off. "Well, I suppose we should get those tickets" she said.

Sunset, still a little dazed, replied, "Yeah, I suppose. And please, don't any of you touch me. I think I have had my fill of personal contact for the rest of… well… a while."

The three trotted off to the train station. While on the way, he was peppered by questions by the Mane 6.

"Where do you come from?" said Applejack.

"Are all you guys alicorns?" added Rainbow Dash.

"Is your fashion sense attuned?" interjected Rarity.

Sunset simply pressed his ears against his head and began thinking hard about NOT killing them.

Fluttershy answered them, "He comes from far, far away in a place called Earth Prime. No, I think they are just regular ponies. Sadly, no, I don't think they really think about that. Sunset said they hate each other."

As the last phrase sank into the clean, rain-washed air, there was an uncomfortable pause. Twilight turned to Sunset. "Is that true?" she asked.

Sunset sighed, "Yeah. Nothing is right where I hail from. War, death, you name it. I once part of a group designed to stop it all, but… Never mind. Can we keep moving?"

Twilight looked like she wanted to say more, but she suppressed another comment and turned around.

"Here we are." She said after a bit. They group trotted in and purchased tickets. During the transaction, Sunset had time to observe the "bits" that they used as currency. Standard gold, with a hint of magic, he could replicate that, at least providing for himself would not be a problem if somepony somehow managed to talk himself out of committing suicide sooner or later.


	4. Chapter 4 - Canterlot

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Train Station_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

An hour later, the CMC ran up to the station, and the large group got on. All, that is, except Rarity and Spike. Those two almost missed it because of the load of luggage they were carrying… and Pinkie, who said something quickly about cake frosting and a mailbox before rushing onto the train.

As they sat down in a brightly lit passenger car, Twilight asked Sunset the question he had been praying they would not ask. "Tell me about yourself!" she said. Sunset groaned, "I really don't want to talk about it. I had a bad time, people tried to kill me; I got depressed and tried to escape. I got stuck here; you ponies dragged me onto a train to meet some random princess. The end," he said in a monotone voice.

"WOW!" said Pinkie Pie, who Sunset was now seriously questioning her sanity, "that was good! I loved the part about the train and the random princess. The climax about the escaping was the best though."

Sunset looked at Pinkie for a moment in bemusement, before looking at his hooves. Fluttershy got up and moved over to put a hoof on his shoulder. Rarity gasped… Sunset had said not to do that! However, Sunset didn't react, he let it rest there, bearing the battle between her kindness and his tattered mind that caused his stomach to leap and dive.

"This poor pony has had enough to deal with. I think we should all just quiet down and enjoy the sunlight while it lasts," said Fluttershy in a soothing tone.

Sunset grunted in begrudging acknowledgement and continued to look at his front hooves. And so commenced the worst pause of his… and probably Pinkie Pie's… life. After over two hours of absolute nothing, both he and Pinkie broke the silence.

"I think I will fly the rest of the way," he said getting up.

"FROSTING!" yelled Pinkie at the same time.

Quickly Sunset got out of the train and climbed onto the roof of it. As he observed the surroundings and steeled himself for trying out his new wings, somepony joined him: Twilight.

"What's the matter?" she said as she went up and sat next to him.

Sunset grunted. If a pony asked him something and that pony wasn't Fluttershy, he was probably not going to reply at that point.

"Look, I know you have had a rough time getting here, but we have so many questions! Wouldn't it be easier to tell us about yourself? We won't ask again. This is a wondrous occasion; you cannot blame us for being excited."

Sunset turned to look at Twilight's hooves, "Have you ever seen death? I mean, literally seen the embodiment of death descend on a rotting battlefield?"

Twilight looked totally flabbergasted by the question. "Um… no." She said slowly.

Sunset looked at her, and he was sure she could see the horror in his eyes by the way her pupils shrunk. "I have," he said, "It was terrible. What's even worse, I had a major hand in it. Fluttershy knows this… I am a monster. I had a chance to be good, and I gave it up. There is nothing left of me now."

Twilight was still gazing in a petrified state at Sunset's terror-stricken eyes. "I… I didn't know. But I know the remedy: friendship."

Sunset chuckled harshly, "Ahhh yes… Friendship is magic... is it not? Well, I don't know."

Twilight lifted a hoof and paused for a moment, and then she reached out and placed it on his shoulder. Sunset opted to respect her bold move and did not make her pay for crossing the boundaries. He nodded to her.

"Having good friends is something very rare," she continued, "And as you said: it is magic. If you would give the friendship my friends and I offer, you might be surprised."

"Yes, I know that to be true!" said a voice.

The two turned to see Fluttershy joining them on the rooftop.

"You may not think much of us now Sunset," she said, looking into his eyes bravely; gazing into the pupils that had witnessed so much chaos, "but you of all people might need friends the most."

Sunset brushed Twilights lingering hoof off his shoulder and said, "I don't know. My heart has been ruined, and my mind has been poisoned as well. Perhaps… perhaps…"

Then he took a deep breath. "The truth is," he said, "I came to that little cottage near Ponyville so I could commit suicide."

Twilight gasped, but Fluttershy just leaned her head against his shoulder, "but you didn't," she said soothingly.

Sunset nodded, "I didn't have a chance. The Cutie Mark Crusaders brought me out. In a way, I owe my life to them. I owe my life to you too, Fluttershy. Your company has made my life a little more bearable."

Twilight looked at Sunset as if she didn't really know how to respond, and then she managed to force out one word, "Why?"

Sunset sighed again, "Look. I killed the only one who believed in me. I am a murderer. Is that good enough?"

Twilight looked away. Then she looked back, "I am sorry. But you're safe now, you're amongst friends."

Fluttershy pressed he cheek a little harder into Sunset's should to remind him that she was still there and said, "Yes. You're safe now. We would never dream of betraying you."

Sunset sighed once again, a lump forming in his throat. "Thank you," he said.

The three sat together on top of the train for the rest of the journey, watching as the tall spires of Canterlot rose into view. In several more minutes, they pulled into the Canterlot station, and the group got off.

"Where did you go?" Asked Sweetie Bell as Sunset jumped down from the train's top.

"Oh, I just needed some fresh air, Sweetie Bell," he replied as he straightened up, "I am a little claustrophobic, if you will."

The group then began the long walk up through Canterlot to the castle. At first very few ponies took notice of Sunset, but little by little, ponies looked up from their everyday work to gape at the alicorn stallion walking up the street surrounded by Ponyville ponies. Soon a crowd began to gather behind Sunset, as if this was some sort of procession. As the crowd grew, Sunset's confidence shrank. What if he broke? What would happen to all these ponies? Would he reduce them to ash like so many other innocent lives? It seemed like forever, but the ponies finally reached the gates of the castle. By the time they reached it, reporters had arrived, and cameras were flashing. Now Sunset had his ears flattened and his pupils had shrunk. Desperately he grappled with his emotions as he tried to bury his violent impulses deep within himself. When he thought he could no longer bear it, though, they reached the front of the castle and the gates swung open. As they entered the hallway, a troop of guards were there to meet him. Their eyes were narrowed, and they stood straight to attention. This was almost the breaking point for Sunset. At-the-ready guards? This was too much. After a moment of terror when he thought he would just have to make a break for it, Sunset managed to, at the last moment, force down his fury and fear and walked purposely through the guards; his eyes straight ahead. In no time he had made it through the guard-packed hallway and walked into the royal throne room of the Sun and Moon sisters. Celestia immediately got up from her throne and walked down to meet Sunset. Immediately Sunset felt an urge to attack her… after all, he and royalty never got along. Once again he forced down the surging emotions and he pulled the energy crackling about his hoofs back within himself.

"Welcome stranger to the court of Celestia and Luna, you are welcome," said Celestia in a clear voice, "And welcome Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends."

Sunset nodded graciously, and said stoutly, "You wanted to see me? Here I am. What is it that you so badly needed to see me?"

Celestia looked a little taken aback at first by Sunset's forwardness, but then replied, "You are an alicorn. As Princess Twilight Sparkle has probably informed you, alicorn stallions have not been seen since the Paleo Pony era."

Sunset nodded stiffly and said, "I am aware of that. But I am not an article to be gawked at, nor dragged around."

This time Luna answered, "We simply have so many questions, noble stranger."

Sunset turned to look at Luna, "Understood. And call me Sunset Shadow."

Celestia nodded, "Well, Sir Sunset Shadow, first we must-"

Suddenly the door banged open and another figure walked in: Discord.

"Oh forgive me, am I interrupting something?" said Discord as he glided in, popped out of existence and reappeared next to Celestia. "Ooooh, another alicorn! Is he a relation of yours, Tia?"

Celestia sighed, "He is not. Sunset Shadow, meet Discord. Former god of chaos, now reformed."

Discord conjured a smart suit, tie, and monocle as he bowed deeply, "A pleasure to meet you Sunset Shadow. I am sure we are all dying to hear your life-story. As for me… well, I have better be going. Royal duties and all that. Ta-ta!"

With that, Discord disappeared in a flash.

Sunset narrowed his eyes; that flash looked familiar. There was more to Discord than met the eye.

Celestia once again addressed Sunset, "I apologize, Sunset Shadow, for the interruption. We can now return to our previous conversation. Where do you come from?"

Sunset sighed, Celestia obviously was a pony of much wisdom, more wisdom than probably any pony on the planet. No doubt she would know every land in the world, thus ruling out his 'far, far away' ploy.

After a moment of thought, Sunset replied, "I hail from somewhere I am sure you do not know of."

Celestia once again looked surprised, "Are you sure?" she said, "I know every land on our wonderful planet. Perhaps…"

Sunset turned sideways and presented her with his cutie mark. "Tell me," he said, "does this answer your question?"

Now again Celestia was surprised, even more so that the last two times. "Infinity," she said breathlessly, "I have not ever seen the likes of that. Please tell me where you come from."

Sunset turned again to face the princess, "As I said, you do not know of the place, for it is far away. I will ask your indulgence to take me at my word and not ask any more questions of the past."

Luna walked up beside her sister and said, "But Sunset Shadow, there is so much to discuss. Are there more of you?"

Sunset shook his head, "I do not know of any other alicorn stallions. Perhaps I myself cannot properly call myself one."

Luna cocked her head to one side, "By what do you mean Sunset Shadow?"

Sunset simply said, "You still would not understand. My history is more complex than anything you will ever understand. But I will make known my coming here: I am here to rest. My past has been troubled, and I seek refuge in the town you call Ponyville."

Celestia nodded, "I understand. We will not ask you any more questions Sunset Shadow… for now. Why don't you take a walk in the Canterlot gardens? I have something to discuss with Twilight Sparkle."

"I will go with you Sunset," said Fluttershy as he turned to leave.

"So will I!" said Sweetie Bell.

Celestia shook her head, "I sense he wants a little time alone. Guards, show the fillies to the private entertainment room. Fluttershy, you must stay with the Harmony bearers, I have something to say to you all."

Sunset had closed the large glass garden door before Celestia had finished the sentence and was now walking amongst the trees. He leaned in close to inspect a flower, breathing deeply; he smelled its fresh and sweet scent. No fire, no decay, no charcoal, no smoke… just clean, crisp air and fragrant flowers.

Suddenly, Sunset turned around, raising a hoof and charging it with plasma. Discord was standing directly behind him.


	5. Chapter 5 - Discord's Secret

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Gardens_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

"Oh, be careful where you point that Sunset. You could hurt somepony!" Discord said with mock scolding.

Sunset looked at Discord with squinted eyes. Discord flashed out of existence and reappeared next to him, dressed in safari clothes.

"What are we looking at?" Discord said. Then he flashed out and flashed in on a bench nearby.

Sunset then decided to take a chance. He pointed to himself. "Joseph Torrus," he said, "Dimensional Orientation MPJ-9, 79th generation, power tier 2."

Discord looked totally flabbergasted. After a long pause, he muttered, "well I say… well I say."

He flashed out and then flashed in once more in front of Sunset and pointed to himself dramatically. "Discordious Draconequus, Dimensional Orientation MCA-9, 65th generation, power tier 1."

Sunset raised an eyebrow and gave a small smile of triumph. "Ah," he said, "Another Dimensional Traveler. Nice to meet you. I hail from Earth Prime, where come you?"

Discord levitated slightly in the air as he replied, "Ahhh… Earth Prime! The big one! Me? Oh, I hail from here. Good old Paradox gave me my powers, and I chose to keep my skills close to home."

Sunset looked at Discord suspiciously, "Fluttershy tells me that you were quite a bother, and were responsible for the whole Chaotic era!"

Discord rolled his eyes before teleporting next to Sunset, "Oh, I did a little bit of good here and there before that. But goodness! A hundred years of helping and no fun really takes off of you! So, I figured, why should I make other people happy at my expense? I should be happy at their expense! However, old Tia and Lulu didn't take kindly to my little bout of self-indulgence. So they turned me to stone! The tragedy! However, when I broke free, I attempted to reinstate my fun house, but I was stopped by the Harmony bearers. However, after a little bit more time in the cooler, I was released and good old Shutterfly helped me reform!"

Sunset narrowed his eyes, "It's Fluttershy."

Discord threw up his hands in mock disgust, "Oh whatever. So, what brings another traveler to my little playground?"

Sunset took a deep breath, and then he said quickly in a low voice, "I'm stuck here."

Discord burst out laughing. So loud in fact that Sunset almost was tempted to once again break the universal traveler code and kill him. But after a while of fighting his anger and listening to Discord laugh, the situation quieted down.

"Oh… oh… you ARE a riot aren't you? So tell me, Joseph, how did you get stuck here? Gasped Discord between breaths.

Once again Sunset took a deep breath. "I… I lost my way. I killed several hundred innocent people and broke the traveler code thrice times. Then I killed my only friend."

Discord actually stopped laughing completely and looked somberly at Sunset, "Ah… That… that, um… happens. Don't take it too hard, friend."

Sunset tried to put on a brave face. "I am getting over it," he said, "Fluttershy is helping me recuperated. I almost committed suicide, but the Ponyville ponies stopped me."

Discord brightened up once again. "Those ponies! I love them! They kinda grow on you don't they?"

Sunset nodded. After a bit, he said, "You've been here the entire time right?"

"That is correct."

"So, you have no news of the outside world."

"Yeah. I gave up traveling the dimensions two thousand years ago. I doubt it even works now. However, young Joseph, tell me what has been happening since I left."

"Hmmmmm… Well, about two thousand years ago, there was a traveler-demon war that wiped out four or five separate dimensions. However, we won. Of course, there were a few arch-demons hiding out, but they were of no consequence. Then a golden era began… The Paradox regularly recruited new travelers, and they were all pure of heart. For once people felt like good had finally outnumbered and outgunned evil. Sadly, though, that only lasted up to a decade before I joined. Then a new era began, an era of anarchy. When I came in, the traveler code was broken regularly and it was every man, or pony, for himself. Paradox thought I and a group of twelve others could balance out the chaos. He was wrong. I turned and the other twelve were killed. However, after killing hundreds of innocents… I've realized the error of my ways. But… but can anything really wipe out that much red?"

Discord strolled over and stood in front of Sunset. Speaking seriously, Discord replied, "Where there is forgiveness, there is hope. I cannot forgive you in place of the people you killed, but I can let you know that if you let love, kindness, loyalty, honesty, kindness, laughter, generosity, and maybe a little magic back into your heart, you most certainly will be welcome back amongst them when your time is over."

Tears immediately began to well up in Sunsets eyes, but he brushed them away. "From one traveler to another," said Sunset after he got himself under control once again, "thank you. And call me Sunset. I intend to go by that name from now one."

Discord nodded, and then pulled a face. "Well," he said decisively, "that was all ooshy-mooshy, I think it is time I get back to doing something fun. I had been planning a delightfully mischievous prank to play on prince Blue Blood, and I might as well carry it out. Goodbye Joseph… Er, Sunset. Hold yourself together."

Sunset nodded, "I will. Goodbye Discord."

With that, Discord teleported away.

At that very moment, the garden door that led to the palace swung open and two guards trotted out.

"Sir Sunset Shadow," they said with deeps bows, "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna request your presence."

Sunset nodded slowly and then proceeded to follow the two back into the throne room.

As he walked in, he noticed that everyone was back together, mane 6 and the Cutie Mark Crusaders… and they were all looking at him.

"Tell me, Sunset Shadow," said Celestia, "what do you know of demons?"

At first Sunset considered telling them the truth… but he quickly retracted the idea for fear of being rejected… but then he realized there was nothing else for it. He was at the end of the rope anyway, being rejected by these ponies really meant no difference now… but their acceptance would mean everything.

After a long pause and a deep, shuddering sigh, Sunset confessed. "Okay," he said, "I do not know if you at all will understand what I am about to say, but I will tell you everything."

Sunset then began his long confession. He explained about what he originally was, and who had given him special abilities. He then explained about traveling dimensions, making friends, dispensing justice, and bringing peace. Then he talked about the first betrayal, then the second, then the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh, and then the eight. He then confessed about his turning to evil, and how he have killed several hundred people and brought down peaceful empires. He then talked about him killing Mellissa, and then stumbling here, blind with grief, up to the point of where the Cutie Mark Crusaders prevented his committing suicide by their untimely entrance.

"And if this changed your view of me in any way, or makes you want to kill me or reject me… say it now. It matters not in the grand scheme of things," said Sunset, his eyes downcast.

The first one to break the silence was Rainbow Dash. "That… was… AWESOME!" she exclaimed, after a pause, she finished up with, "except the killing part. But everything else! Can you shoot lightning? Can you show me?"

Pinkie Pie looked thoughtful for once, "It was nice, but I liked your first one about being dragged around and meeting a random princess. What does 'betrayal' mean? Never mind. Let's go have some fun!"

Rarity was third to speak, "Shape shifting? How posh. I would love to be able to do that! Do you have an address where I could buy some?"

The Fluttershy spoke. As soon as she quietly said the word excuse me, everyone quieted down.

"I don't know what all of you think," she said, blushing terribly, "but I think no less of Sunset. He is one of my best friends, and I will do my best to help him through."

In an instant, Sunset felt something melt within his chest. Was it is black heart? Had it finally melted? It was a wonderful feeling… maybe the feeling of love.

"Three cheers for Sunset!" exclaimed Apple Blossom as she, Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, and Fluttershy rushed to embrace him.

Celestia then turned to Luna and Twilight, "Well princesses? Does he match the prophecy?"

Sunset looked up from being hugged tightly by the CMC and Fluttershy. "What prophecy?" he asked.

Clearing her throat, Twilight gave a clear recitation of the premonition:

"One hearts will be mended,

One demon will rise;

If there is hope in his friendship,

Dark will demise;

But if the good cannot win,

A victory in turn;

Then Canterlot, Ponyville…

Equestria will burn."

Sunset cocked his head to one side and thought, while trying to escape the grasp of Fluttershy, who had continued to hug him long after the CMC had let go.

"Well… I think I have an idea about part of that poem… but it isn't good." He said as he gave up and continued to return the hug.

Celestia's eyes brightened, "would you grace us with this knowledge, Sunset Shadow?"

Sunset nodded, "I know of a demon who might be the one in the poem. His name is Abbadon. He is truly the only one who would consider fighting me, and moreover, he has a grudge to settle. I bound him with the chains of truth in the deepest circle of the infernal realm, but when my spirit was corrupted and broken, there is a high chance the chains of truth weakened or shattered. If this is the case, than no doubt he will soon escape his prison and seek me out. I was able to defeat him once, and I might possibly be able to do the same again. But not without help."

"Well, you have it! Right here!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she zoomed overhead.

"I agree!" said Twilight with determination.

"Um… yay?" said Fluttershy quietly as she finally let go of Sunset.

"Yeah! Let's go fight… a… demon?" Scootaloo said. Then she paused as she thought about what she had said, "Er… yeah?"

For the first time in a long, long time, Sunset burst out laughing.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: The Inferno<em>

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

The glowing chains shattered. It had taken an immense amount of effort, but Abbadon had broken free of the shackles that had bound him. Now only one thing was on his mind: revenge.

Joseph Torrus, that was the name of the one who had defeated and bound him for nine long years. Joseph Torrus… he would pay dearly for what he had done.

With a massive explosion of dust and ash, Abbadon erupted from his prison and rocketed through the sulfurous, choking air of the infernal realm. Pausing only to whisper an unintelligible word to the frozen mountain of Azrael, Abbadon began to rise through the circles of hell faster and faster. Soon, in a flash, Abbadon had escaped the realm, and was now traversing inter-dimensional space.

"Now… where are you little Joseph?" muttered the demon of hate as he began to search for his archenemy.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Grand Galloping Gala

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The border of the Everfree Forest_

_Time: Two and a half weeks after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

"The Galloping… what?" Sunset said to Fluttershy as they sat together under a tree after a picnic. The two had been picnicking together every lunch now for the past week and a half. The last two weeks had been extremely wonderful, despite the horror of his past; everypony in Ponyville had accepted Sunset. Nevertheless, Sunset tortured himself over the terrors every night, but slowly… slowly, he had come to terms with what it truly meant to be repentant… and perhaps… forgiven.

"The Galloping Gala," explained Fluttershy, "it is a time where ponies invited from all over gather to talk in Canterlot."

Sunset pulled a face. More ponies… terrible. He had finally learned to completely suppress his violent urges a few days ago, but the thought of more rigid social interactions still was quite distasteful to him.

"I… don't… suppose I'm invited?" he said slowly, hoping it wasn't true.

"You are! We all are!" said Fluttershy with excitement.

Sunset facehoofed. Fluttershy looked curiously at him for a moment and then said, "I understand your nervousness, I really do. In fact, last time I went to the Galloping Gala, it turned out a disaster for me and my friends, and we all ended up eating donuts alone in a shop."

Sunset looked up. "Wow," he said, "that does sound tough."

Fluttershy nodded, "Oh yes, it was. There was nopony to really talk to! But I think this time will be better."

She blushed, and looked down, her pink mane covering her face, "Now… now that you're coming."

Sunset smiled. "I really don't know, Fluttershy," he said, "I think I might just end up sitting in a donut shop eating donuts alone as well."

Fluttershy smiled shyly and said, "If you do that, I will be there to."

Sunset chuckled and replied, "I appreciate your moral support. Right now, I am really just worried about breaking. I mean, I haven't thought or worried about anything going wrong in a while, but I still cannot be sure. I suppose time will tell."

At that, Fluttershy and Sunset got up. As they began to pack their things, Rainbow Dash zoomed in.

"Hey Fluttershy! Hey Sunset! Oh, do you want to race? Readysetgo!" She zoomed off, but when Sunset didn't pursue her, she came back, a little disgruntled.

Sunset just rolled his eyes. A week earlier, he had completely beaten her in a best-out-of-five hoof-wrestling match, something unheard of. He had, before the match, insisted it wouldn't be a fair fight, seeing that he had inpony strength, but Rainbow insisted that she had "inpony" strength too. In the end, he totally beat her without breaking a sweat or looking like he was even trying. Now, Rainbow Dash had made it her "life's work" to find something she could beat him in; which, so far, had proven less than fruitful.

"Not today, Rainbow Dash," he called up, "By the way, when is the Galloping, er, Gala?"

Rainbow Dash preformed a dazzling loop-the-loop before settling to a hover above Fluttershy and Sunset.

"Oh yeah," she said after a moment's thought, "Twilight wanted to tell you guys that she wanted to talk to you about that. It's in a few days, after all! Are you sure you don't want to race?"

Sunset shook his head, "Not unless you want to perform a double rainboom twice to beat me. No. I think I will walk."

Rainbow stuck her lip out a little, but then turned around and shot off into the sky.

"Oh dear, I hope she won't keep bothering you like that," said Fluttershy quietly as they watched Rainbow tear off into the distance.

Sunset sighed, "I hope not. But if she keeps it up, she will end up beating me in the patience game. Well, let's go."

After a few minutes of trotting silently together, they reached the edge of Ponyville, where Twilight was waiting for them. Sunset narrowed his eyes suspiciously, the princess looked worried, something that was never good.

As they approached, Sunset asked the question: "What's wrong?" he said.

Twilight shook her head, "The changelings have made another threat against Canterlot."

Fluttershy gasped, "Oh no!"

Sunset cocked his head to one side, "What are changelings?"

"They're terrible, shape-shifting creatures that feed off love and emotions," replied Fluttershy, "They tried to take control of Canterlot when Twilight's big brother was getting married."

Sunset took this all in and nodded slowly. "Shape-shifters you say?" he said, "I have some experience with that, and know how to point out the flaws. I will keep my eyes open."

Twilight gave him a smile, "Thanks Sunset!"

After a short pause, Fluttershy gave Sunset a hug. "I have to get going now. I will see you two later."

Sunset and Twilight waved as Fluttershy trotted away. There was another short, albeit awkward, pause. After a bit, Twilight said, "You really like her don't you?"

Sunset stood there for a moment, thinking over his possible, non-violent, answers. "Yes. I really do care for her. When I first met her, I couldn't keep my eyes off her. It was her kindness that really contrasted with my soul, and washed it away."

Twilight nodded. "She does that for all of us," she said, "even if she's a bit of a pushover."

Sunset snorted, "Not with me."

Twilight case Sunset a side-long glance. "That probably means she really likes you too."

Sunset nodded slowly, "Maybe. I have to go now and um… do something of importance that I have no idea what it is."

Twilight looked at him, a little bemused. Then she smiled. "Rrriiiggghht," she said, winking at him, "you do that."

As Twilight cantered away, Sunset continued standing in the same position, looking off at the Everfree forest, his thoughts whirling around him. He was still unstable, could he survive the Galloping Gala? He shook his head clear after festering in his worries. He had his friends beside him, and if he really needed to, he could just leave.

"I really hope these changelings don't come into the picture," he muttered to himself, "if that happens, I don't know what will become of myself. I hope I can control my rage in the field of battle once more… to protect my only friends."

Heart heavy once more with uncertainty and worries, Sunset Shadow walked off to the Everfree forest border to find his house and rest… just rest.

Sunset's eyes snapped open, tomorrow was the day; the day of the Galloping Gala. His dreams had been terrible, once again. However, unlike before, they had been more about him, killing everypony and spreading fire and chaos throughout the land. Groaning heavily, he tried to roll out of bed, only to find Fluttershy laying next to him.

"Eep!" she yelped as Sunset scrambled away, looking around wildly. He then recognized Flutterhy.

"Fluttershy," he said, half-surprised, half-relieved, "What are you doing here? How long have you been here?"

Sitting up, Fluttershy looked down as she wrung her mane. "I was coming here to check up on you, knowing that tomorrow was the Galloping Gala, to see how you were doing. It was late at night, but I couldn't sleep myself for worry, so I decided to go to your house. It was really scary. When I found you, you were all wound up, crying out. I remembered that happening during that one rainstorm, so I lay next to you to comfort you. You quieted down, so I knew it must have worked, but it was so comfortable that I guess I fell asleep too."

Sunset sighed, remembering now that in the later stages of his nightmare, a golden mist had once again muffled out all violence and terror. "Thank you Fluttershy," he said after a while, "I really needed it."

After a pause, Sunset got up and sat next to Fluttershy, who was still looking down. Pressing his forehead to hers, he said, "I think I will make breakfast now. How does fruit and dandelion pancakes sound?"

Fluttershy, still blushing profusely, nodded quickly.

Getting up, Sunset began to make them. As he worked, he ran quickly through his mental checklist for the day. They were taking the night train to the Gala, so that they could arrive bright and early the next morn for the Galloping Gala. He had his ticket, and his invitation. He also had his things packed for a two-day stay at Canterlot. All he needed now was to wait until the sun had begun to set he and the Mane 6 could gather together.

Finishing up his cooking, Sunset turned around and brought them to the table in the dining room where Fluttershy sat, looking quite a bit happier now. After eating, they went outside to lay on the grass and look at the clouds.

"Picnic lunch?" Sunset asked almost immediately.

Instantly, Fluttershy nodded, "Yes please. But you packed last time, this time it's my turn."

Sunset grinned, "Deal. Are you planning anything today?"

Fluttershy shook her head, "Not really. I need to make sure my animal friends are all cozy and ready for my long trip, but other than that, I have nothing else."

Sunset nodded in turn. "Okay," he said, "Maybe after lunch you could hang out with me."

Fluttershy blushed. "Okay," she said.

Suddenly Rainbow hissed out of the deep blue sky to land next to Fluttershy and Sunset.

"Looking up at the sky, huh?" she said, "Wouldn't it be muuuuch better to be racing though them? Right Sunset?"

Sunset groaned, "Rainbow! I only beat you in three measly games of hoof wrestling! And.. um… pushups… and sit-ups… yeah… Anyway! It doesn't matter! I was a Dimensional Traveler, I was built to be inponyly strong!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes in an exaggerated manner, "Yeah, yeah, we know all that. But how about racing? I am the only pony of this time to break the rainboom barrier! I betcha couldn't do that!"

"Um, excuse me?" said Fluttershy, "could we stop it?"

Sunset nodded vigorously, "Yeah, let's stop. Why don't we just say, yes, you are the only one, and let it go at that."

Rainbow shook her head, "No! We have to do it! Now!"

"Um, excuse me?" said Fluttershy again, "could we stop?"

Sunset closed his eyes and sighed. "Look, Rainbow," he said in a low voice, "I understand that you want to race me, but you have to understand that I really in no way want to challenge you for your 'champion of the skies' title. It was just a hoof-wrestling match, and you have to understand that I have superstrength. Please… PLEASE understand that I don't want to make you look insignificant or any of that stuff. You've earned your place as a hero of Ponyville, I haven't, there is a big difference between gained respect and a surprise victory."

Rainbow looked at him quietly for a moment. Then she said, "Oh… I-I guess I was being a little too pushy. I'm sorry."

Slowly Rainbow turned around and then took to the sky.

Sunset sighed again deep and long. Fluttershy smiled, "That was the right thing to do, Sunset."

Sunset nodded his head. "I know, but I really wish she would stop it."

Fluttershy nodded her head too sagely. "She's just like that sometimes. She doesn't take losses very well."

"I'll say," snorted Sunset as he looked at the sky, "But it doesn't matter really."

"But it does," insisted Fluttershy, "you kept your anger in check and admitted what she wanted to hear: that she is a hero. Sometimes she just wants to hear it from other ponies."

Sunset smiled a little. "I can understand that. Fluttershy, do you want to have a picnic?"

Fluttershy nodded he head, "Oh yes, I would!"

The two quickly got up and packed a lunch, then they trotted out to their favorite picnic spot.

And there the two sat until lunch, not saying anything, just enjoying the view of the sun reaching its apex.

Then they packed their picnic basket and walked out to the spot they had been eating at ever since that fateful rainstorm. Once again, they sat together, just enjoying their company. Then, without a word, they packed up their basket and returned to Fluttershy's cottage and sat on the front step. Watching the sun slowly move pasts its apex and on its way to the west.

After a long while, Sunset stood up. He then turned to leave, "I have to go now. I should pack my bags and prepare to get on the Ponyville train. I suggest you do the same."

He began to trot away when Fluttershy called out, "Sunset! Wait!"

Sunset turned and Fluttershy trotted towards him. She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and then trotted away.

Sunset stood there, thinking about what had happened for a full minute, before turning slowly around and returning to his house, at half his usual speed.

Within the next hour, Sunset was completely ready, and waiting for the rest of the Mane 6 to show up. One by one, they arrived; first Twilight, then Rainbow, then Applejack, then Fluttershy, then Rarity with Spike carrying her immense amount of luggage, and then Pinkie Pie.

As they settled in the train car, Sunset trotted over the Twilight.

"Any news about the changeling threat?" he asked.

Twilight shook her head, "I don't think so. But I know they are serious."

Sunset nodded slowly.

Despite Pinkie Pie throwing an impromptu "train party" for the rest of the time they spent awake, Sunset sat in the exact same spot, worrying about what would happen if the threats became a reality. Sunset had killed enough people in his life. His soul could not take any more violence. Heck, he still didn't even know if he could live with himself. His friends were pretty much the only people keeping him from sinking into darkness. He was sorry – so sorry! – but even if he managed to ever wipe out so much red… would it be enough to keep him from doing it again?

Twilight was the one to break his thoughts as darkness began to set in. "Alright everypony," said Twilight decisively, "I'm off to bed."

One-by-one, the ponies went to bed. After a while, even Fluttershy, who had hardly left Sunset's side since boarding the train, went off to sleep. Sunset, however, just sat there, wondering about his future… and his past.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Hello! Just to let you guys know that this chapter has been updated, not that that really means anything important. Anyways, please leave me some feedback! I love reviews!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7 - The Attack

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Train Station_

_Time: A couple of weeks after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

Sunset's eyes snapped open. Immediately he looked around wildly, believing that his nightmares had seeped into reality, but everything was fine. He shook his head, had he really fallen asleep? As he reached into his mind, he remembered, faintly, falling asleep sometime around the time had stopped at midnight. The train had stopped? Joseph shook his head violently, trying to clear it. There was no way the train had stopped. Then the train stopped again. Alarmed, Sunset looked out the window, prepared for the worst, but everything was fine: they had arrived at Canterlot station. Condemning his wild thoughts to his nightmares, Sunset turned to wake up his friends, who all were still asleep. First he went to Fluttershy's room… empty. For a moment, Sunset stood looking into the empty room, dumbfounded. Shaking his head once again, he figured that she must have passed him by during the time he was asleep to perhaps go to the diner car. Sunset moved to Twilight's room. He poked his head in nervously, fervently hoping she was there… If she wasn't, well, that could be implications of some sinister plot. Fortunately, she was there, her head burrowed under her pillow.

Using magic to lift the pillow off her head, Sunset said, into her ear, "Wake up Twilight! We've made it!"

Groaning, Twilight rolled out of bed, almost on top of Spike who was still sleeping. Sitting up on her haunches, she looked blearily at Sunset.

"Why did the train stop? This is the second time! When will we get there?"

Sunset looked curiously, "We've made it. But… you think the train stopped before too?"

Twilight shook her head, "I thought so. But it could have just been my imagination."

Sunset then went to Rarity's room. There she was, sleeping soundly, with slices of cucumber neatly placed over her eyes. After a moment of amusement, Sunset turned to Twilight, "Eh… I think I'll let you wake her up."

The two proceeded to wake up Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie. Worryingly enough, Spike, Applejack and Rainbow Dash too said they thought the train had stopped at least once before. However, at this point, Sunset had brushed his suspicions aside and went in search of Fluttershy.

As he began to enter the diner car, he bumped into her.

"Oh, hello." She said, smiling, "I didn't see you there,"

On impulse, Sunset nodded and quickly asked, "Did you feel the train stop once already before we reached Canterlot station?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "No," she said, "I didn't. We made it, didn't we? I really must be going."

With that, Fluttershy passed by Sunset, and went off to her room. Sunset stood there blinking… was it just him, or had she been a little… brisk?

Shaking his head for the third time that morning, he went off to his unused room to pick up his things. Everything was going to turn out all right, he was just being paranoid thanks to his nightmares. The group exited the train station, and began to work their way towards Canterlot castle, where Celestia had kindly invited them to say.

Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie. "Hey Pinkie," said Twilight, "There's Joe Donut's shop over there. You want to say hello before we make it to the castle?"

Pinkie just shook her head. "No," she replied, "I think I will just go to the castle and explore."

Twilight looked a little surprised, but then let it drop. Sunset didn't even notice, he was too busy trying to figure out why Fluttershy had been ignoring him. Was it something he had said… in his sleep maybe? Had he forgotten something?

Despite his worries bouncing around his head, they continued to make good time to the castle. Once again, Sunset attracted quite a bit of attention. Reporters began to arrive, and groups of well-groomed and well-dressed ponies began to trail him. Unlike last time, however, Sunset handled it quite well.

"Well, well, well," said one pony Sunset recognized as Fancy-Pants. "If it isn't my friend Rarity! I would be delighted if you stopped by my abode later today. I have some clothes of the latest fashion that I wanted you to give advice on."

Rarity looked a little preoccupied as she briskly replied, "Thank you for your gracious offer, but I really have to get to my room in the castle and prepare for the big night."

Fancy-Pants nodded graciously and moved off to the side.

Twilight, however, didn't seem as willing to let the invitation go. "Rarity!" she exclaimed, "we have all day, and you said yourself yesterday that you were completely ready for tonight! You don't need to prepare anymore!"

Rarity just sniffed. "I think I do," she replied.

Even to this conversation, and the increasing crowds, Sunset took no notice. The reason for Fluttershy ignoring him was still bothering him immensely, and it sort of fazed all else out. This continued even after he had entered the castle, readied his room, and walked out to sit in the garden. During this time, he had tried to initiate a conversation with Fluttershy three times, and each time, she had blown him off with a well-placed excuse. At first, he was frustrated, but as the Grand Galloping Gala drew near and ponies arrived at the palace to great Celestia and Luna, the frustration turned to sorrow. "Those excuses… Too well placed," muttered Sunset, brooding, as he sat in the Canterlot gardens.

"What's too well placed? Oh, dear, it looks like good old Sunset has the blues, and at the eve of the Galloping Gala? Not good."

Sunset looked around for a moment to find the source of the voice. Nothing. After a pause, a small smile appeared on his face as he remembered a saying of an old friend during an air raid of a demon fortress… "No one ever looks up."

Quickly glancing up, he saw Discord hovering a few feet above his head.

"Well, Discord," said Sunset, "It is nice to see you once more."

Discord levitated slowly down and alighted next to Sunset. "The same, the same. Now, may I enquire of the reason why your face it so – well, how should I put it? – down?"

Sunset rolled his eyes, "Well, Fluttershy is ignoring me."

At first, Discord seemed a little confused, but as he looked at Sunset's depressed face, he grinned.

"Oooooh… Little Sunset has a fillyfriend! How quaint."

At first Sunset felt like attempting to foolishly deny the accusation, but he thought better of it.

"Maybe. But what of it?"

Discord winked, "All I have to really say it… good catch! No one could ever ask for a better friend that our dear old Shutterfly. Kindness was always the best element."

Sunset shook his head. "Doesn't seem like she's been showing much kindness lately."

Discord put on a mock face of total bemusement. "Well I'll be darned! The element of kindness not being kind! What a stumper! That's almost as if Fluttershy was not being Fluttershy! But that's not possible! OF course it isn't!"

At first Sunset was totally confused, but after a few exasperated sighs from Discord, Sunset realized what was happening in all its intensity. "The train did stop twice. Fluttershy was replaced by a changeling."

Discord threw up his hand, "And the light dawns! A 9.5 for the alicorn in the blue there! Well, what are you going to do about it?"

Sunset turned to look at Discord in alarm, "Just me? What about you?"

Discord laughed, "I'm a mischief weaver, not a fighter. That's more for brawny young'uns like yourself. Anything else we missed? Hmmm?"

Sunset nodded, still on the precipice of total fury and panic. "Um, yeah. Pinkie gave up a chance to meet a good friend and eat donuts… and Rarity gave up a fashion design opportunity. They are changelings too! This means… IT'S A TRAP!"

Discord wiggled a pinkie in his ear, before detaching the said ear and shaking it over the ground. "Careful with the royal voice, it really doesn't suit a pony like yourself. Uh oh, looks like your wonderfully obvious declaration came a tad too late."

Sunset turned, at the direction of Discord's pointing hoof, to see an explosion rip through the castle.

Sunset stood up, totally terrified. Could he afford to fight? What if the sigh of blood triggered his dormant other self? What if he went wrong and killed more innocents. Then he remembered Fluttershy was in trouble. He would fight… but he would not kill. That was the way of a true hero… one that Fluttershy and Canterlot dearly needed at that moment. He turned to briefly thank Discord only to find him gone. Sighing, Sunset tore off toward the castle. As he entered through the garden doors, a sight of total chaos met his eyes. Changelings were flying every which way, pulling down tapestries and upsetting tables. A few were even roughly grabbing ponies in an attempt to capture them. So, his friends had not been the only ones to be subject to kidnapping. At first he considered using lethal force, but after a massive struggle with himself for a fraction of a second, he opted against it. Instead, he fired a massive flurry of hard water bolts at the changelings visible. They struck true, and a hail of dazed and unconscious changelings tumbled to the floor. The still conscious changelings quickly regrouped and rushed Sunset. Not even breaking sweat, Sunset waited until he could clearly see their dark eyes. He then released a massive blast of light, totally blinding them for a moment, followed up with a blast of air, ramming them forcefully against the high-walled ceiling. Another group down. Strategically, Sunset had purposefully missed one changeling. After it quickly recovered from its momentary blindness, and finding itself all alone, it sped off to search for others who might aid itself in its fight against Sunset. Smiling quietly at the success of his strategy, he trotted quietly off in pursuit of the fleeing changeling, ignoring the awestruck stare of the ponies that he saved in thirty seconds flat. The next room too was chalk-full of changelings. In this room, however, he noticed Rainbow Dash and a few Wonderbolts were viciously engaging their advisories with little success. Spreading his wings, Sunset too took to the sky. Rainbow Dash spotted him and zipped over.

"Hey! A little help over here would be appreciated! You said you had lightning powers right? Right about now would be a good time to use it!" shouted Rainbow over the sounds of chaos.

Sunset nodded, but he toned the voltages of the bolts he was preparing down immensely, so that they would only manage to stun, not kill, his enemies. Then with a mental trigger, he rained down hell. Suddenly the room was full of bolts of electricity jumping from nowhere to strike the unsuspecting changelings. They were incredibly effective, with the changelings unable to react in time. Soon the room was full of smoking and dazed changelings. Once again, Sunset had left one changeling unscathed, who quickly fled the scene to find more compatriots. Ignoring, once again, the awestruck looks from the ponies (including a flabbergasted Rainbow Dash), Sunset hurried after his fleeing enemy.

The next hall he entered too was in chaos, with Spike, Applejack, and Twilight trying to control the havoc-wreaking changelings. Dodging a few charging changelings, Sunset calmly alighted next to a frantically-magic-firing Twilight.

"I have to say I'm impressed with your composure Sunset," said Twilight as she fired off a volley of magic bolts, "But we really could use your help! They have us outnumbered a hundred-to-one!"

Sunset nodded, and he too began to fire incredibly dense volleys of stun-magic. In a minute or two, these changelings too were lying in pile on the ground. As Applejack prepared to leap upon the last awake changeling, Sunset motioned her down.

"Let it escape," he whispered. Applejack immediately caught the gist of his idea and nodded.

Keeping one eye on the retreating changeling, Sunset said to Twilight, "Twilight, take Applejack and Spike and find Rainbow Dash. You guys need to clear any halls or smaller rooms that I missed. I will follow this guy."

Twilight quickly nodded and the two sped off in different directions. The changeling led Sunset up a spiral staircase and into an ornate hallway, no doubt the bedrooms of the princesses. This hallway, nevertheless, was a state of chaos, with a hole blown through the room, and Celestia and Luna fighting off a surge of incoming changelings. Hurling off bolts of pure energy, Sunset glided up next to Celestia.

"Sunset!" exclaimed princess Celestia when she noticed his arrival, "How are my little ponies down stairs?"

Sunset smiled, "its all clear I believe. Twilight, Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash are clearing up any rogue changelings that might be about. Is this under control?"

Luna shook her head and replied for her sister. "It is not," she said, "We could use your assistance."

Sunset nodded and his two front hoofs in front of his face, letting his complete control of kinetic energy well up in him. He then pointed them straight at the hordes of changelings and unleashed one massive tidal wave of energy. The force of which blasted out the changelings, stunning them all and sending them all tumbling off the tower.

The hallway was quite quiet for a whole minute as the development in the current situation sank in.

"Well," said Celestia, a little flustered, "That was easy."

"Indeed," said Luna.

Trembling, Sunset slowly alighted on the floor. "It isn't easy," he confessed, "the more power I use, the more I become infatuated with power. It was excessive attacks like this that turned me to evil in the first place. I- I've got to get myself under control."

As he took huge shaking breaths, a changeling suddenly darted out of nowhere and flashed through the hole in the roof. Luna immediately spread her wings for a pursuit, but Sunset shook his head and stood up. "Don't take it out," he said, "I need to follow it. If they are as stupid and cowardly as I think, it will lead me to their current fortress. I will be able to penetrate their defenses and save the ponies who have been captured… and Fluttershy."

Celestia looked at the shaking Sunset. "You cannot do that alone. We must prepare the cavalry."

Sunset shook his head vigorously, "No. We have no time. I am going now."

Flapping his wings, Sunset took to the sky and sped off after the fleeing changeling, leaving Celestia and Luna to look at their receding hero.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Sooo... if you are read this before the chapter 11 update then, well... never mind. The story will be extending far beyond 14 chapters. Have fun!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8 - Recovery

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Changeling Fortress_

_Time: A little over two weeks after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

It took less than half-an-hour for the changeling to arrive at his destination, and Sunset was exhausted when he realized he was there. The fortress was cleverly hidden, with the looks of a simple rise in the forest and mountains that bordered it to the untrained eye. But the changeling had led him to this exact place, and he knew exactly what to do. Charging explosive energy in his hooves, Sunset went into a dive, shrieking towards the fortress. Then, at the last moment, he veered off and unleashed his energy bolts at the bare fortress wall. The wall exploded with a road, and Sunset did a complete loop-the-loop to escape fiery debris before entering the smoking wall. The sight that met his eyes when the smoke cleared was terrible: a guard of heavily armored changelings, and the changeling queen, were awaiting him at the hole. As her horn crackled with dark magic, Queen Chrysalis laughed. "You foolish pony! You have no hope of defeating me!"

At first Sunset felt extremely compelled to do what he had always done: kill first, then ask questions later, but his time in Ponyville forced down the emotions. Then Sunset decided to do what he had never done before, plead.

"Changeling queen!" he exclaimed, "why are you doing this?"

"Why? Because I can little pony!" Queen Chrysalis laughed again. "Because I have the power to take over all of Equestria!"

"Then what?" said Sunset, slowly regaining his strength, "What king of kingdom will you have? Your subjects will either flee to other lands, or defy you? Without internal stability, what kind of civilization will you be able to call your own?"

Queen Chrysalis actually stopped laughing. This pony made sense, and it angered her. "I will have the borders closed off!" she exclaimed, "I will oppress every town, every village. There will be curfew! There will be public executions! Everyone will be forced to bow at the mention of my name!"

"But there will always be those who resist you!" persisted Sunset, "and when it all ends, when you die or are usurped, how will the history books remember you? As a tyrant? I think that you do not want that."

Chrysalis's horn shimmered even more as the dark magic dancing on it increased. "NO! NO! NO! KILL THE PONY!"

The guards charged Sunset. That is exactly what he wanted. As they rushed him, he released a massive wave of water, which swept them past him and through the hole in the fortress wall. Now it was just Queen Chrysalis… and Sunset.

She glared at him as she lowered her twisted horn. "You… you are not like the other ponies. Your reasoning is sound… and your powers astonishing. Why not join me? Our rule together will be much sweeter."

Sunset laughed. A dark, deep laugh. "You fool! I've killed more beings than you have ever dreamed of! I have brought down empires and demolished lands! I was the embodiment of evil! And now here I stand, in denial of it all! I've suffered tenfold for each drop of blood I've spilled! I've tortured myself of each blade of grass I've turned to ash. You think evil is the way? Well, go to hell!"

With that, Sunset unleashed a wave of energy bolts. Chrysalis, at the same time, unleashed a wave of dark magic, the two collided and resulted in a massive concussive explosion that rocketed the two in opposite directions. Chrysalis ended up smashing into a wall, and Sunset nearly tumbled out of the hole in the wall. Nevertheless, the two quickly recovered and began to unleash bolts of energy and dark magic back and forth, neither able to gain an advantage or take a step. As the battle see-sawed, Sunset was wildly looking for a way to come out on top. He could easily just go all-out, demolish Chrysalis, and half of the castle, but there were innocents within the building, and he would rather die than add another kill, even if it was Chrysalis, to the list of his crimes. Then an idea came to his head.

"So, tell me changeling queen, if you did somehow manage to take over Equestria, then what? What is the purpose of this whole thing anyway?!" he yelled as he dodged a hail of magic bolts.

"I must feed my people!" yelled the queen, "they hunger and thirst! I must provide!"

"There must be another way queen!" yelled back Sunset in return, "you cannot go on like this! There has to be another path!"

"Another path other than total dominance? You foolish pony, obviously you haven't tasted control! I had it once, for a moment I controlled Canterlot! I was stronger than even princess Celestia! I could feed my people and control! I must have it again!"

"You idiot! You do not know of me! I had it all once as well! With my powers, I could have it all! I killed at a moment's notice without repercussions, and had kings and queens kissing my hoofs! But I suffer… every… freaking… moment for it! Trust me, if you even have a smidgen of a conscious in there, you will suffer as I! And you will wish it all back."

"No! You are trying to confuse me! I will be loved by my people! I will be hailed as a hero!" Queen Chrysalis was noticeable agitated now, and that is just what Sunset wanted. The changeling queen began to aim less accurately and expend more energy with each bolt. Slowly she was become exhausted at a greater rate.

"Perhaps you will be loved by your people, but what of the others? What will the rest of the world think? I understand you have a responsibility, but you cannot carry it out in such a way! You have endured, and now, for the good of everypony, you must continue to endure! End it all! Dominance is not the answer!"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Queen Chrysalis. She fired one massive bolt of pure dark magic, which Sunset easily sidestepped, and collapsed to the ground. A well placed blast of energy then knocked her unconscious.

Sunset looked quietly around the decimated hall for a moment before searching the castle. It was empty, probably thanks to the full-scale invasion of Canterlot, and Sunset was able to soon find the dungeons unopposed. Quickly, Sunset began to jail door after jail door open, and large amounts of terrified, yet grateful, ponies rushed out. It took a while for all the jails to be searched and opened, but soon Sunset came to the last one. And there was Fluttershy, curled up in a corner. With a disheveled Rarity and an indifferent Pinkie Pie in another corner.

"Hey," whispered Sunset, "I'm here."

Fluttershy looked up. "Sunset!" she exclaimed, trying to get up. She stumbled and fell over, and Sunset noticed that he had sprained a hoof badly, and that she was bleeding.

"Oh darling, Fluttershy was hurt pretty badly during our capture," said Rarity breathlessly, "she needs help."

Pinkie Pie just gave a huge smile and a bounce or two.

Slowly Sunset opened the jail door and moved inside. He nodded to Rarity and Pinkie Pie, and they quickly exited to join the group of ponies outside. He settled down next to Fluttershy and pressed his cheek firmly against hers as he said, "I am here, don't worry. Every other pony is safe, and all that is left is to get you home."

Fluttershy sighed quietly as Sunset continued to snuggle in closer. Next thing Sunset knew, she was fast asleep from exhaustion and terror. Sunset got up and gently draped her unconscious form over his back. With that, he began to trot away, directing all the other free ponies as he went. Soon they had exited the castle and entered the forest just outside. Sunset then took to the sky and quickly recognized the land marks, he was, in fact, not too far from Canterlot.

"Keep your enemies closer," quoted Sunset with a grim smile as he flew down. In no time he had directed the ponies towards Canterlot, and began to herd them towards safety. It took over four hours to get them all into Canterlot, but it was finally finished, and Sunset had come out on top… as a hero. As Sunset entered through the gates with an unconscious Fluttershy still on his back, he was joined by Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash.

"How is she?" said Twilight with worry furrowing her brow as she looked towards Fluttershy.

"She'll be fine," replied Sunset with a sigh as he put her down and settled down next to her, "she just needs to be nursed back to health, something I fully intend to do."

"Oooooh! Does that make you a nurse? Or a doctor?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie with a few bounces.

Sunset shook his head. "No," he said, "just a very good friend."

He then put her back on his back with the help of Applejack and he trotted straight off to the Ponyville train station without a word. He was finished. He was taking Fluttershy back to his cottage, and he was going to help her get better at any cost. One-by-one, the rest of the Mane 6 left, deciding that it was better to give those two space and help with the fixing of Canterlot castle.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Star Wars<em>

_Planet: Tatooine_

_Specific Location: Mos Eisely Spaceport_

_Time: 35 BBY_

Abbadon looked at the gasping inter-dimensional merchant with interest. With a final, retching gasp, the man died.  
>"You did not die without your uses," said Abbadon in guttural tones, "your information is invaluable. Who would have thought that Joseph was a tyrant… who was hiding in the My Little Pony dimension? That's like apples and oranges really, but who can tell the difference when they both are burnt to a crisp?"<p>

Abbadon turned his back slowly on the dead merchant as he began to search in his mind for the correct portal. It would take him a while, for he had not been to that specific dimension in all of eternity, but he would find it. And when he did, not all the magic in friendship would protect Joseph from his wrath.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy's Cottage_

_Time: A little over two weeks after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

Sunset opened his eyes slowly as sunlight streamed through a window in Fluttershy's cottage. Immediately he shot up, preparing for the worst, but as the effects of his latest nightmare wore away, he remembered the event of a few days before. The changelings had invaded Canterlot by massive kidnappings and impersonations ploy that almost lost the princesses their castle. He and what remained of the Mane 6 at Canterlot defended the place successfully, and he himself went alone to rescue those captured by the changelings. He had been successful, but Fluttershy had been badly hurt during her kidnapping, and now he was attempting to nurse her back to health. He then returned to reality and attempted to get up only to find Fluttershy's head still lying gently on top of his back, a position she most probably had shifted to during the night. Sunset spent the few minutes trying to gingerly push her head back on to the pillows, with no success. Finally, he gave up and decided that he would just lay there for a while longer, his mind once again drifted over the recent event of the past. Over the next day after he left Canterlot with Fluttershy, he had spent not one waking (or sleeping) moment away from her side. She was okay, of course, but quite faint due to the trauma of horribly twisting a hoof and losing quite a bit of blood. So far, she had just lain there for the past day… sleeping, with Angel and a few mice tucked in next to her.

He was pulled out of his memories by a knock on the door downstairs. At first he thought of calling downstairs to alert them of his current situation, but he realized using the "royal voice" might disturb Fluttershy. He then attempted to struggle under Fluttershy again, but to no avail. Snorting in frustration, he just lay there, listening to the knocking occur and reoccur again and again downstairs. Eventually the door opened and Twilight called from downstairs, "Sunset? Fluttershy? Are you all okay?"

Soon she came upstairs to find Sunset in his predicament.

"Um… are you two okay?" she whispered.

"Depends. I'm stuck. But I'm fine, really… I just need to lay here until Fluttershy wakes up."

Twilight sat down next to Sunset's head and whispered, "How long has she been asleep?"

Sunset shrugged. "I don't know," he said, "about two days? I'm starting to get worried."

Twilight sighed, "The events a few days ago have been quite dramatic, being kidnapped and all."

"I know," Sunset replied, "I really, really hope she wakes up soon though."

Suddenly, Fluttershy let out a groan and looked at Twilight. "Twilight? Am I okay? Where am I?"

Angel then opened his eyes as well, but after a quick glance around, he burrowed his own head under a pillow.

Both Twilight and Sunset let out a huge breath of relief in unison. "You're just fine, Fluttershy," replied Twilight, "you are back at your house, safe and sound. However we do have a problem: you've trapped Sunset beneath you."

Fluttershy looked down at Sunset, who grinned sheepishly up back at her. Slowly she rolled off and plopped her head on a pillow. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry Sunset. I didn't see you there, you're so comfy."

Sunset sat up and rubbed the back of his neck. "So I've been told," he joked. He then got up and sat next to Twilight. "So, how are you doing?"

Fluttershy sighed, "Just fine. What happened?"

Twilight answered, "You were rescued by Sunset after being captured by changelings. He brought you back to Ponyville and nursed you back to health! I and everypony else just got back from repairing Canterlot. Everything is back to normal."

Fluttershy sighed again and closed her eyes for a moment as she let her memories return. She then rolled closer to the two sitting next to her, and kissed Sunset on the forehead before rolling back to her original position and going straight to sleep. Angel at this point got up with the mice and scurried downstairs to eat some salad and nuts Sunset had prepared for them and some of the other animals.

"I'll take that as a 'thank you.'" said Sunset as he stood up and quietly kissed the sleeping Fluttershy on the cheek. Twilight and Sunset then trotted downstairs.

"So, Twilight," said Sunset, "how goes everything in Canterlot?"

Twilight smiled, "All is well. Canterlot castle is repaired and the town is under control. The changelings have retreated, and we haven't seen hide nor hair of any of them. What did you do to their queen to keep any form of retaliation down?"

Sunset smiled as well. "I gave her a little peek into my past. That was enough for her to think twice about her ideas. I understand what she is trying to do, but she is doing it wrong, I think I helped her understand that as well."

After a short pause, Twilight said "I really appreciate what you've done for all of us, Sunset."

Sunset nodded, "A small price to pay. And it will not stop here. The prophecy implicates the eventual arrival of a demon… Abbadon no doubt. I will do all in my power to defeat him, and then I fully intend to live the rest of my life out here in peace. Away from dimensional travelers, their anarchy, and my past."

Twilight nodded. "What went through your mind as you were fighting? From what I understand, fighting really isn't one of your 'strong suits' when it comes to keeping a lid on your past."

Sunset grinned, "I was thinking of every possible way not to kill anyone. It was difficult, and every now and then I felt my old self returning, but I had it under control. Not a single changeling was killed, though a few will probably wake up with bruised or broken bones."

Twilight put a hoof on Sunset's shoulder and said, "You've done well, Sunset. You saved us all, and managed not to a single living creature… I am really proud."

There was another short pause, then Twilight stood up, saying, "I might as well leave you to take care of Fluttershy. I will be by with the rest of the gang in a little bit."

Sunset continued to sit in the same spot after Twilight left for a few more minutes thinking about what had happened recently before getting up and going to Fluttershy's bedroom. She was still there, asleep.

"This is what I truly needed… peace." Sighed Sunset as he let every bad memory, every terrible event… melt away.

A few hours later, through it seemed like seconds to Sunset, the rest of the Mane 6 arrived at Fluttershy's doorstep.

"Howdy partner!" exclaimed Applejack as Sunset let them in, "How's Fluttershy?"

Sunset smiled, "She's fine. Her breathing has steadied, and she is sleeping soundly."

"That's great! You know what we need? A PARTY!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie bouncing up and down. Quickly Rainbow Dash darted over and covered Pinkie's mouth.

"That's great!" she said, "Can we see her?"

Sunset snorted, "You don't need my permission. Go ahead!"

Quickly and quietly the Mane 6 trotted up to meet their downed member. After a few minutes of sitting around her, they came back to where Sunset was sitting.

"She's sleeping as sound as a baby!" declared Applejack, "you did good Sunset!"

Sunset nodded graciously. "Thanks Applejack. I don't know what I would do without her."

"Well, I suppose we should leave her sleeping. We were going to sugar cube corner after this, would you like to come with us?" interjected Rainbow Dash.

Sunset shook his head, "I should stay here… just in case she wakes up. I don't want her to be alone. That is the worst thing possible for anyone wounded… physically or mentally."

The Mane 6 looked at him curiously, but then left without a word. Sunset returned to Fluttershy's bedside and leaned his head against a bedpost and closed his eyes. And he slept… and for the first time, there were no nightmares.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Confrontation

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Crystal Mountains_

_Time: Over two weeks after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

Breathing deeply, the demon of hate slowly looked over the land below him.

"So much… good." He rumbled. "So much… peace. Delicious."

A sparkling in the distance then caught his eye, and he looked towards what looked like a castle… the Crystal Empire.

"Perhaps you are hiding there, Joseph. Even if you are not, a little chaos will do this place good. No dimension should go without knowing the fear of demons!"

With that, he rocketed towards the Crystal Empire at incredible speeds. Ten seconds to impact… then nine… then eight… then seven…

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy's Cottage_

_Time: 1002 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Fluttershy's eyes fluttered as she opened her eyes and looked towards Sunset, who was still sleeping. He wasn't whimpering, or crying out, or twisting back and forth.

Smiling, she leaned forward and lightly touched Sunset's cheek. Sunset slowly shifted and opened his eyes. He looked towards Fluttershy and smiled.

"Hello Sunset," said Fluttershy, "no nightmares?"

Sunset shook his head, "No nightmares. It was incredible. How are you now?"

Sunset then moved over and propped her up on her pillows; he then proceeded to settle in next to her.

"I'm fine, thank you. How are you?"

Sunset handed her a salad that he had prepared as he replied, "I'm fine. A little tired due to the ordeal a few days ago, but recovering."

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Sunset quickly trotted down to the door and opened it. Twilight trotted in with Spike, who was holding two cupcakes, on her back.

"Hey Sunset! Pinkie figured that you might want something sweet, so we brought you these!"

Sunset levitated the cupcakes and placed them on a nearby table. Angel then leaped down from where he was sitting on a chair and attempted to apprehend one of the hovering cupcakes. Swiftly Sunset levitated it above his reach.

"Not yet, Angel. Wait until Fluttershy is up, then we can split them."

Angel crossed his arms, disgruntled, but complied.

Spike then hopped down from Twilight's back and handed Sunset a card.

"Here ya' go Sunset! A get-well card for Fluttershy!"

Sunset reached to grab the card, but suddenly Spike dropped the card, doubled over, and belched out a parchment letter from queen Celestia. Twilight quickly picked it up and read it, her eyes getting wider and wider.

"The- the Crystal Empire is under attack!" she yelled.

Sunset immediately shot up from playing with one of the baby squirrels and turned to Twilight.

"The what?"

"The Crystal Empire! It's my sister-in-law's empire in the north! It's being devastated by some unknown attacker! All of it!"

"All of it?" Sunset replied slowly, his eyes widening in horror, "It's Abbadon, he's found us."

Twilight began to run to the door, with Spike barely hanging on to her back, "Let's go!"

Sunset nodded, but he quickly ran upstairs before he left.

"Futtershy! The Crystal Empire is under attack! It's Abbadon! I need to protect it! Bye!"

Fluttershy immediately tried to get up, but fell back down. "Oh my! Wait for me!"

Sunset slowed down a moment to press her back to her bed and fix the covers and pillows around her.

"No Fluttershy," he said gently, "You need to stay here and rest. Angel will take care of you during this time. And remember, if I do not return, know that I love you."

"Don't return…? What?"

Sunset quickly turned around and darted out the door. He quickly caught up to Twilight and said, "we have no time to run, take to the air!"

The two alicorns immediately spread their wings and launched towards the sky. Soon they were joined by Rainbow.

"Sooooo, Sunset... You say I can't race you, but here you are racing Twilight? No fair!"

Twilight shook her head vigorously, "The Crystal Empire it under attack! We need to protect it!" She then turned to Sunset and said, "Is Fluttershy alright to fly?"

Sunset nodded, "She can fly, but she is unsteady on her feet. My magic and powers have repaired most of the damage, but she has to take it slow."

Twilight then turned to Rainbow who was keeping pace with them, "Rainbow! Get everypony else! Assemble the harmony bearers! We may not have the elements of harmony themselves with us, but we have the powers within us!"

Rainbow saluted, "Ye ma'am!" She then rocketed in the opposite direction.

"We're not going to get there in time Twi!" yelled Spike in agitation as they continued flying.

Sunset nodded, "I agree, Twilight, grab my tail and hold on!"

Twilight snatched up Sunset's tail, and Spike seized Twilight's mane, then Sunset went supersonic. The world began to blur as Sunset increased his altitude and speed, in no time the Crystal Empire came into view… the sight wasn't pretty.

The whole place was aflame, and explosions periodically burst from different areas. Soon Sunset was close enough to recognize his nightmares-come-true: Abbadon, the demon of hate.

Taking a deep breath, and using his control of wind and air to amplify his voice, Sunset bellowed down to the demon.

"ABBADON! I AM HERE TO FACE YOU!"

Quickly Sunset stopped flying and hovered in place. He then turned to Twilight, "go back and find your friends. Then circle around, he's here for me, I will keep him focused on me while you all flank him."

Twilight and Spike nodded, and they sped off.

Abbadon had turned slowly at the sound of Sunset's voice, and now was rocketing to meet Sunset in the air. Soon they hovered a few feet away from each other.

"Ahhhhh… Joseph, my bane… so nice of you to come to me… fresh."

Sunset glared at the demon and said, "I am no longer Joseph, I am Sunset Shadow!"

Abbadon threw back his ugly head and laughed. "Oh Joseph! You think changing your name will make anything different?! I know who you are, I know what you did… you will NEVER be able to make up for what you've done."

Sunset was completely ready for a battle of wits and replied, "I WILL be able to! If I let love, kindness, generosity, honesty, loyalty, laughter, and a little magic back in my heart, I will be accepted by them all when the time comes to an end."

Abbadon simply snorted, "Shall we test that? We all know that 'your time' is coming to an end right now."

With that, Abbadon released a massive blast of demonic energy. Sunset ducked and fired off a thin stream of fire in mid-dodge. The action surprised the demon and took the hit. It singed his armor, but there was no visible damage. Abbadon simply brushed off the soot and began to fire wave after wave of deadly bolts of demonic energy. As she worked, he taunted the beleaguered Sunset.

"You fool! You think this is all black and white? You cannot just use the 'friendship is magic' thing to wipe away the blood you have on your hands, oh sorry, your hoofs! You will always be branded as a murderer! Already, in other universes, tales are being spun about your tyranny, and weapon scientists are being funded to create anti-dimensional-traveler weapons just for you! You've made a legacy, Joseph, and it's a bad one. You will NEVER be able to get rid of it."

Sunset continued to dodge the bolts accurately, while returning fire. However, Abbadon had gotten the gist of the battle and now was dodging effectively as well. "I WILL be able to get rid of it!" yelled Sunset, "I will seek out those I hurt and make it right! I will make it ALL right!"

With that, the two rocketed towards each other, each conjuring long swords out of thin air while they moved. The two collided with a massive roar, and a shockwave exploded around them, rippling through the air and uprooting trees and buildings. Ignoring what was going around them, the two fought violently in the air, swiping, thrusting, and parrying. Each swing and block was met with an explosion of force and another devastating shockwave. As the continued to fight, they yelled at each other.

"I will kill you little Joseph," laughed Abbadon, "and then I will devour your heart. Then I will seek out your friends and devour their hearts as well! Then I will destroy this entire dimension as an example to those who dare oppose me!"

Sunset simply ground his teeth and replied, "You're trying to anger me. It may or may not be working Abbadon. I am too much of a seasoned fighter for that."

Abbadon grinned as another parry and another shockwave reverberated through the sky, "It's working, I can tell. But not in the way you think it is. Shall I point out the obvious? Of course I shall. You're a murderer, consumed by blood lust. Can't you feel the anger welling up? Can't you feel the need to fight… the need to kill increase?"

Sunset immediately realized what Abbadon was saying, and began to waver. Abbadon saw what was happening and pressed his attack, pushing Sunset back inch by inch.

Sunset was about to give in and tell Abbadon that he would not fight him anymore when a voice yelled out, "Sunset! It's Twilight! Remember what you fight for! Remember Fluttershy!"

It was Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6, accompanied by Cadence, Celestia, and Luna. They rocketed towards Abbadon, who turned around to meet them. As he turned to fire a wave of demonic energy, Sunset redoubled his efforts and leapt upon Abbadon's back, driving his sword deep into Abbadon's shoulder. Abbadon did nothing but laugh as he fired the wave of energy and throw Sunset away from him as if he was a rag doll. The Mane 6 and their friends scattered and avoided the blast, but their charge had been halted. Abbadon them pointedly turned his back on them and grabbed the dazed Sunset by the neck. Hoisting him high above him, he looked into his eyes and smiled.

"I win, little Joseph. Now… you… die!"

Suddenly Abbadon let out a roar as a massive blast of colorful energy exploded against his back. The energy of harmony, emanating from the Mane 6 and their friends, was streaming in and blasting against his back. Slowly, Abbadon turned around and opened a portal to prepare his escape with Sunset. But before he left, he aimed a deadly beam of powerful demonic energy and aimed it directly at the Mane 6. They were too close, he couldn't miss.

"No!" yelled Sunset. He broke free and grabbed Abbadon, he plowed into him and carried him through the portal. It closed with a pop… The Crystal Empire, and the whole of the My Little Pony dimension was safe.

Cadence was the first to speak, "What… just happened?"

Fluttershy then broke down crying.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Fallen

_Dimension: Star Trek_

_Planet: Alpha Onias III_

_Specific Location: Desolate Mountains of the Southern Wastelands_

_Time: 2122 Common Era_

Sunset and Abbadon crashed onto the desolate planet. Immediately Abbadon recovered and grabbed Sunset, hurling him away from himself. He then stood up and fired a bolt of demonic energy, it missed, but enough energy brushed by Sunset to render his right front hoof numb and useless from the blow. Slowly Sunset staggered to all fours. He then shook his head and released a massive blast of kinetic energy that caused the ground to crack and crumble. The wave struck Abbadon and sent him flying high into the air. Abbadon recovered and levitated himself in midair to avoid collision with the ground. As he did so, he fired a long stream of dark matter from his right palm. Sunset began to duck and dodge the stream as it disintegrated everything it touched. After a minute, Abbadon cut off the stream and snapped a finger. The sound reverberated, and suddenly a 10.3 magnitude earthquake encompassed the whole planet. Crumbling mountains and yawning chasms threatened to overwhelm Sunset, but he leapt with all his might above the exploding stones and spread his wings. He seized Abbadon, who was too surprised to quickly react, and hurled him with incredible strength towards the ground. The resulting explosion created a crater two kilometers in diameter.

Abbadon, however, simply shook it off and leapt out of the giant hole. Looking at Sunset hovering in the sky, he yelled, unleashing a sonic blast. This blast knocked Sunset straight out of the sky. As he fell, Abbadon charged up a massive blast of electricity and fired. Sunset twisted his body at the last millisecond, dodging the searing bolt. The bolt stuck the last standing mountain on the planet's surface and blew it to smithereens. Sunset alighted on the ground and slammed his front hoofs on the ground. Claws the size of Boeing 747s rose out of the ground to crush Abbadon. However, the demon simply ducked under them and melted them into slag with a blast of fire hotter than the center of the sun. With that, Abbadon levitated the large mass of magma over his head and hurled it in a tidal wave of molten rock. Sunset swiped a hoof through the air, and the magma froze rock solid. Swiping his other hoof through the air, Sunset commanded the small sea of ice to break up into giant shards and fly straight at his enemy. The demon reduced the density of his body for a moment and allowed the giant boulders to pass through his form and smash harmlessly against the rocks behind him. He then solidified again. Suddenly, though, a well-timed beam of light energy from Sunset blinded him as he rematerialized and he staggered straight into a blast of kinetic energy. The blast was so strong, in fact, that it knocked him straight into orbit.

Sunset took a long, deep breath. He looked up at the sky and expected to see Abbadon flying straight back at him, which he did. Unfortunately, that wasn't all that was flying at him. Using his power over geo-magnetic energy, Abbadon was levitating a small moon straight at the planet. An entire moon. Sunset groaned, but simply threw up a powerful energy shield just as the massive rock, a couple hundred kilometers in radius, smashed into the globe, knocking a third of the whole planet into space. The shield flickered and collapsed from the blow, but Sunset was safe. He quickly teleported out from under the colossal pile of rubble to face Abbadon. He reared back a hoof and prepared to hurl a bolt of gravimetric energy denser than a white dwarf star… this blast would certainly cause anything in a two hundred kilometer radius to be compressed into a piece of matter the size of a marble. He was about to hurl the bolt when his senses picked up something. Going on a hunch, he quickly checked the travelers database. What he saw stopped his heart for a moment: this planet was inhabited… And the battle had just demolished it. If he continued to aggravate Abbadon, the battle would intensify to unprecedented levels, and the planet, and probably the whole solar system, would be destroyed. Countless innocent lives would be lost, and whole ecosystems would be extinguished. He wouldn't, he couldn't, keep fighting. Sunset put down his hoof.

He glared defiantly at Abbadon and ground out, "I will not fight you Abbadon!"

Abbadon reached Sunset in a single stride and struck him across the face.

"You won't fight me? That really makes my life easier. Oh wait… Are you trying to evoke the chains of truth back onto me? You fool! Those chains only go to those who are pure of heart, something you're no longer capable of. Don't you understand? You have no shape-shifting abilities, no dimensional traveling abilities, and no chains of truth abilities. You are weak and helpless… now beg for mercy, and I will end it all swiftly."

Suddenly, Abbadon reeled as if from a blow from behind. Just behind the demon was a figure… that figure was Discord.

"I say, that's not at all nice little demon!" Laughed Discord.

Abbadon turned to look at Discord, "Discordious? Hilarious. I thought you gave up the right to be called a hero of the multiverse long ago!"

Discord floated into the air as he replied, "And I have, but that doesn't mean I cannot do something for another. And just look at that! I can still travel between dimensions! Who would have thought? Anyway… Sunset! You must come to terms with yourself! Only then will you be able to save yourself! I am no fighter… but I can cause a good distraction!"

Suddenly a massive army of Abbadon copies appeared from nowhere… and jumped on the true demon of hate.

"What? N-No! How is this...? Ack!" Exclaimed Abbadon as he was buried.

Sunset slowly sat up, groaning. Come to terms with himself? How was that possible? Abbadon was right, he was still a killer, and he was hated everywhere. If everyone hated him, how could that mean he was good? Sunset buried his face in his front hoofs. He was hopeless. Hundreds of lives… lost… he had killed them. How could he live that over? How? By letting love back in? Impossible, that wasn't enough... was it?

A single tear formed in his left eye as he contemplated his fate. He was going to die… and when he died, Abbadon would be done. He would leave them alone. Perhaps this was his destiny… to let it all go.

Then the awful realization came to him: Abbadon had been lying. He wasn't going to stop, he was a demon! He would continue to kill and fight and destroy, and his first target would be the last reminisce of the Joseph he hated… the My Little Pony dimension. He would burn Canterlot, Manehattan, Ponyville… He would kill all his friends. He would kill Fluttershy. At the thought of Fluttershy, another realization came to him… She loved him… and he loved her back. The entire dimension viewed him as a hero. Granted, that did not wipe out the past, but it gave him a shot at making it all better. He had friends, and he knew he was capable of repentance, and love.

At that moment, Abbadon broke free of his clones and attempted to grab Discord. Discord floated away laughing. "So close, Abbadon! Try again!"

Abbadon hurled a wave of bolts of demonic energy at Discord. He dodged them and snapped his fingers. Tentacles of earth exploded from the ground and encased Abbadon in a writhing mass. There was a moment of silence, then the tentacles exploded with a rending blast, sending shards of stone in every direction. Abbadon conjured up an arsenal of demonic lances and hurled them in a vast wave at Discord. Discord simply flashed out of existence and then flashed back in as the projectiles passed harmlessly by. He snapped his fingers again and zombies and endermen akin to the ones in the Minecraft dimension rose up out of the ground and surrounded and seized Abbadon. The demons snarled and began to blast away legions of the creatures with massive bolts of demonic energy. The moment he finished off the last one, he whirled with incredible speed and hurled a demonic sword straight at Discord.

Discord, who had originally been sitting in a hovering easy chair and drinking a soda, got up and dodged the sword. He then hurled a blast of colorful spellbinder energy. The bolt stuck the demon, and he fell to his knees as his senses became extremely disoriented. Discord was about to remark on how fun this was when Abbadon hurled a bolt of electricity at random. It was pure luck, but the bolt struck Discord in the chest, shocking him enough to cause him to stop the spellbinder bolts coming and fall to the ground, dazed, but mostly unhurt. Dizzily, he tried to get up, but Abbadon seized up him by the throat.

"I'll deal with you later," he ground out as he opened a portal back to the My Little Pony dimension and hurled Discord through. He then turned to Sunset, grinning.

"They'll all pay for that, perhaps submerging the planet with lava would be a good idea… don't you think?"

Sunset unsteadily stood up and said, "It's over Abbadon, you cannot win."

Abbadon laughed, "I most certainly can win! I am a demon! A fallen Angel of the Heavens! I have all the power in the multiverse, and I… cannot… die!" With that, he extended one gnarly claw and pointed it at Sunset and charged it with demonic energy.

Sunset continued, "You will not win. You may be powerful, but you will be always just like the old me: hated. You will be feared, and you will be fought. You will never know peace, respect, or awe… you will only know war. And for all eternity, you will be alone… without love… and that is the truth!"

Then something happened: a massive blast of gold energy exploded from Sunset at the same time Abbadon fired the blast. The gold energy immediately enveloped Abbadon and carried him off his feet.

"What? The chains? B-but that means you are pure of heart! But that's not possible! THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE!"

With that, a portal back to the deepest ring of the infernal realm opened and Abbadon was borne, screaming, off to his prison.

Sunset smiled a calm smile… he did it. And he was back to being a true hero. Then he felt cold… the blast from Abbadon… it had hit its mark. Sunset slowly looked down to see a hole in his side, oozing blood. Slowly Sunset fell to his knees, and then to the floor. As he faded into oblivion, he smiled calmly. He did it, Abbadon was once again trapped, and Sunset's soul would always remain pure beyond the grave. His friends… no, his family… was safe… always safe. Then Sunset, the hero, died.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: UNKNOWN<em>

_Planet: ERROR_

_Specific Location: I AM NOT GOING TO TELL YOU_

_Time: TAKE A GUESS_

Sunset opened his eyes groggily, the sight that met his eyes were astonishing: he was in a grassy meadow covered in flowers. Suddenly he was aware of a presence and he tried to sit up, only to find he was still in his pony form. He quickly scrambled onto all fours and turned to face the entity behind him. It was the Paradox, wreathed in golden light.

"Paradox? Am I… Am I dead?"

There was a long pause…

"No."

Sunset looked around, "Impossible… Where am I?"

"You are back at the same spot you arrived when you first began to understand the meaning of love."

Sunset looked at the Paradox, "What now?"

"You return to your friends."

Sunset looked closely at the Paradox for a moment, and then said, "But what about the other universes? What will they think?"

Paradox shook its head and said, "It matters not what they think. However, I have returned you to your full power, which I took away at the beginning. You may go on a journey of redemption if you wish… but I sense you have one special pony waiting for you."

Sunset nodded slowly, "I do. But I must make right with the multiverse what I did wrong."

Paradox chuckled, "That can wait. Go…"

Sunset began to walk away, but then turned to the Paradox and said, "What of the multiverse though? And the era of Anarchy?"

The Paradox slowly began to levitate and dissolve into the morning light. As it did so, it said, "It is not of your concern, little one. But it soon will be. A force darker than the demons of the infernal realm is at work here, and it soon will show itself. Perhaps you do not yet need to make rights with the multiverse, for that time will come in faster than you will want, and the time for you to once again be a hero will arise."

With that, the Paradox disappeared. Sunset then looked at his side… completely healed. He then looked around as his memories flooded back. He quickly walked over to his house and looked at it… empty. He then began to trot off to Ponyville to see what might be there. As he got closer, he became aware of a large group of ponies gathered in the town square. As he got even closer, his sharp ears picked up the voice of Mayor Mare speaking.

"We gather here today," She said somberly, "to mourn the loss of our hero: Sunset."

Sunset raised an eyebrow… They assumed him dead? Almost ironic, and a whole lot embarrassing.

Slowly, he made his way through the crowd, listening to his eulogy all the way.

"Very few of us knew him well, but those who did, said he was the greatest alicorn of this time. Kind, Honest, Generous, Funny, Loyal, and Loving. We will miss him dearly."

As he got closer, he noticed the Mane 6 in the row; all in tears… even Rainbow Dash.

Feeling worse and worse, Sunset slowly made his way to the front, and sat next to Pinkie Pie, who, probably for the first time in her life, was quite sad.

"So Pinkie," Sunset said, "I was that awesome?"

Pinkie looked over and nodded sadly, "Oh, you were. I really wish you were still with us, sitting next to me and talking with me like you are right now."

Sunset nodded, "I wish that too. It's almost as if this is not unreal."

Pinkie paused to think about what Sunset had said, and then nodded, "I wish that this was not not real as well."

Sunset then realized that Pinkie was totally not getting it and looked closely at her. "Um Pinkie… Do I look dead to you?"

Pinkie looked closely back, "Yep."

Then Fluttershy noticed Sunset.

At first, she stared blankly at him… and then she yelled, probably louder than she ever had, "HE'S HERE HE ISN'T DEAD!"

She zoomed over and leapt upon burying him under a hail of kisses and hugs. The entire assembly fell apart. Rarity and Mayor Mare feinted, Rainbow zoomed off and preformed a rainboom in the excitement, Pinkie began yelling about a party, Applejack attempted to wake up Rarity, and Twilight ran over to hug Sunset too.

Suddenly, Sunset knew exactly what he had to do. Pulling up Fluttershy to the stage, he walked over to the microphone and said to Fluttershy, "Fluttershy, I've had a long time to think about this, and I want to ask you a question: will you marry me?"

With that, Sunset raised a hoof and conjured pure gold bracelets out of thin air with a dazzling show of bursts of light and color. He extended one to her. The assembly went deathly quiet, awaiting Fluttershy's response.

Fluttershy blushed profusely, and looked down at her hoofs. After a moment, she peeked lovingly at Sunset through her flowing pink mane. "Yes," she whispered, "I will marry you."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Wait everypony! Don't go away yet! This story is far from over! I have already begun on the second part of this story, so just wait until the next installment! Oh, another note: this chapter has been updated. Is the battle awesome or what?<strong>


	11. Chapter 11 - Failure

_Dimension: Warhammer 40k_

_Planet: Krieg_

_Specific Location: The Red Expanse_

_Time: The 17th Millennium_

Lord Abimael "James" Sethson telepathically contacted his team as they stood outside an old demon fortress.

"Okay team, the traveler database said this place has been deserted for two thousand years, but my sources say otherwise. There should be a dimensional-nuke factory in there somewhere, and we are going to find it, disable it, and kill whoever had the idea and burn their plans."

"What if they are fellow travelers, James?" a voice answered back. James recognized it as the voice of Roger, his team's brains.

"This era of anarchy might be tough, but that means we must be examples, guys. If we find them, apprehend them. There will be no traveler code-breaking today."

"Roger that boss-man," answered another voice, Brandon. The team's muscle.

James nodded, his team was backing him. "Alice, I am going in, keep your sniper rifle trim, because we will flush out as many as we can. Brandon, follow me up. Martin, escort Roger to the control room safely. Roger, get control of their security and shut it down. Miranda, get our extraction ready. Here we go."

Immediately James moved in, with Brandon right behind them. First hallway: clear. Second hallway: clear. Third hallway: clear.

"Um, boss-man? I think your accurate sources were less accurate than the traveler's database this time." Said Brandon.

James nodded slowly as he pulled out his anti-demon magnum. He pointed it nonchalantly at an emancipated curtain to his left and pulled the trigger. The blast struck the mark, but instead of the curtain crumbling to nothing, a demon uncloaked, with a hole in its middle, and collapsed to the floor.

Brandon stared at the carcass for a few seconds. "Oh… well… yeah."

James smiled as he contacted the rest of his team. "Alice, they know we're here. Martin, pick up the pace and stay near windows so Alice can cover for you as long as she can."

A flurry of "roger" and "got that" answers came back at him and James nodded decisively: they were ready.

James and Brandon continued to move in deeper. Suddenly, James stopped in front of an average-looking door. Peering closely at it, James turned to Brandon and said, "There are at least twenty demons behind this one. Brandon, take the front while I sneak around. Don't get killed or I'll kill you."

Brandon grinned and lumbered to the door. With a single punch, the door exploded… and twenty demons lurched towards Brandon. This would have been regularly terrifying if not for one fact: Brandon was armed with a Quad-Gatling-Gun, the highest power handheld weapon in the multiverse. In seconds twenty demons had become ten, and the survivors attempted to scurry to cover only to find James waiting them. Then ten became zero. Brandon slowly moved in and the prepared to move into the next room. Looking it up and down, James turned to Brandon and said, "There are about forty behind this one, prepare a singularity grenade."

Brandon grabbed one from his belt and hoisted it in the air, James kicked down the door and ducked as Brandon hurled the grenade into the room. It went off and a small black hole formed for ten whole seconds, emptying the entire room of any contents… except demons. James looked in… no demons? He had been wrong? How was that possible?

Still staring suspiciously into the room, he signaled to Brandon and said, "That's weird. Brandon, on my six. Let's move… Brandon?"

He turned to see Brandon staring straight ahead blankly, with a demon spear through his heart. James turned to see at least fifty demons charging him from behind. Behind? How did they circle around? How was that possible? Brandon, dead?

With a yell, James charged the fifty demons, immediately engaging them and getting the upper hand. However, as he fought, he heard a myriad of voices in his head… his team, contacting him telepathically.

"James! This is Martin! We're under attack! Alice isn't supporting us! Where is she-"

"James! This is Miranda! I found Alice dead! What's going on-"

"James! This is Roger! Martin is down! They're everywhere… OH MY GOD-"

His team was dead. It was over. James went nova... something he had not done for over two hundred years. Immediately the entire room, and half the planet, was demolished. Surveying the damage, James then realized that there had never been a weapon factory here… he had been tricked… and his teammates were all dead because of it.

Exhausted and flabbergasted, James sank to his knees. He had lost. For the first time ever, he had lost.

He shook his head as if trying to clear it… but his head had filled with a red mist and a loud buzzing noise reverberated in his head as his stomach flipped back and forth. He… had… lost. As this phrase bounced around his head, he began to think about how terrifying it was… considering who he was.

James wasn't your typical dimensional-traveler. In fact, James wasn't your typical SPECIAL dimensional-traveler. James was the firstborn… he was the beginning. James was the most powerful and most respected of the travelers, and he was the first being ever to be made a dimensional traveler by the Paradox. He never lost, and he never failed… until now.

James stared at the ashes of the burning fortress as he went over these very facts in his head. Had he lost his touch? Undeniably now. He was eight thousand years old, though he still resembled a twenty year old, and perhaps an argument could be made that he still acted like a teenager… but James knew one thing… he had lost it, his skills were diminishing almost as fast as his hope.

He, like Joseph Torrus, had been betrayed more in the past ten years than in the entire eight thousand years of his life, but unlike Joseph, he had remained strong. He was the firstborn, the example, and he intended to carry out justice until his dying breath. And then the most awful realization of all hit him… Brandon, Alice, Martin, Roger, and Miranda… they had been the last know travelers to still uphold the code… and they were dead. James was all alone. The travelers were gone. There were no more inter-dimensional superheroes, no more white knights of the multiverse now… there were only rogues and traitors. Abimael "James" Sethson staggered to his feet. He had just gone nova, and he could feel the drain of energy eating away at the edges of his vision, if he didn't find a place to rest, he would pass out, and the collapsing planet would consume him. Quickly he searched through the myriad of locations of dimensions stored away in his mind, and he soon realized all his hideouts had been destroyed by the traitors and all his favorite dimensions were overrun by inter-dimensional mercenaries. Then, in the back of his mind, he recalled a single dimension that was so remote, that it might be free of all the terror that the era of anarchy had wrought… the My Little Pony dimension. Staggering slightly, James opened a portal directly into the dimension's home planet and he walked, shaking, through.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset's and Fluttershy's House_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Sunset awoke feeling immensely braced. He had been here for two years and counting now, and all was well. He had a beautiful and loving wife: Fluttershy, and everyone on the planet respected and loved him. In fact, many hailed him as the next Starswirl the Bearded, and the next revolution of the era. Sunset had brought many innovations to light in the past couple of years, including electricity (and yes, video games), clean energy, and the internet. The planet was at complete peace with each other, and relations with other countries were healthy and friendly. And best of all, they had a large, wonderful new house… and even better than that… a baby pony was on its way.

Sunset trotted downstairs, while trying to pull off Angel who was insistent on gripping his left ear, and was met by Fluttershy. They quickly kissed and Sunset said, "Good morning! How's the baby?"

Fluttershy sat on her haunches and patted her slightly bloated stomach, "She's all right I think," said Fluttershy, "she's even started kicking. My, I cannot tell you how surprised I was when she started. Listen."

Sunset slowly walked up and put an ear to Fluttershy's stomach. Faintly, he heard a "thump... thump..." To Sunset, it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

Sunset grinned, "You up for a walk to town? I think we should celebrate with some cupcakes!"

Fluttershy stood up and nodded readily, "Oh yes, I would love that. But let's have breakfast first. Riiight, Angel?"

With that, Angel hopped off Sunset's head and dove into a large bowl of lettuce.

Side-by-side, the two ate quietly, simply enjoying each other's company. After they finished, the got up and left quickly without saying a word. In a few minutes, they made it into town. As Sunset walked, he was joined by Rainbow.

"Nice morning, Rainbow!" exclaimed Sunset, "You've really outdone yourself this time!"

Rainbow winked, "Nah, that's impossible, even for myself! Hey Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy smiled up at her, "Hey Rainbow Dash! How are you?"

Rainbow floated on her back as she kept pace with Sunset, "Same-old, same-old. Kinda bored actually. Oh! Sunset! Let's race!"

Sunset rolled his eyes, in the entirety of the two years, the two had only raced twice. Both time ended in several successive rainbooms, and both time they had ended up in a tie. "No Rainbow," said Sunset, "unless you want to help rebuilding the entire town again, I think not."

Rainbow pouted a bit, but soon recovered. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. See you all later." With that, she rocketed into the sky.

Fluttershy and Sunset continued to Sugar Cube Corner. As they entered, Pinkie Pie dashed out to meet them!

"Well! If it isn't may favorite ponies of all time?! Here' s some cupcakes I reserved for my friend friend friend friends!" With that, she shoved a whole box of delicious cupcakes into Sunset's hoofs. As soon as she did that, Pinkie said, "I actually got to skedaddle right now! I have some stuff I need to do! A lot of bouncing to be done!"

With that, Pinkie skipped off, humming a little tune. Sunset looked at the huge box of cupcakes. "Well… I don't think it would be a good idea to eat these all."

Fluttershy nodded, "Oh no, not at all. Let's take some to Twilight!"

Sunset nodded and they quickly trotted off to Twilight's library. The knocked on the door, and Spike answered it.

"Well hey Sunset and Fluttershy! How are you guys doing?"

Sunset nodded graciously, "We are just dandy Spike! How are you?"

Spike bowed, "I am fine, sir. Would you like to speak to Twilight?"

Sunset nodded, and tossed Spike a cupcake. Spike left, munching it, and soon Twilight appeared.

"Hello everypony!" Twilight exclaimed, going up to hug Fluttershy and Sunset, "How are you?"

"We're just fine, thank you," said Fluttershy, "how about you?"

Twilight gave her a huge smile, "I'm fine, thanks! How's the baby?"

Fluttershy returned the smile, "She's fine. Thank you for asking. Oh, would you like some cupcakes? Pinkie Pie gave us a whole box of them."

Twilight nodded her head, "Yes please!" Fluttershy handed off a couple more to Twilight, and they parted ways.

"I guess we should go home to eat these," said Sunset as they walked away.

"Oh, we should go to our special spot. Just for a little bit at least," replied Fluttershy.

Sunset nodded, "Okay, good idea!"

As they passed town square, Sunset noticed a large gathering of ponies. Curious, Fluttershy and Sunset trotted over… Sunset then noticed that a pony was lying in the middle, quite still.

"Out of the way please!" exclaimed Sunset, "somepony call an ambulance!"


	12. Chapter 12 - Flaming Star

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Town Square_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Sunset ran up to inspect the pony, and he was totally flabbergasted when he saw it.

It was an alicorn… an alicorn stallion to be exact. The pony was a bright yellow, with a dark brown mane. On his flank was a deep blue circlet, with an elaborate, deep blue sword sticking through the ring horizontally. Slowly the alicorn opened his eyes to look at the ponies surrounding him… his eyes were also a deep blue. Slowly still, the pony got to his feet. At first, he tried to stand like a bipedal, but he soon resigned to standing on all fours.

"What the hell am I?" He exclaimed, "Oh my god, don't tell me that this universe… oh yeah. My Little Pony… I get it. Hilarious. Look, I come in peace, I am here to rest."

The ponies murmured amongst themselves and backed off in fear. The only two to approach the strange pony were Sunset and Fluttershy, who kept well behind.

Sunset walked up, squinting his eyes. Then the alicorn took notice, "what are you looking at?" he said.

"Oh my god," breathed Sunset, "the firstborn… JAMES!"

The alicorn immediately recognized Sunset's voice and threw up a hoof. It crackled with electricity as he pointed it at Sunset's face.

"Well, well, well… If it isn't Joseph Torrus! The madman of the multiverse!" said James through gritted teeth, "who would have thought you were here. What are you up to? Corrupting the souls of the inhabitances? Forcing them to build a sky-scraping monument in your name?"

Sunset scrambled away quickly, exclaiming, "No James! No! I am reformed! Paradox said so! In fact, I was able to conjure the chains of truth once more and bind Abbadon!"

"S-S-Sunset? What's going on?" whimpered Fluttershy, still cowering.

James turned his blazing eyes on the yellow Pegasus. "And who is this? Your personal slave? How quaint."

This time, Sunset got mad. "That is my wife you freaking idiot! Back off."

James's mouth dropped open as he realized that Sunset was telling the truth… and that Fluttershy was pregnant.

"My god… Well… That's… Well…"

Sunset, still glaring intensely, then said, "What brings you here, firstborn?"

Suddenly a wearied and pained expression filled James's face. He sat down on his haunches and looked Sunset in the eyes.

"Torrus, the good travelers are all dead. I had gathered the few white knights of the multiverse who were still alive and made a team. We took out large amounts of mercenary fortresses, black markets, and demon hives… but on our last mission, we were tricked… and they were all killed."

Sunset sat down slowly too, his eyes filling with horror. "Does that mean…?" whispered Sunset slowly.

"Yes," said James, "if you are truly good, then we are the last living heroes of the dimensions. Everyone else have either turned or been killed."

James slowly lay down and buried his face in the dirt. "I- I cannot take it anymore. I failed. I've never failed."

Sunset placed a hoof on James's drooping shoulders, "I've known failure, and I understand, but you must pull yourself together!"

James shook the hoof off violently and exclaimed, "You don't understand do you? I've NEVER failed. Hell, I've lived eight thousand years and I haven't lost a battle, or lost hope for our kind. I've failed!"

"Failed what? A test? That's terrible!"

Fluttershy and Sunset turned to see Twilight walking up to them; the group of ponies had dispersed to go about their own business, and it was just them alone in the town square. She then noticed James. Her mouth nearly dropped to the floor.

"Wha…? Huh…? Not possible… OH MY GOSH!" she ran up to James and said, "How are you? Who are you? Where are you from? Do you know Sunset?! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"

James scrambled up and placed a hoof firmly over her mouth. "Stop please."

After a moment, Twilight calmed down and James removed his hoof. Clearing his throat, he said, "I am Lord Abimael 'James' Sethson. Dimensional Orientation: MAO-9. Generation: 1st. Power tier: 1. The 'firstborn' dimensional traveler."

Twilight bowed her head, "I am princess Twilight Sparkle."

James, still grim, curtly bowed back.

Sunset and Fluttershy, who were looking on, gave each other side-long glances and rolled their eyes.

James looked towards Sunset, "Torrus, how long have you been here?"

Sunset grinned, "I've been here a little over two years now. I'm married, and will soon a family… unless you already count our rabbit Angel and our animal friends."

James raised his eyebrows cynically, but didn't say anything at first. After a moment, he sighed, "Well, you wouldn't mind sharing the same dimension as me, would you?"

Sunset winked, "Of course I wouldn't, it would be an honor to be near the firstborn."

James snorted, "I would have graciously accepted that honor a few years ago… but no longer. Torrus, what the hell are we going to do?"

Sunset sat down next to James. "Wait," he said, "The Paradox spoke to me a while back, and said that a great evil would soon reveal itself, at that time, we must be ready. However, it seems that though the era of anarchy is reaching its climax, that evil is not yet evident. We must wait."

James buried his face in the dirt again and groaned, "Torrus, I've lived eight thousand freaking years… I cannot wait any longer."

Sunset rolled his eyes, "Yes, James, I KNOW you've lived eight thousand years. EVERY being knows you've lived eight thousand years."

The bite in Sunset's tone seemed to invigorate James a bit, and he sat up again. "Well, what am I going to do, then, Torrus?"

Sunset thought for a moment, then replied, "First, you're going to stop calling me Torrus and start calling Sunset, or Sunset Shadow. Then, you're going to stop going by the name firstborn, or James, or Abimael 'James' Sethson; find yourself a reasonable pony name."

James looked at Sunset as if he had gone insane. "My god Torrus," he said, "this place has really gotten to you!"

Sunset rolled his eyes again, "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, James, think of a name."

James actually looked like he was putting in a great deal of thought for a few moments. After the pause, he said slowly, "I think… I think my name will be… Flaming Star… though James or firstborn still suits me much, much better."

Sunset nodded to Flaming Star and said, "Right. Nice choice, though I cannot really see you as one. Are you sure you want that as a name? Ponies will be calling you this from now-on-out."

Flaming Star nodded, "It represents what I am. I am as old as a star, and I still have fire in me… though an argument could be made that I am a dying star as well."

Twilight, who was obviously taken by Flaming Star, smiled at him and said, "No, it's perfect. A bright star for all to see. Oh! Do you want to come by my library? I have all kinds of books about stars!"

Flaming Star looked nervously at Twilight, and said, "Er… no, thanks any way though. I really have to get settled in… somewhere…"

"Oh!" said Fluttershy happily, "he could stay with us!"

Immediately Flaming Star and Sunset began to give out lame excuses until they both quieted down awkwardly. Flaming Star immediately turned to Twilight, "I… er… actually think I would like to see those books you have."

Sunset then said, "But Flaming Star, you don't have a house yet!"

Flaming Star nodded, "Yeah, I know, but I know I can build one quickly. Power tier 1, remember?"

Sunset nodded and turned to Fluttershy, "Let's go dear."

Fluttershy nodded and followed Sunset off to their house on the borders of Ponyville.

Flaming Star watched the receding figures of Sunset and Fluttershy and commented to Twilight, "Has Torrus, er, Sunset Shadow really changed?"

Twilight nodded vigorously, "He has! I didn't know much of his past except what he told me, but I understand that there has been an amazing change… Fluttershy seems to think so at least."

Flaming Star shook his head in disbelief, "he got married… and now he's going to have kids! I wonder if I sometime should get hitched…" After he said that, he sighed sadly.

Twilight, who was slightly blushing, looked at Flaming Star. "What's the matter?" she said.

"Eh… it's nothing really… I mean… I've lived for so long that… that everything has started to lose meaning!"

Twilight smiled. "I understand what you mean," she said quietly, "As an alicorn, I have to embrace eternity as well. I may be young, but I understand that princesses live far longer than any other type of pony… so I have a long life ahead of me."

Flaming Star turned to look at Twilight with interest. He raised his eyebrows cynically as his perceptive eyes blazed into her soul. After a long pause, Flaming gave a little half-smile and said, "I think I would like to see those books now, princess Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight blushed lightly and said, "Please, call me Twilight, Flaming Star."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: The Inferno<em>

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

To the average hell-bound onlooker, the frozen mountain of Azrael looked like an enormous pile of frozen rock and ice, twice the size of Mount Everest, but what those damned did not know was that it was also a prison for one of the most feared demons of all time: Legion.

He had been responsible for the destruction of many a dimension, and had clashed and been driven off many a time by Lord Abimael "James" Sethson. However, after an extremely humiliating defeat during the year 34 Anno Domini in Earth Prime years, Legion was trapped within the frozen colossal that is Mount Azrael. There he had existed, trapped for 1980 years… waiting for a chance to escape.

Over the massive vertical frozen expanse of the colossal mountain, a thin, small crack formed on the ice, caused by who-knows-what. But bit by bit, the crack grew… In time, the crack would be large enough for the demon commander-in-chief, Legion, to escape.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Flaming Star, still with eyebrows critically raised, trotted into the Twilight's library. As he looked around, Spike walked in.

"Hey Twi! How are- woah! Who is that?!" Spike said excitedly pointing to Flaming Star.

"I am Lord Abimael… I mean, I am Flaming Star. Pleased to meet you," said Flaming Star.

Spike looked completely dumbfounded. After a moment of searching for words, he turned to Twilight, "he- he's an anicorn!"

Flaming Star put his head to one side, "I did not know that alicorns seemed to draw forth such unnecessary awe, should I shape shift to something else?"

Spike's jaw dropped even further as he said, "you can SHAPE-SHIFT?"

Twilight shook her head as she ran to Spike over to ensure he didn't feint. "No, Flaming Star, I think you're fine just the way you are!"

Flaming Star looked at her curiously, but he nodded… and then smiled a full smile… He liked this pony. She was awkward, young, and inexperienced, and it was obvious that she had a crush on him, but she was interesting nevertheless.

Flaming Star turned to observe the entire library. Nothing, huge, just… homely. After looking over the place, Flaming Star turned to see Twilight behind him, holding a book on stars. She beckoned vigorously for him to sit next to her and look at it. Flaming Star looked at her for a moment, then he rolled his eyes and sat down next to her.

"Look at this!" exclaimed Twilight, "according to the book, stars are massive burning ball of fire billions of miles away. Young stars are called protostars, and they accumulate mass from the clouds around them from their formation to become main sequence stars. These types of stars are like our sun! No pony has ever seen a star form though… ever, so the creation of protostars remain a mystery."

Flaming Star peered at the beautifully illustrated pictures before saying, "I've seen a star form."

Twilight's eyes widened in wonder as she turned her head to look at Flaming Star. "You have?" she breathed.

Flaming Star, feeling annoyed by the attention, shrugged derisively and said, "It was nothing big. I was in a universe battling a demon to keep him from an ancient time-controlling artifact when the old relic broke. Suddenly, a time bubble formed around me and my advisory, and time all around sped up by a million. In seconds, the world around us crumbled to nothing, and we were surrounded by an empty expanse of space. Nevertheless, off in the distance, I saw a nebula – which had been extremely close to the battle we were fighting on – slowly collapse on its own self gravity and form cloud fragments… these cores soon compressed and ignited via fusion… a protostar was born. Of course, then I pushed the demon into the star and it was incinerated into nothing… it was pretty interesting."

Flaming Star glanced over at Twilight with a small smile as he added the last part. Twilight's eyes had been growing wider and wider as he described the phenomenon… until he added the violent death of the demon.

She frowned and looked away. Flaming Star just grinned.

After a bit more time spent on reading the book, the two got up.

"I really should be on my way," said Flaming Star, bowing his head.

"Thank you for spending time with me," replied Twilight.

Flaming Star was about to walk away when he decided to leave her with a little something that would bother her for quite a while. He turned, and winked roguishly at her before leaving. Immediately Twilight's eyes became dreamy.

"Uh, Twi? Are you okay?" said Spike as he waved a hand in front of her face.

Chuckling quietly, Flaming Star continued on past Town Square to find a place he could build a house. He soon found a perfect spot next to a particularity large cottage; however, just as he was drawing his powers in to build it, the door to the cottage next to the site opened and Sunset walked out. The two stood there for a second, staring at each other… then Sunset said, "You're not… building a house there are you?"

Flaming Star looked at Sunset, and then to the site, and then back to Sunset again. "Well… yeah? No?"

The two continued to stand there, staring blankly at each other. Fluttershy broke the silence as she trotted in to see what her husband was doing, standing stock-still on the doorstep.

"Sunset, what are you…? Oh! Hello Flaming Star!" she said with a shy smile and a quick wave. She continued, "Oh, are you building a house there? That would be wonderful! We could all be neighbors. Right Sunset?"

Sunset shook his head as if trying to clear it. "What? Yeah, oh… I… oh, well… o-okay."

Flaming Star, who had quickly recovered, gave Sunset a cynical eyebrow-raise before nodding towards Fluttershy and turning to the site. Raising his front hoofs, he began to pour power into the surrounding area. Soon, a quaint little cottage began to take shape as raw materials were drawn and shaped from the ground. In several minutes, a little cottage stood where none had been previously.

Sunset snorted, "Well… hello neighbor. I-I really have to get going… some important things to be done… eh, somewhere…"

Quickly, Sunset grabbed Fluttershy's hoof and trotted briskly off.

"Oh, me too? Okay… bye Flaming Star!"

Flaming Star snorted as the two figures disappeared around a corner. He turned to survey his house, and a wave of nostalgia swept over him. He had had a house before… sometime… somewhere. Flaming Star shook his head to clear his thoughts as he immediately began to think over his situation. He had to face the fact… the entire multiverse was a whole freaking mess. Literally. Mercenaries and assassins were crawling over every popular dimension, and the demon raids had become more and more frequent, soon the era of anarchy would end in flames and death. Flaming Star sat on his doorstep as he looked at the sky, peering at the clouds. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie jumped excitedly in front of him from nowhere.

"Hey! A new pony! IknowthatbecauseIknoweveryponyinponyvilleandsinceIdon'tknowyouthatmustmeanyou'renew! Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you?"

Flaming Star simply looked at her with an amused expression. After a long pause, he said, "I am Flaming Star, Pinkie Pie, pleased to meet you."

Pinkie Pie began to increase the height and speed of her jumps. "You said HI! That must mean you're my new friend! You know what? We need a party to CELEBRATE!"

Flaming Star, who was still looking amused, shrugged. "Sure, in fact, go ahead and have it in my house. Knock yourself out… literally."

Pinkie ignored the jab as she said, "Party! Sugar Cube corner! Sundown! Don't be late‼!"

Flaming Star looked at the receding Pinkie as he murmured to himself, "Should I go? Meh… sure."

Almost the second Pinkie rounded a corner, Rainbow Dash rocketed out of the sky and landed at Flaming Star's feet.

"What's up?" she exclaimed, "Twilight said there was a new pony in town! I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria!"

Flaming Star simply laughed, "Oh! That explains the attitude. Well, I am the firstborn, Flaming Star. Pleased to meet you."

Rainbow furrowed her brow, and said slowly, "Waaaiiiittt… are you making fun of me?"

Flaming Star gave a snort, "Does it look like I'm making fun of you? Never mind."

Rainbow continued to frown at Flaming Star, who got up and began to walk away. Eventually, Rainbow caught up and hovered beside him, "You're an alicorn! You have wings! Do you want to race?"

Flaming Star shook his head and replied, without even looking up, "No. Falling for stupid challenges is really more of in Sunset's category. I prefer to let my actions, when they are actually needed, to speak for themselves."

Once again, Rainbow frowned. This pony was extremely confusing. "Oookaaayyy… Do you want to meet the rest of my friends?"

Flaming Star sighed, "You have more than Twilight Sparkle and Sunset's wife?"

Rainbow nodded vigorously, "Yeah! There's Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity… They're my best friends. Six in all, really. We're the Harmony bearers."

A memory long buried in the vast libraries of his mind was pulled forth in Flaming Star's brain at the mention of Harmony. He glanced at Rainbow and said, "Harmony bearers? Are you six some form of extension of the tree of Harmony?"

Rainbow's jaw dropped. After a pause, she said, "Y-y-yeah! How did you know?"

Flaming Star turned his head back to look at the path ahead of him. As he did so, he replied, "Eh, it was a long time ago. It was about a hundred years after I became a dimensional traveler. There were three of us, and the Paradox. He discussed with us an idea to isolate three different dimensions, and imbue them each separately with the gifts of harmony: a tree, a book, and a crystal. We went out and searched for a dimension worthy of the gifts. Eventually, another hundred years later, we all returned from our searches. Dathan Enosson came back the happiest though. He literally raved about it for a decade. Something about ponies, and magic, and stuff. That place got the tree of harmony. When you mentioned harmony, I put two-and-two together. Hmmm, so this place is imbued with the power of harmony then? I suppose you guys don't get demon raids all too often then."

Rainbow, who for once was listening with total interest, replied, "Nope. That Abbadon freak was the first demon to set foot in Equestria, according to princess Celestia."

Flaming Star, at the name of royalty, looked at Rainbow once more, "A princess? Does that mean there is a king or queen ruling over this land?"

Rainbow shook he head, "Nope. Just princesses. There is princess Celestia, princess Luna, princess Cadence, and princess Twilight."

Flaming Star almost stared at Rainbow incredulously as he said, "Just… princesses… Well, okay. I can understand that."

At that moment, Twilight ran up to them.

"Hey Flaming Star! I wanted to let you know that I sent a letter to princess Celestia telling her about your arrival, and she replied! She wants to meet you and she's coming here with her sister princess Luna to see you!"

Flaming Star raised his eyebrows and said, "Well… okay… I suppose I really don't have a say in the matter."

Flaming Star turned around and began to walk away, as he moved, he heard Twilight shout from behind him.

"Wait for me!" she yelled as she galloped towards him. Flaming Star begrudgingly slowed his pace as he let Twilight catch up. "Why do you act like this?" she said, out of breath.

Flaming Star sighed, "I- I don't really know. I guess it's part of who I am!"

Twilight shook her head, "Nopony is born rude. You have to be taught that, and have it grafted into their personality."

Flaming Star and Twilight had made it to a small park on the outskirts of Ponyville. Sizing up a tree, Flaming Star sat under it. Soon, Twilight joined him.

Flaming Star took a deep breath as he looked at Twilight intensely. She immediately began to blush.

"I suppose… I could tell you a little of my past," he said slowly. Twilights eyes brightened up at the prospect of a story.

Leaning against the tree, Flaming Star, the firstborn, took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he recalled thousands of years of memories.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Outskirts_

_Time: 2 years after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

Meanwhile Sunset and Fluttershy were settling down under a tree near the border of Ponyville to watch the birds fly through the sky.

As the lay down, side-by-side, Fluttershy said, "Sunset? Why don't you like Flaming Star?"

Sunset sighed deeply and said, "Last time we met… well… I kind of broke the planet he was trying to protect. He wounded me badly, but I almost made him fail his mission."

"Oh," said Fluttershy quietly, gently nuzzling Sunset's cheek, "that's sounds terrible."

Sunset closed his eyes and said, "It's not just that, the firstborn is a very arrogant man, er, pony. He does not let it show when he's on missions, and when people count on him, but in general he is. During my second year as a dimensional traveler, I actually did a few missions as his sidekick. He is NOT a nice person to work with. He is extremely skilled, don't get me wrong, but he does not really understand what it means to 'take one for the team.' And what's even worse, he is convinced he's never wrong… ever. I knew that something bad would happen, and when it did, he wouldn't handle it very well."

Fluttershy, too, closed her eyes as she continued to nuzzle Sunset. "He doesn't seem like a mean pony so far," she murmured, "I think you are judging him a little too harshly."

Sunset nodded lazily and replied, "I suppose I am. I guess time will tell. The years I have spent here have changed me from a murdering maniac to who I am now. Perhaps time here will also change Flaming Star from someone who just cares about his win-streak... to someone… different."

With that, the two fell asleep as the sun played shadows across their peaceful forms. Fluttershy's sleep was dreamless; her contentedness of being with the one she loved was enough. Sunset's sleep, however, did contain dreams, but unlike the dark nightmares that had plagued his existence since the first betrayal eight years ago, these dreams were full of the wonderful times of the past two years.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Hey everypony! If you've read this far, it means you probably are in some way interested in this story. If you have a moment, please let me know what you think of it! Thanks!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13 - Recollections (Part 1)

**Note: Per request, I am recounting a little bit of Fluttershy and Sunset's marriage as well as a tiny piece of the history of Flaming Star. I thought this would fit perfectly into the story, though it does go off on a little bit of a tangent. Enjoy! If not, then skip ahead a couple of chapters when they pop up, you are not missing anything incredibly important**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset's House_

_Time: A little bit over a month after the arrival of Sunset Shadow_

Sunset opened his eyes to the door to his house being pounded heartily. Groaning, he rolled out of bed, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and hobbled over to the door. He opened it to find Rarity and Pinkie Pie standing outside with huge grins on their faces. He looked from one, to another, and then groaned, "If this is about my upcoming wedding then you can-"

Rarity bustled inside as she said, "There is no time for talk, we must get your measurements! I have scheduled an appointment with Fluttershy exactly at noon, so we must not waste precious time! Do you have the guest list? How about the location? I suppose you should hold that off for now until I have assembled my sub-list of possible ideas for the décor. Oooh! So little time!" As she prattled off, she had been taking Sunset's measurements with incredible speed. While this was all going on, Pinkie Pie had been bouncing around.

"Hey Sunset! We need to find the perfect time for the WEDDING PARTY! Ooooh! We should the party at sunset! Get it Sunset? Sunset!"

Sunset simply rolled his eyes as he tried to sidle away from Rarity, but there was no escaping her. "Stay still you troublesome pony!" she scolded, "I need to get the measurement absolutely perfect! Do you have an officiant yet? Oh! Would you prefer the wedding to have a more formal, or a more natural feel? Stay still I say!"

Sunset gave a snort as he stood stock-still to let Rarity finish her measurements. "Look, Rarity," he said grumpily, "I appreciate all of this, but you never really consulted me…"

"Pish-tosh!" replied Rarity, completely misinterpreting Sunset, "You can thank me later! I think I have what I need. Natural or Formal?"

Sunset sat down with his head in his hoofs, "Give me a day! I need to consult with Fluttershy!"

Rarity stood there for a moment, then she blushed and said, "Oh yes! Heh, I forgot about that! Well, I have what I need for now! Go and discuss the necessary details with Fluttershy! I'll be back!"

There was a long pause after Rarity left with her levitating sketch books, pencils, measuring tape, and color schemes all around her, but after the moment passed, Sunset turned to look at Pinkie Pie. "I don't suppose you need to take my measurements too?" he said with a snort.

Pinkie gave him a grin and a huge hug. As she bounced out of the door, she called over her shoulder, "Nope! I just needed to give you a Pinkie hug! Everyone needs one! Bye!"

Sunset rolled his eyes as he tried to recover after the extremely flustering moment had passed. Then he got up and cantered quickly to Fluttershy's cottage. He trotted it to see Fluttershy standing stock still with a flustered expression on her face.

Sunset grinned. "Rarity was here?"

Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Y-yes. I never knew there were so many things about this. What's an officiant?"

Sunset trotted up and kissed her on the forehead. "I have not the slightest idea. But honestly, do you really want this all?"

Fluttershy sat down and looked at her hoofs. "I- I don't know. I want my friends to be there, but I'm afraid they might have lost sight about what it's all about!"

Sunset laughed, "I'm sure it's only Rarity so far."

At that moment, several knocks rang out. Sunset looked at Angel. "Hey, Angel, see who it is. If it's Rarity, tell her that we eloped and then get a photograph of her face. If it's anypony else, let them in."

Angel saluted and hopped to the door, soon he returned with Rainbow and Applejack.

"Howdy! How y'all doing?" Said Applejack.

"We're fine, thank you, just spending time together" replied Fluttershy, who rested her head on Sunset's shoulder.

Rainbow just pulled a face. "Ew… Hey! Sunset! Can I preform a double Rainboom at your… wedding?"

Sunset shrugged, "I don't know. We haven't hammered out the details yet."

Applejack suddenly brightened up. "No details yet?" she asked, "Does that mean we can help?"

"Wwwweeeelllll…" said Fluttershy and Sunset in unison. Applejack just ignored them.

"Woo-ee! I'd love to help! We can have apple cider, apple cake, apple strudel, apple crumble, apple…"

Rainbow Dash too began to rail off ideas, "Oh! I know! We can race for your honor! That would be a good idea! Or perhaps you can create a cutie mark talent enhancing potion so I can create a double rainboom! THAT would be awesome! How about-"

Sunset felt like yelling above the din, but Angel handled it. He walked up to Applejack and kicked her in the shin. He then threw a bowl of salad at Rainbow Dash's head.

"Angel!" exclaimed Fluttershy, "mind your manners!"

Sunset, however, winked at Angel and said, "Sorry about that, but you two really have to control yourselves. We haven't decided anything yet, nor will we for a day or two. We have to think about what really matters to us."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah," she snorted, "all the mushy stuff. I'm outta here, but if you need a rainboom and my awesomeness, you know where to find me!" With that she zoomed off.

Applejack grinned ruefully. "Sorry y'all," she said, rubbing the back of her mane, "I sorta got carried away. I'll be off now, let me know if you two ever need anything."

As the door closed, Sunset sighed and he fell over backwards. Looking at the ceiling, he said, "Wow… just… wow."

Fluttershy lay down next to him and said, "I understand they're excited, but hopefully they will calm down soon."

Sunset nodded in agreement. After a pause, Sunset turned to look into Fluttershy's eyes. "What REALLY matters to us?"

Fluttershy snuggled in closed to him as she replied, "Being together. That's all that really matters."

"I agree. But how do we present that in a wedding? How many ponies should we invite?"

Fluttershy sighed, "I was never good in gatherings, I don't think I could handle the attention."

Sunset smiled, "I understand, but remember, when we get up on stage, it's just you, me, and the rings. But if it really matters to you, it can be a private wedding."

Fluttershy nodded her head, "Oh yes, I'd like that. Just our friends, no one else."

"So that's decided. But do we want it formal? We could ask Rarity to design nature-oriented garbs if you wish."

Fluttershy smiled dreamily. "Nature… Whatever you want, Sunset."

Sunset realized Fluttershy was falling asleep in the summer heat, and decided that it would be a good time to nap anyway. "We can decide on it later, nap first… plans later."

Sunset suddenly realized he too had fallen asleep when he heard voices. "Awww… they look so cute together!"

"Sssshhh! You don't want to wake them up, Sweetie Bell!"

Sunset groaned and opened one eye to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders standing over them.

"Good day, crusaders… or is it good night? What can I do for you girls?"

Sweetie Bell trotted over and sat next to Sunset's head and whispered, "Is Fluttershy still asleep?"

Sunset glanced towards the sleeping Pegasus and looked back at Sweetie Bell. "Yep," he whispered back, "But I'm awake now. Let's take this outside."

Sunset got up and walked outside with the Cutie Mark Crusaders trailing right behind him.

"So, what can I do for you three?"

Apple Blossom gave him a huge smile and said, "We're here to congratulate you!"

Sunset patted her head. "Thanks, is there anything else?"

Scootaloo buzzed her tiny wings and said, "Nope. We just wanted to say hello! We haven't seen you in a while after that scary guy Abbadon attacked."

Sunset shivered at the mention of Abbadon's name, at that very moment Fluttershy trotted out, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Hello girls," she said as she sat down next to Sunset, "how are you all doing?"

"We're just fine thanks!" replied Apple Bloom, "we were just here to say hello to Sunset!"  
>Fluttershy smiled, and then she suddenly said, "Girls, would you like to be my flower girls for the wedding?"<p>

At first the Cutie Mark Crusaders look surprised, but after a pause, Scootaloo buzzed her wings faster than before and said, "Would we ever?!"

Sweetie Bell clapped her hoofs together excitedly, "That would be wonderful! When is the wedding?"

Fluttershy put her head to one side as she thought, so Sunset answered for her. "We're in between dates as of yet," he said, "but we would certainly love you three to be with us during the wedding."

"This is great!" exclaimed Scootaloo, "maybe we could get our cutie marks… in… flower throwing? Um…"

Apple Bloom laughed, "Oh silly, it might not just be flower throwing."

Fluttershy gave the three a smile as the Cutie Mark Crusaders began to move away, arguing and laughing. She then turned to Sunset, "Have you gotten any ideas about the wedding?"

Sunset sighed as he shook his head. "Nothing," he replied, "This event is so special… I just cannot think of anything doing justice."

Fluttershy nodded her head, "Perhaps we could go to Twilight, she has books on all sorts of things like this."

Sunset laughed, "I don't think copying a procedure outlined by a book would do it justice either. But that does give me an idea, perhaps princess Celestia, who is way older than any of us, might have an idea."

Fluttershy looked Sunset in bemusement. "But princess Celestia lives in Canterlot, how are we to get there in such short notice?"

Sunset extended one of his hoofs as he said, "Take my hoof, I believe I can simply use my powers to teleport us there in an instant."

Hesitantly, Fluttershy backed away, "Oh… I- I think I'll stay here. Teleportation sounds… scary."

Earnestly, Sunset proffered his hoof again and said, "Don't you trust me?"

Slowly, Fluttershy reached out and took Sunset's hoof and smiled shyly as she said, "I do trust you."

With that, Sunset teleported to Canterlot. Fluttershy gave a small start when the scenery around them blurred and melted into the scenery of the Canterlot gardens, but that was about it.

Sunset planted a kiss of Fluttershy's cheek as he said, "There. That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Fluttershy nodded her head. "Not… not really I guess…"

Almost immediately Discord appeared in front of them with a flash.

"My, my! If it isn't my two favorite star-crossed lovers! Have I ever told you two how CUTE you look together? Aw, you're blushing Sunset!"

Sunset at first thought of replying sharply, but then chose a different tactic. He looked up at Discord and said, "Thank you for saving my rump when I was battling Abbadon."

Discord, surprised by that response, dropped his teasing tone and bowed deeply. "Why thank you, it was the least I could do for a fellow traveler. But those days are behind me now! That portal business and desolate planet were too… too uncomfortable for my elegant taste. I appreciate your compliment immensely, Sunset, but I perceive you have something else more important to do here than pay me compliments… I presume?"

Fluttershy nodded her head, "Oh, yes, we want to talk about our wedding with princess Celestia."

Discord raised an eyebrow, "A wedding? How delightful? Was I invited?"

Sunset winked at him and replied, "Only if you promise not to wreak havoc on the assembly, no matter how small it is? Pinkie promise?"

Discord looked as if he was at war with himself for a moment before sighing and saying, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye… There! You satisfied?"

Fluttershy gave him a smile and replied for Sunset, "Yes… we are. We really must get going now."

Sunset and Fluttershy trotted past Discord and entered the castle, as Sunset had presumed, Celestia sat upon her royal throne. She immediately got up and cantered up to Fluttershy and Sunset as they approached. "Welcome my little ponies! I was not excepting such a surprise!"

Sunset and Fluttershy bowed before Sunset replied, "We were here to ask you a few things. Perhaps you have a moment to spare?"

Celestia nodded her head vigorously, "I always have time for my friends."

Sunset nodded to Fluttershy, who said, "We were wondering if you had any suggestions you could offer about our wedding, and if you would like to attend."

Celestia smiled, almost dreamily, and said, "Ah, a wedding… you understand the commitment such an event implies, correct?"

Sunset nodded slowly, "It is about the union between me and Fluttershy, right?"

Celestia smiled and nodded, "It is. And that is what the celebration is about… it is about you and Fluttershy. Do not let anything take away from that."

Sunset nodded, and then said, "I understand now. Thank you princess Celestia, we will let you know when the wedding is."

Sunset then took Fluttershy's hoof and teleported straight out of the castle and into Sunset's house.

Fluttershy put her head to one side and said, "What should we do?"

Sunset smiled, "We will let our friends do what they do best, but we will make sure that this wedding is about what it is… a marriage. We will let it celebrate us having each other, and our friends, that is what love is all about, right?"

Fluttershy smiled at Sunset, "Right."

The two kissed.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Earth Prime<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The small southern desert_

_Time: 7820 B.C._

Abimael Sethson looked up wearily from his plow as the hot sunlight beat down on the back of his neck. Off in the distance, his father Seth sat under a withered tree, resting his old bones.

"There has to be more to this!" groaned Abimael as he continued to work the hot and cracked soil, "I cannot live my life like this."

"Don't stop, little brother," called Abimael's brother Enos, "the soil won't till itself."

Abimael just groaned and continued working, as he worked, he grumbled, "I am a scientist, a thinker, a warrior! I shouldn't be doing these things."

Enos overheard and just laughed heartily, slapping Abimael hard on the back. "Little brother," he said, "just because you stare at the stars all night and think about what makes a body tick doesn't make you a thinker. And you are hardly a fighter, I could take you on any day, you aren't very much. Now get back to work."

Abimael sighed and resigned himself to his duties, but he disliked it quite a bit. How could he spend the rest of his doing things like this? Why were they even here? The planet was literally covered in lush rainforest, but his father Seth insisted on them working the soil here. What was the point? Abimael shook his head as he answered his own question: because they were supposed to. This land needed to be farmed for food, and what they didn't farm, they couldn't eat. Perhaps the forests of the world held food, and perhaps they could share in the bounties, but this land would never change, and Seth wanted to "make the difference," as he said.

"That's enough, my sons," called out Seth from the tree as he staggered to his feet, "let us get water from the river to quench the dry earth. Abimael, you will go first."

Abimael groaned again and put down the plow. He hated watering the earth, it always seemed thirsty. Suddenly, an idea came to his head… why couldn't they just dig trenches to certain locations? In his spare time, when he wasn't practicing fighting or stare gazing, Abimael worked on contraptions with wood and vines, recently, he had invented some form of pulley system that could open or close a door. If he could rig it with the trenches, he could control the water supply! He would call it… an irrigation system! Abimael was about to yell out his brilliant idea when a flash of light from the corner of his eye caught his attention. In the distance, in the great eastern jungle, a light flashed.

"Curious…" murmured Abimael, and putting down the plow, he dashed over to the forest. Running hard, he made it to the forest in less than a minute, but the flash seemed no closer. Suddenly, the flashing stopped, and Abimael looked around in disappointment. With a sad sigh, Abimael turned to return to his duties.

"Abimael," said a voice behind him. Whirling, Abimael's eyes were met with a wondrous sight. A massive being, swathed in light, was standing before him.

Shading his eyes and falling to his knees, Abimael whispered, "What… what are you?"

"I am the Paradox… do not fear me."

"What do you want… Paradox?" said Abimael.

"I have a proposition for you."

Abimael put his head to one side and said, "A… proposition?"

"For eternity I have contemplated the cancer that is demons that have eaten away at our fare multiverse, for eternity I have plotted out solutions… you are the solution."

Abimael suddenly knew what was going on, but still said, "What do you mean?"

"I am going to give you power, Abimael… such power that has never been seen by mortals of this earth before or after. You will take this power and you will rise… rise to confront the demons that poison the multiverse. Will you go with me?"

Abimael thought about his family and his life… and then realized this was what he had alway wanted to do. He had never been considered highly in his family, always overshadowed by his brother and a sense of inadequacy… but this was a chance to prove to what few humans existed on this world that he had what it took to be a hero.

"I will accept… but on what terms?" Abimael said after thought.

"You will not seek vengeance against you bullying brother, nor fame amongst your peers. You are here to defend and protect. When you are taken in, you will not be remembered by your family and relatives; you will be but a shadow of this planet's timeline…. A silent defender of all mankind."

Abimael nodded slowly. It pained him to never be recognized by his brother as a true power within the family, but… but perhaps this could mean something for him to come.

"A word of warning, Abimael: I will be watching. You have been given an honor, but you must not let it become you… you are but a subject, and you must perform as I say. Your powers will be untold of, as long as you can deliver."

After a deep breath, Abimael spoke: "I accept. I am ready."


	14. Chapter 14 - Recollections (Part 2)

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset's and Fluttershy's House_

_Time: Three months before the arrival of Flaming Star_

Sunset opened his eyes and yawned. Blearily, he smacked his lips and looked around. The house was quiet, and Fluttershy was sleeping soundly next to him. Getting out of bed, Sunset trotted to the bathroom and took a quick shower. After that, he went outside to see the sunrise, like he did almost every day for the last few months. As it rose, Sunset cycled through his myriad of powers, as he did so, he smiled as he felt his connection with the world strengthen. Afterwards, he went about feeding the chickens and some other animals to save Fluttershy a bit of trouble. The sun had climbed halfway through the sky when Sunset had finished, but yet Fluttershy had not yet gotten up.

"Sleepyhead," chuckled Sunset as he went back inside and approached the bed where Fluttershy was still sleeping. He reached out a hoof and shook Fluttershy gently, as he did so, he whispered, "Hey… Fluttershy… it's time to wake up!"

Fluttershy opened one eye and mumbled, "Oh my… I don't feel too well."

Immediately Sunset frowned and he brought his face close to hers. He then pressed a cheek to her forehead for a moment and then said, "You do feel a little feverish. Maybe you should see a doctor."

Fluttershy shook her head, "Oh no… I'll be fine! Just give me a moment to recover…"

Sunset just looked at her. "You have a fever… Let's go to the doctors."

Fluttershy continued to shake her head, "I'll be fine, honest! I just need rest."

Sunset snorted, "Oh… you're scared of the Doctor's."

Fluttershy closed her head and mumbled, "Yes."

Sunset smiled and he got onto the bed and settled next to Fluttershy. "I understand that that could be a little worrying, but this is something I don't think I could help you with. This is more about a battle within you than outside wounds. I really think you should go see a doctor."

Fluttershy shook her head and mumbled, "But what about the animals? Who will take care of them? What if something is wrong and I have to go to the hospital? What will they do?"

Sunset laughed, "Oh, silly! I'll take care of them, or I'll, if I need to constantly beside your side which is far more likely, then I'll get Twilight or somepony else to take care of them."

Fluttershy opened an eye and looked at Sunset, "Are… are you sure?"

Sunset nodded, "I am sure. Let's go!"

Fluttershy, in a last attempt to escape her predicament, then quickly said, "I don't think I can get up." This was technically half-true.

Sunset nodded, "Of course! You shouldn't get up! You need to rest!"

Hopefully, Fluttershy smiled and said, "Does that mean I get to stay here?"

Sunset grinned, "Nope. This means I'm levitating you to the doctor's office."

Fluttershy covered her head with the covers as she whimpered, "But then everyone will see me! It will be so embarrassing."

Sunset continued grinning, "I'll cloak you. Look Fluttershy, I care about you deeply, and I really think taking you to the doctor is the best course of action, so this is what I'm going to do: I am going to levitate this bead and cloak it from people's vision, and then I will take you to the doctor's office. The doctor will take a look at you, make a diagnosis, and then we will be all fine. No trouble at all!"

Fluttershy mumbled something that sounded like a half-hearted protest, but then said, after a pause, "A-Alright."

Sunset kissed the covers that covered Fluttershy's head and said, "Wonderful! Let's goooo!"

He turned and used his powers to teleport him, Fluttershy, and the bed outside. Then he used his magic to levitate and cloak the bed. He then began to trot into town, keeping the bed floating well above everypony's heads. Every now and then, Sunset heard Fluttershy say, "Oh my…" and it was obvious she enjoyed the ride. Sunset just grinned.

"Hey Sunset!" exclaimed Twilight as he passed the Library, "How are you? Where's Fluttershy?"

"Greetings Twilight!" replied Sunset, "I am just fine, thank you. Fluttershy is feeling a little under the weather. I should get going now-"

"Hello everypony!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie as she bounced into view, "How are my bestest friends doing?"

Sunset sighed and said, "I am doing fine, thank you Pinkie Pie, I really should get going-"

Rainbow Dash then zoomed in as Sunset began to sidle away.

"Hey Sunset! Remember how we raced last month and we tied? We need to do it again, to… you know… break it!"

"NO Rainbow!" exclaimed Sunset, "they only thing we will manage to break is the town again. Guys, I am really in a hurry."

Rainbow zoomed down low in an attempt to neatly land in front of Sunset to keep him from leaving… she ended up colliding with the invisible bed and falling to the ground.

There was a long pause as everyone looked at Rainbow.

"What… just happened?" asked Rainbow rubbing her head.

Sunset rolled his eyes, "You had a stroke and you've been unconscious for the past seven years and none of us have even thought of considering moving you to a hospital."

Twilight narrowed her eyes, "I thought I saw… a ripple. Sunset? Are you hiding something?"

Sunset looked at her and said, "Wwwwwwweeeeellllllllllll…"

Suddenly, Fluttershy's voice rang out, "It's okay Sunset."

Sighing, Sunset uncloaked Fluttershy and the bed, hovering above his head.

"Oh dear," said Twilight, "Are you sick? Why were you hiding?"

Fluttershy sighed, "It's not that bad, really. Just a fever. Sunset wanted to take me to the doctor, but I didn't want to, so he went through all this trouble to make me comfortable."

Twilight brightened. "Oh! We're sorry Sunset. Do you want help carrying her to the Doctor's?"

Sunset shook his head and said, "No, I am fine. But I really should be getting on my way, despite this touching moment; I still have a sick wife that I need to transport."

Twilight nodded, and then said, "Okay! Could we come with you?"

Sunset looked to Fluttershy, who said slowly, "I guess you could come. Sunset will need the company."

Rainbow, who had recovered from her knock on the head, staggered up and took to the air again saying, "Eh… I'll tag along to. Today has been pretty boring already. How about you Pinkie?"

Pinkie bounced up and down and exclaimed, "Ooooh! Okay!"

Sunset snorted, "Why don't we invite the whole of Ponyville to come with us. I am sure we all are waiting with bated breath to discover the maladies of Fluttershy."

Twilight winked, "Actually, that might just be the case, but we understand. I suggest you cloak the bed again before ponies begin to wonder why there is a floating bed in town."

Sunset, Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy continued to the doctor's office. As the arrived, Sunset deposited the bed and uncloaked Fluttershy, he then quickly got her an immediate appointment and sat in the waiting room as the doctor checked over Fluttershy to discover the reason for her sickness. As he sat, his three friends began questioning him.

"When are you going to race me again?" Asked Rainbow immediately. Sunset just looked at her pointedly.

"Stop it Rainbow! You've asked that too many times already. Tell me, Sunset, how is life going with Fluttershy?" Interjected Twilight.

Sunset sighed, "It's fine really. I couldn't have asked for a better wife. It is really calm and wonderful; however, I do wish there was a little excitement aside from caring for the animals and cycling through my powers aimlessly."

Pinkie immediately picked up on what Sunset was saying and exclaimed, "BORED? We can't have that! You know what you need? A PARTY!"

"That's your answer for everything, Pinkie," snorted Rainbow as she rolled her eyes, "I think, Sunset, that you need a little racing…"

Sunset shook his head, "Nope. No… racing… ever. I am not going to look like an idiot again by blasting half the town with a rainboom shockwave."

Rainbow looked cowed for a moment, then said, "But it was fffuuuunnnn!"

Sunset chuckled, "I suppose so. But you are not going to talk me into doing it again."

Pinkie, who obviously didn't really understand what was going on then said, "I can be talked into lots of things! But those things usually have to be about chocolate."

"Just wait, Sunset," said Twilight, "sit next to an insistent Rainbow for the next hour and she'll get you to do anything."

Sunset looked at Rainbow who was preforming her best rendition of 'puppy eyes' and then looked at Twilight. "Eh… I agree. I hope the doctor comes in soon."

As soon as those words dissolved into the air, the doctor came in. He smiled as he trotted in.

Sunset, Rainbow and Twilight stood up; Pinkie was too busy being distracted by something outside.

"What's the matter with her?" said Sunset anxiously.

"Well… You're wife, Mr. Sunset… She's pregnant. The sickness was just a side effect."

Sunset blinked. "My wife… is pregnant?"

Twilight the shouted gleefully, "THAT'S WONDERFUL!"

Rainbow just pulled a face; and Pinkie, who still wasn't sure what was going on, picked up on the energy in the room and started throwing streamers, exclaiming, "IT'S WONDERFUL! Wait… what's wonderful?"

At that moment, Fluttershy, who was hiding behind the door, slowly moved in, her face hidden by her mane. Sunset walked up and brushed her mane out of her face and smiled into it.

"Is it a filly or a colt?" he asked quietly.

"A filly," murmured Fluttershy, whose blushing was increasing exponentially with each second.

"As of now, I am the happiest pony in the entire dimension," said Sunset. Fluttershy and Sunset hugged and kissed.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: The Light and the Dark<em>

_Planet: Calathial_

_Specific Location: The Riddled Valleys_

_Time: 700 years after the Great Light_

Abimael "James" Sethson stood side-by-side next to Joseph Torrus, age eleven, as they overlooked a camp chalk full of shadow warriors in the dark of night. Their mission: to destroy the monsters and their camps to ensure the dimension was safe from the Shadow King's tyranny. The problem: there were only about four of them and about a thousand shadow warriors versed in fighting and dark magic.

"So, let me get this straight," said Joseph as he looked down at the sea of tents, "You want me to stay up here and watch?" He had already been on three missions with James, and each time they had done anything, Joseph had just stood and watched.

"Look, kid," said James, not taking his eyes off the shadow sentries, "Martin is twenty-five, Daniel is forty, and I am about 1620 times older than you are… you're eleven. Unless my math is really screwed, there is a massive difference of age and skill between us four. My diagnosis: you stay here."

Joseph rolled his eyes, he had carried out successful attacks against a large number of enemy installments across the dimensions with a group of friends before he took up with James, and now he was reduced to watching aging dimensional travelers slug it all out in a fantastical style while he watched from the sidelines glumly. "When DO I get a chance to prove myself?" muttered Joseph, more to himself than anyone.

James overheard and raised his eyebrows and said, "When you have something to prove. Now stay here and don't touch anything. Martin? Front and center, thirty seconds till contact. I want their sentries out in less than a minute. Daniel, I want you with me. We're going to go to the opposite side to move in. Ten seconds men!"

James then nodded to Daniel and activated his teleportation powers. In seconds they were on the other side of the camp, directly behind an outcropping rock. Quietly James began to count to sixty. At fourth-five, Martin preformed a quick hand-signal from the rock he was hiding behind twelve feet away: the sentries were out and no one suspected anything yet. James let a smile play upon his face: Stage one was complete.

Signaling back at Daniel, James nonchalantly moved into the camp unopposed with Daniel on his six. Immediately James was able to identify the grand tent of the shadow warrior's commander-in-chief. Flicking his head, James signaled Daniel to watch for anyone who might happen outside as they approached the very door-step of the large tent. Daniel quickly turned his back to James and began scoping out the scenery. James, nodding quickly, quietly sized up the tent. His senses immediately alerted him of two guards standing over the sleeping chief. Conjuring twin bolts of dark matter, James strolled in and shot the guards in the throats before the called out. With their tracheas dissolved, all the guards could do were gasp and collapse dead on the ground. James walked up to the chief, conjure up a dagger, and stab the chief in the heart. Stage two was complete. Now for stage three: killing everyone else with a nuclear explosive. He pulled out the charge and prepared to put it down when an ear-rending shout sounded from outside... they had been spotted. Sighing deeply, James put the charge back into his pocket as he strolled outside to see shadow warriors running out of their tent to see two strangers, with weapons, standing outside their commander-in-chief's tent... that sight immediately branded them as enemies. With a roar, the soldiers charged Daniel and James, and with an explosion, James demolished a score of them running at him. That woke everyone else up, and soon the entire camp was descending on them.

Staying calm, James contacted Martin via his telepathic link, "Martin, our cover has been compromised. Get down here in thirty, time for plan B. We're in no way in trouble, but things are going to get a lot messier."

In seconds Martin joined them, and the three began slugging it out with hundreds of onrushing soldiers. As the three hit their seven-hundred kill, Joseph's voice called out from the link, "James! Trouble incoming! Contact with hostile reinforcements in twenty-six seconds!"

James snorted with frustration and replied, "Great, yeah, whatever. Don't come here kid, keep watching."

Suddenly Daniel let out a yell as a bolt of lacerating dark magic tore across his right shoulder. James turned and annihilated the score of mages running at them with a massive plume of fire. Once again, the camp flooded as eight thousand reinforcements arrived. James realized that this had gone from tolerable to bad, with worse oncoming quickly. He turned to Daniel, "It was a pleasure working with you Daniel, we're initiating plan C."

Daniel, his eyes squinted up in pain, looked sadly at James, but nodded. "For the greater good, eh?" he sighed as James tossed him the explosive pack.

James nodded back, "The greater good. We're not losing today."

James then signaled to Martin and they teleported away to where Joseph sat.

"What's going on?" asked Joseph, "Where's Daniel?"

"We're going to plan C," said James briskly.

"Plan C? I didn't know we had a plan C. What is it? Retreat and plan another type of attack later?"

James rolled his eyes, "No, I NEVER retreat and I NEVER lose. Daniel was wounded; I gave him the nuclear device so that he could set it off without raising the suspicion of grand mages."

Joseph's jaw dropped, "That's suicide! We can just as easily accept this as a defeat and try again!"

James looked at Joseph and replied, "No. I NEVER LOSE. This will work the best because we now have all three camps concentrated into one. Daniel is expendable, we're ALL expendable in the grand scheme of things."

Joseph looked into James's eyes and said slowly, "You are an idiot."

With that, Joseph teleported to the battlefield.

James glanced at Martin, who kept his face completely objective. He then looked at the raging fires down below. He then shrugged, "Meh, as long as this counts as a win."

He teleported back into the fight and was quickly followed by Martin. Hands blazing with energy blasts, James ran up to Daniel and said, "I guess no traveler deaths in this dimension today! We're going to my nonexistent plan D: kill everyone with Joseph as the main attraction."

Daniel nodded and tossed James the device, who put it away. Quickly the four formed a ring facing all directions as they unleashed waves of power. Fire, ice, dark matter, explosive energy, pure energy, and dark magic cut through the air like volleys of bullets as the battle progressed, but as the sun slowly rose on the decimated and burning camp, it was obvious the dimensional travelers had gotten the upper hand. And as the sun climbed fully above the hills, the last shadow warrior fell with a bolt of energy through its head.

The four stood there for a moment, exhausted, as the surveyed the carnage and desolation. James turned to Joseph and said, "Interesting call, kid. I'll think about trying that one in the future."

Joseph simply glared at James, but after a pause, he nodded. "Thank you, firstborn," he said, "but remember: it's about the team and the end results, not about the immediate victory."

James leaned in close until their noses were almost touching. James then whispered, "No, it's ALL about the immediate victory."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Okay! We've made it to the end of the two-part section of memories! Time to move back onto the present...<strong>

**Extra Note: Oops, I had Daniel and Martin mixed up, no problem though, I fixed it now! Sorry for the inconvenience.**


	15. Chapter 15 - The Party

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: A park near the Ponyville borders_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Twilight looked Flaming Star as he finished his tale. "So that's it?" she said, "A feeling of inadequacy? A need to win?"

Flaming Star stretched and tried his best to appear nonchalant as he replied, "I- I suppose so. A perfectionist by extension. I promised the Paradox I would be the best… And I… am… the… best."

Twilight looked at Flaming Star's face attempting to look determined, but saw through the ploy. "I understand what you're feeling. I too try to be a perfectionist, but it can be hard."

Flaming Star looked at Twilight again, was she just making these parallels up? Or did she truly understand what he went through. Slowly he said, "You… understand?"

Twilight smiled quietly and placed a hoof on his shoulder, "I understand. However, something princess Celestia taught me was that it is good to try to be a perfectionist, but you cannot let the perfectionist become you. You have other things to your life, and trying best may be important, but it cannot carry on to your interactions with other ponies."

Flaming Star nodded slowly, "I've spent so much time trying not to let the power become me that I let the perfection take control. Well… thanks… I guess."

Then after a pause, Twilight frowned and said, "But what you did was wrong."

Flaming Star closed his eyes and groaned as he said, "Yeah, yeah. I KNOW it was wrong and selfish and screwed up. But... but I couldn't stand people knowing that their example, their leader had failed on a stupid little mission with a group of fully-trained veterans."

Twilight sighed as well as she replied, "It can be difficult, but as Sunset said, it's not about the immediate victory! Friends matter more right?"

Flaming Star looked down at his hoofs and said, "I really don't have any friends," he confessed, "just followers. I never saw the use in friends thanks to the fact that I thought that some connection greater than teamwork would skew my judgment skills vital for planning out a victory."

Twilight looked somberly at Flaming Star as she said, "From the looks of it, your judgment skills were already askew. Victory shouldn't be the predominate factor in any situation; it is simply a sign that you delivered well. But a victory is not a victory over the dead bodies of friends. And even if you didn't have friends then... you have one now."

Flaming Star stared blankly ahead and there was an uncomfortable pause, soon Twilight began to rise, and Flaming Star, against his better judgment, blurted out: "Would you… come to lunch with me?"

Twilight, who had been wishing he would say that the second she had finished talking gave a huge bounce and exclaimed, "Yes please!"

Flaming Star eyed her scrupulously as he said, "Okay… Well, do you know any good places to eat?"

Twilight nodded vigorously, "There a special place I like to go to all the time in Ponyville. Follow me!"

Torn between a mild excitement and a bitter regret about the new situation he had gotten himself into, Flaming Star followed the obviously ecstatic Twilight slowly as she literally bounced through town square. As they moved, Twilight talked. "While we're eating, I can tell you about my adventures! And then maybe you could tell me about a few of yours! It will be really exciting! Ooooh! Maybe we could even write a book about it all! I could put it in a special place in the library for ponies to read! What should we call it? The adventures of Twilight and Flaming Star?"

Flaming Star simply groaned and put his head down, trying to be inconspicuous. He then noticed Sunset and Fluttershy standing and watching him from a distance. Fluttershy just smiled while she put a hoof about Sunset, and Sunset simply grinned and winked. Flaming Star averted his gaze as he followed the bouncing Twilight through the town.

"Oh dear," said Fluttershy as Flaming Star and Twilight passed out of view, "Flaming Star doesn't look at all happy."

Sunset nodded, "Yep. That will happen to a pony when he's grumpy, and boy is that pony grumpy. I just hope he will begin to understand what it means to get off his pedestal and understand to act and be nice like the rest of us."

Flaming Star heard every word Sunset had said, but he chose to ignore it, instead shaking his head and continuing to follow Twilight. Soon they arrived at the little restaurant on a corner a few blocks down from Sugar Cube corner. The waitress was most certainly surprised to see a regal-looking, yet extremely bothered, alicorn and a hyper-excited Twilight walk in.

"Oh, er… lunch for two?" Asker the waitress, a little bit flustered. Flaming Star nodded, he then turned to Twilight.

"Twilight," he said, "stop bouncing for one second and hand me an example of your people's currency, please."

Twilight gave him a bit, after a minute of looking it over carefully, he used his tremendous powers to duplicate a small bag of them. Twilight stopped talking for a moment to look at them. "Are you allowed to do that?" she said.

Flaming Star looked at the bag and said, "I am a traveler, I think I'm allowed to do it… at least once."

The waitress returned and seated them in a nice spot outside. The waitress then handed them their menus. Flaming Star looked over it with an amused expression. Ponies were vegetarians, so he wasn't surprised to see everything containing only green foods in one way or another.

Looking the menu over for a bit, he decided he would have the oat soup, while Twilight decided on the daisy sandwich. As the waitress took their orders and went off to prepare it, Twilight said, "So, Flaming Star, how do you like it here?"

Flaming Star looked about for a moment before saying, "It's okay. By far the most peaceful, of course, but I suppose I really have been too shaken up to let it all sink in."

Twilight nodded slowly as he talked, and then said, "What do you think of Sunset?"

Flaming Star snorted at the question, but then replied, "Eh, he's a good kid. I'm surprised he got married though. Last time we met, the only thing I was thinking was how wonderful it would be to kill him and leave his body strewn across the molten plains of the battlefield. But… but he's really different now, you guys have changed him in ways I cannot imagine! What's your secret?"

Twilight gave him a huge smile and said, "The magic of friendship."

Flaming Star blinked at her. After a pause, he said, "The magic… of friendship. That's it."

Twilight nodded vigorously, "Never underestimate it! It changed me as well! There is something in it that changes everypony!"

Flaming Star thought about it for a moment and then said, "I… suppose… I guess I really haven't had time to contemplate it really. I never had any friends, I never trusted myself or the other people, and, sadly, it paid off when most of the people who had tried getting close to me turned against each other. It wasn't pretty, and I saw it eat away at Sunset, turning him into a monster. But he seems to be really happy now!"

At this moment, the waitress brought out the food, and the two tucked in. After a bit, they returned to their conversation.

"Well, if Sunset can trust us, I am sure you can too!" exclaimed Twilight.

Flaming Star thought about it for a moment. "I… don't know," he said, "I will have to think about it."

"What's there to think about?" Persisted Twilight

"Twilight, you must understand, Sunset is young and gullible, the betrayals dug out his heart, but the wounds were fresh, and you and your friends love restored his soul before the cancer had dug too deep, but me… well… let's just say your perspective of literally EVERYTHING changes when you become my age." Said Flaming Star after a bit more though.

Twilight seemed to accept the answer, but immediately followed it up. "That's another thing! What is it like to be so old?!"

Flaming Star sighed, "I don't know… just… old. I was blessed with a timeless personality, so I never felt affected by the ages, but I consistently get bouts of déjà vu, nostalgia, and sometimes depression. Eternity is a long time, and it's starting to feel like I have the real deal."

Twilight quieted down after that somber response and the two ate in silence for a time. Finally, Twilight said, "Will you really live forever?"

Flaming Star tried to smile, but failed. "Eh… No. I have at least another dozen thousand years on me, but the world changes, and sometimes I want the multiverse to just stand still. I can no longer just enjoy the moment, for even a hundred years is nothing but a mere drop in the ocean of the lifetime of a dimensional traveler."

Twilight smiled sadly, she suddenly reached across and took Flaming Star's hoof in her own, and they remained in the position for a good thirty seconds. Blushing profusely, Twilight let go and looked down, then she said, "Did that moment just pass on by?"

Flaming Star stared at the hoof Twilight had been holding, for the first time in his life… he was speechless. After a pause, he said, "I- I really cannot say…"

For the rest of the lunch, the two ate without talking. Flaming Star paid for the food, and the two went on their own separate ways. He sat under a tree and watched as the sun crossed over zenith and traveled on to the full west. After a bit, Sunset passed by. He stopped when he saw Flaming Star and sat next to him.

"Greetings firstborn," said Sunset as he sat down next to him.

Flaming Star barely registered his presence for a second, then he mumbled, "Just call me Flaming Star, Sunset."

Sunset grinned and said, "I know that face. What kind of lunch did you have anyway?"

Flaming Star glared defensively at Sunset and snapped, "It was nothing big, we just ate lunch, no big deal."

Sunset continued grinning, "I'm a married pony, Flaming Star, I know how these things worth. For once, and I'm sure you will be forced to agree, I know more about this all than you do."

Flaming Star sighed resignedly and said, "Well… she did say some stuff that really held onto my brain. Something that rarely happens. I guess our conversation really gave me pause… amazing."

Sunset looked at the sun slowly setting and said, "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"

Flaming Star nodded, "I am. Pinkie Pie's party. You, er, you are invited if you wish to go."

Sunset chuckled, "It would be foolish of me to refuse a Pinkie invitation. Would you mind if I brought some friends over?"

Flaming Star shrugged, "From what I perceive of this Pinkie Pie… I am sure no one would mind."

With that, the two alicorns got up and went their separate ways. Flaming Star immediately traveled to Sugar Cube corner and knocked. The door flew open and Pinkie Pie's head popped out.

"There you are slow-poke! Let's go! We're about to play pin-the-tail-on-the-pony!"

Flaming Star just raised his eyebrows, but Pinkie grabbed his hoof and dragged him inside. The building was brightly lit, and colorful streamers were everywhere.

"Here we are! You're welcome-to-Ponyville party! Ooooh! Let's go meet my friend friend friends! You've already met my friend friend friends Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Sunset, and Fluttershy, but I have more friend friend friends that I want you to meet!"

With that, Pinkie dragged Flaming Star over to a small group of ponies at the food table.

"This is Rarity!" exclaimed Pinkie.

"Oh my," said Rarity as she saw Flaming Star, "I am delighted to meet you my dear sir. Are you a prince?"

Flaming Star laughed, "Well, I suppose you could say that. I am please to meet you as well, Rarity."

Pinkie then grabbed Flaming Star's hoof again and dragged him to the other end of the table.

"This is Applejack!"

"Howdy partner!" said Applejack, treating Flaming Star to a smile, "How ya' doin'?"

Flaming Star bowed and said, "I am doing fine, Applejack. It is a pleasure to meet you."

At this point, Sunset tapped Flaming Star's shoulder. Flaming Star turned around and said, "Oh, greetings Sunset."

Sunset nodded and said, "I want you to meet one of my closest groups of friends: the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They literally saved my life when I first came here to Ponyville."

Sweetie Bell trotted up and said, "Hi! I'm Sweetie Bell! Please to meet you!"

Then Scootaloo galloped in, with her wings buzzing in excitement as she said, "Yeah! And I'm Scootaloo!"

Finally Apple Bloom came up and said, "I'm Apple Bloom, pleased to meet you!"

Flaming Star bowed and said, "I am pleased to meet all three of you. I am glad to have met you all…"

His voice trailed off as he saw Twilight standing in a corner, talking with Rarity. He gave the CMC a quick smile and trotted off.

"Hey, er Twilight, I-I wanted to thank you for going to lunch with me," Flaming Star said as Rarity moved off to talk to Sweetie Bell.

Twilight blushed and responded, "Thank you. I'm really sorry if I seemed a little too straightforward though."

Flaming Star shook his head, "Oh no, it was fine, your actions really gave me pause, something I have not felt in a long, long time. And coming from someone such as myself, that means a lot."

Twilight looked over at Pinkie and said, "They're playing pin-the-tail-on-the-pony now, do you want to play?"

Flaming Star chuckled as he said, "No, I don't think so, it wouldn't really be fair."

Twilight laughed as Sunset tried his hoof at it and got it perfect in no time at all. "I guess you could say that, I suppose you guys do have a little bit of an advantage."

"No kidding," Chuckled Flaming Star. There was an uncomfortable pause, but after a whole minute (though it seemed like an hour) Flaming Star said, "I'm going to try the food before it's all gone. I will see you later Twilight. Take care of yourself."

Twilight looked disappointed at his going, but nodded and said, "Oh… okay."

Flaming Star gave out a huge sigh as soon as he was out of ear shot, but then decided to go ahead and try some of the food anyway. It was sweet, but it had no substance for Flaming Star, who had probably tasted every food ever in the eons of his existence. After a while of trying to "get into" the feel of the party, he went outside and sat down, looking at the moon rising above them.

"What am I doing here?" he muttered.

Suddenly, he was joined by Sunset, who had seen he leave. Sunset sat down next to him and said, "We're here to recuperate. I came here because my mind had shattered; you came here because your view of the multiverse was compromised. We're all here due to something life-changing, and we're in the right place. Give these ponies a chance, Flaming Star! They are the better than the best friends anypony could want."

Flaming Star shook his head. "I don't know. Unlike you, Sunset, I've never had any friends. Sure, I had people who were nice to me, but that was because their lives literally depended on my actions, and those who truly cared about me eventually learned to hate me due to who I am. Like you, Sunset. It… it really never turns out well."

Sunset thought about what Flaming Star had said for a moment, and then replied, "And what of Twilight? Do you consider her a friend?"

Flaming Star chuckled, almost derisively, "I have no idea. In all my years, I have not met a being quite like her. It's baffling really. I don't know, I just don't know."

Sunset sighed and he got up, "I'm going back inside, let me know if you want any food."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: The Inferno<em>

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

The sound reverberated to every corner of the infernal real; the sound of the colossal monument that is Mount Azrael shattering into dust and debris. As the frozen shards finished slicing though the air, the dust cleared, and the rocks of ice and frozen stone finished falling from the sky, the only creature standing was Legion.

Legion took a deep, rumbling breath before taking a step… it shook the entire circle. Legion was massive, twenty feet tall, every square inch covered excessively in layers-upon-layers of powerful armor. Even his face was covered in a powerful masked helmet, with only a thin, red-glowing, T-visor slicing through the face-plate. Extending an armored hand, Legion conjured forth his massive sword, the demonic claymore, out of thin air. Looking at the hellish runes glowing on the side of the blade, Legion nodded his head slowly. He then lifted his left hand and snapped his finger once; a ripple spread through the air as a wordless message was sent: Legion had returned. Almost immediately, the demon Xaphan approached Legion, his head bowed low.

"Commander," he said in rasping tones, "You called for me?"

Legion ignored the trembling demon for a moment as he turned his armored head around slowly, smelling the air.

"The winds of time and space are talking to me," Legion said in a voice like thunder to no one in particular, "It is telling me that the traveler council has fallen and that most dimensions are ripe for the conquest… save three. These are protected by the harmony units, and they cannot be invaded properly by evil. You, underling, will take a score of you best demons and raid the harmony tree dimension first… it is the least protected. Leave no creature alive, we cannot have the harmony units interfering with the plans."

Xaphan nodded and said, "It will be done commander."

As Xaphan scurried off, Legion continued to look around. A soft hum of interest escaped the masked visor as Legion whispered the unintelligible word that Abbadon had said to the mountain two years ago. After that, Legion rumbled a little louder, "Ah… I understand. It is almost time."


	16. Chapter 16 - To Canterlot Again

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Flaming Star's house_

_Time: A day after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Flaming Star had been sitting on the door step to Sugar Cube corner for more than an hour, and soon ponies began to file out to go home for the night. First came Sunset and Fluttershy, holding hoofs. Fluttershy only stopped to smile at Flaming Star and say, "Goodnight, get yourself home soon!"

Soon the rest came out: Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. Each said a word of farewell to Flaming Star as they went on home. Finally Twilight came out, however, instead of moving on, she sat next to Flaming Star for a moment.

"It's a beautiful night," sighed Twilight, "Don't you wish every night was like this?"

Flaming Star also sighed, and then said, "I don't really know. It's hard to say."

Twilight looked at Flaming Star, "Haven't you ever had a moment that you wished had never gone away?"

Flaming Star shook his head, "No, come to think about it… I suppose it all just melts into each other, like a sea of memories, all thrashing about for a place in my immediate thoughts."

Twilight looked at Flaming Star and said softly, "It must be tough."

Flaming Star smiled at Twilight and replied, "Not really. But it does make me hunger for something that will last longer. But nothing has been strong enough to hold its ground in my mind for long. Too many years and too many different memories I suppose… Well, I suppose I should get home."

Flaming Star got up and awkwardly patted Twilight on the shoulder; he then made his way home in state of depression as he realized how true his words were. How could he learn to live here? He had no experience whatsoever about anything he was dealing with, and all these new emotions were threatening to compromise him. With his head still pounding with troubled thoughts, Flaming Star cantered into his home, got into bed, and laid down. Sleep was long in coming, and when it did, the dreams were nothing but a jumble of confusing memory sequences from all over the eight thousand years of his life.

A knock on the door woke Flaming Star, who looked around in confusion as his faculties pulled together his present dimension, location, and time... He must have fallen asleep without knowing it. He then began to wonder who possible would want to see him. Getting up, he moved downstairs and opened the door, it was Spike.

Flaming Star blinked at the baby dragon before saying, "Er… hello?"

Spike smiled and handed Flaming Star a parchment, "Hey Flaming Star! I'm Spike! Twilight's personal assistant! We just received word that princess Celestia is on her way to meet you today!"

Flaming Star took the paper and scanned it. "Oh… okay. When is her estimated time of arrival?"

Spike shrugged, "An hour or so."

Spike was about to turn around and leave when Flaming Star quickly said, "This princess Celestia… Twilight said that as a princess, her lifespan would be ultimately longer than average ponies… does this mean this Celestia has such a lifespan? If so, how long has she lived?"

Spike scratched his head as he thought, "Eh… I'm not sure. I know that she does have a really long life, but I have no idea how old she is. Maybe five thousand years?"  
>Flaming Star raised an eyebrow, but nodded his thanks and returned inside. He took a quick shower and sat down to look at the sky, something he had been doing increasingly more and more often over the past decade. Suddenly, Twilight rushed around the corner, spotted Flaming Star, and rushed over.<p>

"She's here!" she exclaimed, grabbing Flaming Stars hoof, "Let's go!"

She dragged Flaming Star unceremoniously around the house to the front, just in time to see the chariot of Celestia make a touchdown. Flaming Star approached the chariot as Celestia stepped off. Flaming Star stopped in his tracks as he saw Celestia's face… something seemed familiar about it.

"Greetings, Flaming Star," said Celestia as she cantered up to where he stood, "Twilight has told me much about you?"

Flaming Star became a little flustered at the mention of Twilight talking about him, but he did not show it.

"Princess Twilight is a wonderful pony," he said calmly. After a moment of continually staring at her, he said, "My apologizes princess, but do you happen to know of a being named Regal Crescent?"

Celestia's mouth almost dropped open at the name, but after a pause she said, "Why…yes, I did. We were good friends when I was a filly. He sadly disappeared to a far off land, and I stopped receiving letters from him soon after that. I never saw him again."

Flaming Star nodded, "That was to be expected. His true name was Dathan Enosson, and he was a dimensional traveler like me and Sunset. I apologize for the tangent, but I was curious, when he came back to us, he would not stop talking about you and the other princess and the wonderful land you lived in."

Celestia smiled and said, "I appreciate it, I also worried about his whereabouts. Is he still with your… er, travelers?"

Flaming Star suddenly looked down and said slowly, "No. He turned away from the light. He is no longer one of us."

Celestia sighed and moved her head close to Flaming Star, "It seems that we have both then lost a good companion."

Flaming Star nodded, he then motioned to his house and said, "I would be honored if you would spare a moment to talk with me."

Celestia nodded and walked inside, signaling to the guards to stay on the porch. The two settled down at a table and began to have tea.

"Tell me," said Flaming Star asking the immediate question, "How old are you?"

Celestia smiled, though it was obvious she was a little taken aback by the question, "No pony has asked me that in a while. I am four thousand years old… I understand that it may be a long time for someone as young as you to understand the time my life has covered, but it is true."

Flaming Star chuckled as he took a sip of tea. "Princess Celestia," he said after a pause, "I am eight thousand years old."

Celestia almost choked on her tea as she looked at Flaming Star, "Is that possible?"

Flaming Star nodded, he then reached out and tapped her skull lightly, imparting a flurry of images confirming the ages he had lived through. Celestia looked at Flaming Star in wonder, and she herself found herself bowing her head low as she said, "Incredible…"

Flaming Star quickly raised he and said, "I do not have any being bow to me. It is not who I am. I may be ancient, but I am not a king, nor do I deserve the honor of being bowed to any longer."

Celestia looked at Flaming Star with interest in her eyes, "Any longer?"

Flaming Star sighed, he was loath to tell her of his issues, but the aura that radiated from Celestia had gotten to his old sensibilities and he felt like he could trust her. His piercing eyes blazed into her soul for a moment before he nodded and said, "I was the most powerful of the travelers, I always won my battles and I was an example to all. Unfortunately, I let the count of my victories, 2346127 in all, obscure my judgment. I felt like they had become more important than my team, and so I fell out from being a hero to a reckless fool. And it continued to build, until my iron-wrought belief in my own skills ended up with my team dead, and my first defeat on my hands."

Celestia looked at Flaming Star, who was glaring down at the table, and softly said, "I understand what you are going through…"

Flaming Star snorted and said, "Perhaps… but that isn't the worst of it. You know Sunset and how he is a traveler as well, right? Well, we're the only two good ones left. Every other one who believed in the truth has died."

Celestia gasped, "Sunset told me of what you travelers did for us all… does this mean that these demon creatures that you fought will begin to take over all?"

Flaming Star shrugged, "Who can tell? The tree of harmony of this universe protects it, and the commander-in-chief of the infernal armies, Legion, lies imprisoned in the frozen mountain of Azrael…"

Celestia looked at Flaming Star curiously, "The tree of harmony? How do you know of it?"

Flaming Star sighed, "Regal Crescent, long before he went wrong, was responsible for it being planted here. He loved this place, and everything in it."

There was a knock at the door, and Twilight poked her head through the door.

"Flaming Star? Oh! I didn't know you were in here too princess Celestia."

Celestia nodded and said, "I am here. If you will excuse us, dear Twilight, we were discussing some important matters."

Flaming Star on the other hand, got up quickly and said, "Oh! Twilight! Come in! I, er, WE would love your company."

Celestia gave Flaming Star a side-long glance, but then nodded to Twilight. At seeing Flaming Star so excited, Twilight gave a huge smile and trotted over to sit next to him. The three then began to have tea together.

"Flaming Star," said Celestia, "I want you to come with me the Canterlot for a time. Princess Luna was, er, shall we say, a little bit of head-over-hoofs in love with Regal Crescent. Hearing from you might make her understand what was been going on. She has gotten over his disappearance since her own banishment, but I don't think she has ever understood what happened."

Flaming Star nodded. However, Twilight's eyes fell a little, but Flaming Star noticed. After a massive internal struggle, Flaming Star sighed, almost loudly, and said, "I will go, but only if princess Twilight accompanies me. I have grown to enjoy her company, even if at times she can talk too much. I… well… I… I have much to learn from here."

At this, Twilight's eyes grew to twice their regular size and she grabbed Flaming Star and gave him a massive hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" She exclaimed.

Flaming Star grunted as he struggled for breath and gave Celestia a sheepish grin.

Celestia nodded as she stood up, "I would be happy if both you came. Do you have a particular date in mind to grace my court with your presence?"

Flaming Star, who was still trying to pry Twilight loose from his waist, said, "I would like to go now, if possible. I prefer to never leave loose ends untied for long if I can help it."

Celestia nodded, "I have an appointment to keep in Baltimare, but you two are welcome to go to Canterlot ahead of me. Enjoy yourselves, my little ponies."

Chuckling quietly, Celestia got up and go into the chariot. Spike came in and stared at Flaming Star and Twilight.

"Ah… Spike," said Flaming Star, "It appears that Twilight is no longer aware of her surroundings. I would appreciate it if you would help bring her to her senses before she strangles me to death. I would hate it to have it all end here."

Spike broke down laughing, "Oh boy, Twilight, not you too!"

The sound of Spike laughing immediately brought Twilight back to reality, and she began to blush. "Stop it Spike! I'm just really happy."

Spike wiped a tear from his eye as he struggled with his laughing, "S- sorry… It's just so funny!"

Flaming Star snorted, "Yes, we all know it was funny to watch. Spike, get ready, you, Twilight, and I are going to Canterlot. I have some unfinished business there, and I would appreciate it if you and Twilight went with me."

Spike, still struggling with his laughter nodded, "R- right away! Hehehehe…"

Flaming Star rolled his eyes and turned to Twilight. "Could you be ready in an hour? I could teleport us there, but per Sunset's request, I intend to experience the 'full pony experience.'"

Twilight, still blushing, said, "Oh! Um… of course!"

Scrambling up, Twilight grabbed Spike and dashed off. As Flaming Star watched her go, he groaned… This was probably a huge mistake. Slowly he got up and swayed in place as he struggled with his inner self as he contemplated what he should do. Should he change his mind? Impossible now. How could he deal with this? Suddenly, Flaming Star decided that it would be in his best interest to talk to Sunset.

Flaming Star understood what he had to do, but it was extremely embarrassing, and he still did not like Sunset too well. Grumbling every step of the way, Flaming Star begrudgingly knocked on door to Sunset and Fluttershy's house. Sunset opened the door and looked at Flaming Star. "Oh… can I help you?"

Flaming Star rolled his eyes and sighed, "Yeah… I am having 'Twilight' problems."

Sunset began a bout of coughing that probably hid his snickering. Flaming Star just looked at Sunset and said, "You know what? Screw you."

However, as he began to turn around, Sunset called out, "No! Wait! I'll help you."

Flaming Star looked at Sunset and said, "Okay… great… One more laugh from you though, and I'm turning around and leaving."

Sunset sat down and said, "Oh, Flaming Star, let go of your pride for a moment. And don't forget who you're talking to! I was the master of all those dark things before I saw the light again. What seems to be the problem?"

Flaming Star sighed again and said, "Well… Apparently the princess Luna had fallen in love with Dathan Enosson when he was here looking for a place to plant the harmony tree. We all know what's happened to Dathan, except for this dimension, of course. Celestia wants me to go to Luna, who I guess still thinks about Dathan's disappearance, and explain what has happened. Annoyingly enough, Twilight wanted to go with me, so I said she could go. I mean… what the hell is wrong with that pony? I'm the least likeable traveler ever! No one ever liked me!"

Sunset winked at Flaming Star and said, "And we all know why no one liked you, right? Eh, never mind. Anyway, I thought the same thing when Fluttershy saw good in me. It was really her who brought out my true self from all the scarred emotions and violent impulses. Perhaps spending time with someone who likes you for what you truly have in yourself will bring it out in you as well! My advice is hang in there and humor her, maybe she'll surprise you."

Flaming Star nodded, after another round of struggling with his better judgment, he said slowly, "Thank you Sunset. I appreciate it."

Sunset gave him a grin and said, "Any time. You might want to get ready, you have a long time ahead of you."

Flaming Star snorted as he got up and began to leave. As he exited the door, he said over his shoulder, "You don't have to tell me that, I figured out that part myself."

Sunset chuckled as he closed the door and went back to his work.

Flaming Star went directly to his home and packed a few things into a suitcase, exactly in an hour, as he had said, Twilight came knocking at the door.

"Let's go get some tickets!" she exclaimed, "The train should be leaving in half-an-hour!"

Flaming Star sighed resignedly and followed Twilight to the train station. As they went, they were intercepted by Rainbow Dash.

"Hey guys! Where are you two going?"

Twilight smiled, "Hey Rainbow! Flaming Star and I are off to Canterlot for a few days. Flaming Star has some important business there, and he invited me to come along with him! It will be fun!"

"If will be fun, eh?" said Rainbow, pulling a face. As Twilight skipped by, Flaming Star made eye contact with Rainbow and whispered, "Kill me."

Rainbow just grinned and winked.

In thirty minutes Spike, Twilight, and Flaming Star were on the train to Canterlot.

"So, what should we do first?" said Twilight, smiling at Flaming Star.

"I know, we should play the 'who can be the quietest' game." Replied Flaming Star.

Twilight, blinked, "What?"

Flaming Star smiled and said, "I think we should just rest for a bit, and enjoy the view."

The three sat together in silence until Spike said, "This is really boring."

Flaming Star looked down at Spike and said, "You haven't lived for thousands of years. Just enjoy the moment, in time everything will seem like a blur."

Spike snorted, "Yeah, yeah. We ALL know how old you are now. I don't think it should change anything!"

Flaming Star put his head to one side as he thought about it. "Well… yeah, I suppose so. You're right, really. Sadly, it gets more difficult to say that as time goes on. Believe me, I was telling myself that during my first thousand years, and I felt I was going strong, but everything mellowed out after the fifth… then the sixth… then the seventh…"

Twilight looked at Flaming Star with huge eyes, "Is it really like that?"

Flaming Star shrugged, "I suppose so. It kind of sucks. You can't imagine how I've just sat back and watched the multiverse go by, as I've said. Sometimes… sometimes I feel like everything is moving on without me."

Twilight placed a hoof gently on Flaming Star's shoulder, "It must be so strange, seeing everything like this."

Flaming Star smiled at her and said, "This dimension is something special, a mix of all the eras really. Perhaps Sunset has made a few innovations here and there, but this place, at its core, makes me feel a little at home. I mean, when I was your age, I was a farmer! There were literally only one hundred of us on that planet… all alone. And now I cannot go back, it's too foreign. But this place… well, this place, as I said, is something different."

Once again everypony lapsed into silence, but this silence was rich with meaning, and not bothering in the least. Twilight and Flaming Star sat side-by-side as they watched the countryside flash by. Spike, on the other hoof, just grumbled and muttered that he was going to the diner's car.

After the moment had passed, Twilight gave Flaming Star a side-long glance and said, "Would… would you like to hear about my past?"

Flaming Star at first wanted to continue drinking in the passing time, but after a bit of thought he nodded his head. Thus Twilight began to recount how she had come to Ponyville, how she had found the elements of harmony, how she had defeated Discord, and how she had become a princess…

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Hey everypony! How are you all? Don't forget to write up reviews! I would enjoy the feedback!<strong>


	17. Chapter 17 - Doubts

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Train Station_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Within several hours, the train arrived at Canterlot station, and Twilight, Spike, and Flaming Star got onto the platform.

"Let's go!" said Twilight, "Oh, and be ready to be swamped by pony reporters, Alicorn Stallions are really rare, and you will be something of a major attraction. Hopefully everything will go okay, though, Sunset nearly feinted when he first came here."

Flaming Star nodded his head slowly, "Thanks for the heads up."

Like when Sunset first arrived, ponies at first didn't really notice; but as Flaming Star continued on his way to the castle, more and more noticed the golden alicorn and began to follow him. Soon a procession was directly behind them as pony reporters began to move in to photograph him and ask him questions.

Flaming Star simply nodded his head towards the reporters, but didn't say anything. He simply walked on, ignoring everypony as he moved towards the castle. Soon they arrived at the gates, and the three strolled in with alacrity.

"Wow, you did really well!" said Twilight.

"Yeah, Sunset nearly blew a gasket during his time here," added Spike

Flaming Star grinned, "Thank you, you two." His grin vanished when he saw a bright, yet subtle, flash off down one of the hallways.

"Well, I suppose we should get settled in, see you soon!" called Twilight as she trotted down another hallway.

Eyes still glued to the spot where the flash had originated, Flaming Star called out, "Yeah! See you soon…"

He moved down the hallway to investigate… nothing. Suddenly, a voice called out, "Oh my, not ANOTHER alicorn!"

Flaming Star immediately looked up, a habit he had developed over the years. Above him was Discord. Flaming Star just grinned as his memories from long times passed were pulled up to identify the being before him.

"Well, if it isn't the chaotic traveler Discordius," said Flaming Star with a wink.

Discord was so surprised that he fell out of the air and landed on his back. He scrambled up and exclaimed, "My… my! The firstborn! What bring you here?"

Flaming Star eyed Discord up and down, "I had my suspicions that you were the Discord Twilight had told me about. How long have you been here now, two thousand years?"

Discord gave a deep, mock bow as he replied, "Yes, my dear Abimael. But I suppose you really already knew that. And that brings us back to my original question: what ARE you doing here, really?"

"I live here now," said Flaming Star simply.

Discord winced. "Ah…" he muttered, "I was afraid you were going to say that."

He then cleared his throat and said a little louder, "You are aware Joseph Torrus, or as we call him, Sunset Shadow, lives here as well, right?"

Flaming Star nodded, "Yes, in fact, I am now going by the name Flaming Star, though I still much prefer firstborn."

Discord rolled his eyes, "So many names. Well, why are you living here, exactly?"

Flaming Star's face filled with a depressed look for a moment as he replied, "Well… I lost a battle, and during the loss, the last good dimensional travelers were killed. It's all over, Sunset and I are it."

Discord looked somberly at Flaming Star as the realization of what was happening to precedence; however, after a pause, Discord tried to lighten the mood by saying, "I say, are you implying that I'm not a good traveler? I'll have you know that I saved Sunset when he was attacked by Abbadon!"

"Sunset told me about that a while ago," Flaming Star said, "But you said, when confronted by Abbadon, that you had given up the title of hero."

Discord pulled a face, "Oh yes, all these technicalities of titles and official monikers… Yuck. Perhaps that is true, perhaps it's not, but I understand your point, it seems the time of the travelers has rolled past its apex and tumbled down into a precipice of doom."

Flaming Star nodded glumly, "To put it eloquently, yes. I better get me room set up, but Discordious, keep your eyes open."

Discord gave a flourishing bow as he replied, "Of course, Flaming Star."

Flaming Star then left him to find his room. As soon as he found it and settled in, he went to find Twilight. She and Spike were in their room, finishing their checklist on her checklist.

"Oh! Hey Flaming Star!" exclaimed Twilight as he walked in, "You all settled in?"

Flaming Star nodded and said, "You know where this… er, princess Luna is? I could not find her anywhere."

Twilight shrugged, "She is the moon princess, so there is a chance that she is traveling the sky, waiting for her time to raise the moon. You will most probably run into her at night time. I still have a lot on my hoofs, but you're welcome to stay with me while you wait!"

Flaming Star smiled graciously and replied, "I appreciate the offer, but I think I will walk around for a bit first. When I'm done with that, I'll find you."

Flaming Star strolled the grand and well-lit halls of Canterlot castle, his head slowly oscillating from side-to-side as he took in every detail. Suddenly, something caught his eye: a large, stain glass window, with none other than Twilight's portrait imprinted forever on the glass. Flaming Star looked it up and down as he took it all in. Twilight had done much good in this dimension, and had saved it numerous times… a true hero. Flaming Star sighed… and who was he? Perhaps he had earned the right of being called a hero some time ago, but it was obvious he no longer deserved it; he had lost sight of what it all was about. The sound of casual trotting rang out behind him, and Flaming Star turned around. A regal looking unicorn was strolling behind him; however, he paused the moment he saw Flaming Star and stopped. Seeing this, Flaming Star nodded and said, "Greetings."

The unicorn sniffed and said, "Do I know you?"

Flaming Star raised an eyebrow and said, "I believe not. I am Flaming Star."

The unicorn nodded stiffly and replied, "I am Prince Blueblood. Are you of royalty?"

Flaming Star looked at the unicorn; there was something he didn't like about this pony. "I may be of royalty, and I may be not. What of it?"

Prince Blueblood looked Flaming Star over with a disinterested eye, "You are an alicorn. A relation of princess Celestia?"

Flaming Star shook his head slowly, "No, I hail from Ponyville."

Blueblood snorted, "YOU? Of Ponyville? Well then, I have nothing to say to such a commoner as yourself."

Flaming Star chuckled, "And what of the princess Twilight? She herself is of royalty, and yet spends her time as a citizen of Ponyville."

Blueblood rolled his eyes, as if he didn't expect Flaming Star to understand the complexities of heritage. "You see, my dear fellow," he chuckled, "the princess Twilight Sparkle may enjoy stooping herself low to spend time with her commoner friends, but she is born of Canterlot, her blood is pure. Her taste in friends is quite distasteful though, I might add."

Flaming Star mulled over the thought of grabbing Blueblood and knocking the tobacco juice out of him, but then thought better of it. "Well, I am born neither of Ponyville nor of Canterlot. And I am not of royal blood, but I suggest you treat others with respect."

Blueblood smirked, "Why ever should I do that?"

Flaming Star blinked, and then replied, "Because you someday find yourself all alone… without friends."

Blueblood laughed derisively, "Oh, my dear fellow. Why do you need friends? I have all I need right here." And the unicorn then proffered a hoof at himself.

Flaming Star was astonished as he suddenly realized the parallels between himself and this distasteful unicorn. Had he truly been like this? Had he really seen no need in friends? "I warn you," he said after a long pause, "you may think this now, but when something happens to you that causes you to lose what you hold the most dear, you will suddenly find yourself abandoned and forsaken. May God help you when that day comes, because you may never be as fortunate as I when I found myself in such a situation."

Blueblood just snorted and stuck his nose in the air and trotted off. Flaming Star's eyes followed him until the unicorn rounded the corner. That chance meeting had really struck a blow with him; the parallel had been too great. He had held only his victories and his perfection dear, and now that it had all gone down the drain, he was all alone… almost. "But… it is never too late for redemption," Flaming Star muttered as he turned around to continue to look through the panes. Slowly he went on strolling through the stain glass windows, observing all the ways friendship could help him overcome great trails.

"I missed all this?" breathed Flaming Star as he observed the different feats of the harmony bearers.

Suddenly, through a stain glass window, he saw Princess Luna flying to her sky-scraping tower in the distance. Nodding decisively, Flaming Star began to canter through the rooms and halls to approach the princess. Every once and a while, he would encounter guards, they would either challenge him momentarily, or simply bow in awe. Despite this, Flaming Star was making good time, and soon he had made it to the hall of thrones, here he encountered Luna, who was walking the other way.

Luna blinked as she saw Flaming Star cantering into the hall, "You there," she said, "Who are you?"

Flaming Star nodded his head, "I am a friend of Sunset Shadow, Flaming Star. I am here to discuss something with your highness."

Luna looked at Flaming Star and said slowly, "Very well, what is it that you want?"

Flaming Star shook his head, "I have nothing to ask for, but I do have some choice information that you might find useful."

Luna cocked her head to one side and said, "I see. Carry on."

Flaming Star nodded, "Do you remember a pony of the name Regal Crescent?"

Luna gasped, "I do. How come you by this name?"

"Regal Crescent was one of my, and Sunset's, types: a dimensional traveler. In fact, he was the one in charge of bringing the harmony tree here."

Luna looked excitedly, and a little unroyal-like, around, "Is he here?"

Flaming Star bowed his head, "He is not, and he turned his heart away from the light, and is traveling a path that is shrouded in nothing but darkness as of now."

Luna looked a little flustered, "But… but how is that possible? He was the most wonderful friend any princess could ask for!"

Flaming Star thought about what to say for a moment. Carefully picking his words, he replied, "It was, to some extent, my fault. Regal Crescent was my nephew, but he always envied me, believing that his father should have gained the powers that I possess. It started a rivalry that lasted many millennia, until finally he turned away to exact a proper revenge, without the restrictions of our code."

There was a deathly silence, broken only once by a lone tear falling from Luna's eye. After a deep sigh, she said, "I loved him."

Flaming Star nodded, "The princess Celestia told me of that. Perhaps… perhaps there is still hope for him."

Luna nodded, "I too turned away from the light once. Part due to what I believed was disrespect to the night I controlled, and perhaps partly due to my distress of the absolute disappearance of Regal Crescent. Anyway, I tried to take control of all of Equestria, but I was defeated and imprisoned on our moon for a thousand years. During that time, I realized there was nothing more dear to me than my sister, my friend. I remembered that feeling and, with the help of the harmony bearers, I turned my back on the darkness and came home."

Flaming Star moved slowly up to Luna and placed a hoof on her drooping shoulder and said, "You are right, there is always hope. Perhaps one day, I can seek Regal Crescent out, and tell him of your story, and make him see that it is possible to return from great darkness. You did it, Sunset did it, he can do it."

Luna took another shaking sigh and said, "Thank you, I appreciate the news, I will admit that his disappearance has always been a weight, no matter how small, in my mind. Now there is hope."

Flaming Star smiled and began to walk away, "There is always hope. I will go now, but I will be back. Princess Celestia is allowing me and Twilight Sparkle to reside here for a few days before returning to Ponyville."

Luna nodded, and Flaming Star left the hall. He slowly made his way back to the guest rooms, his thoughts pounding around in his head. All these new emotions… bouncing about, how could he understand what was happening to him? In all the years of his life, he had not once encountered what he was feeling now, and it unnerved him. As he walked, he passed by Twilight.

"Flaming Star!" she said excitedly, eyes wide and bright, "Do you want me to show you around the castle? There are some awesome hangout spots!"

Flaming Star gave her a small, but wavering, smile. "I am fine, maybe later. I- I suppose I need to think right now." He continued by her and went to his room and sat on his bed, his mind pulling up memories and discarding them, looking for some way to disprove Blueblood's statements, and to prove Luna's.

Then Twilight came in, she peeked around the door and said quietly, "Hey, what's the matter?"

Flaming Star immediately tried to hide his distress, "I'm fine. I'm just tired. You know."

Twilight blinked, and then said, "I know you better than that now. What's the matter? You can tell me."

Flaming Star sighed, "I met Prince Blueblood."

Twilight rolled her eyes, "I know of him, he's not a nice character."

Flaming Star nodded, "I understand that, but I have met unfriendly beings before, it was the parallel I saw of myself in him that really unnerved me."

Twilight cocked her head to one said and said, "What do you mean? You are nothing like him!"

Flaming Star looked at Twilight with pain in his eyes. "I wish that were true," he sighed, "But he is... or WAS like me. He thinks he needs no friends because it gets into the way of valuing the thing he prizes the most: himself. I thought I needed no friends because I too thought they would interfere with my prize: constant, continuous, immaculate, victories. As I talked to Blueblood, I truly understood why most being hated me: I was absolutely unbearable, and I understand that now."

Twilight, still in the doorway, nodded. "I can see how that would unnerve you. But come on! You're not like that anymore! You've changed, and I can see that. You have friends!"

Flaming Star sighed, "Do I? I... I suppose I must really ask myself that question. Twilight, I'm sorry, but I would like a little time alone."


	18. Chapter 18 - Hammer Strike

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: A couple of days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Twilight's eyes dimmed slightly at Flaming Star's request, and it was obvious that she was saddened, but she nodded and quietly closed the door. Flaming Star turned his back to it and stared at his hoofs. Was Twilight right? Had he changed like Twilight said? Did he have friends? He sighed, he couldn't tell. It had gotten to the point where he couldn't even tell if he was lying to himself or not. What he really needed was a challenge... but what if he failed to prove that he had changed in the light of a chaotic event?

Flaming Star got up and slowly moved to look out the window of his room. The sky was bright, birds were singing... Then an explosion blasted through the courtyard below.

Flaming Star's jaw literally dropped. Was Canterlot under attack? Undoubtedly.

As the smoke cleared, Flaming Star nearly fell over when he saw the creatures marching through the flames: Demons, at least five of them, led by Xaphan.

Flaming Star took a shaking breath as his mind scrambled to collect his falculties. They were under attack by demons, the head demon was Xaphan the despoiler. Excellent hand-to-hand combatant, dead-eye with demonic energy bolts, answered only to Legion. Legion? How was this possible? Flaming Star was almost tempted to back away and even hide under his bed, but his warrior instincts took over as a plan too place. Already a mare and a stallion guard was dead, and the demons were advancing on the front gates, the royal cavalry was not mobilizing quick enough to protect the halls of Canterlot castle, he had to act.

Slowly, he walked up to his porch that was overhanging the large doors the demons were approaching. With a deep breath, he slowly stepped off and fell straight off and landed, hoofs-first, squarely in front of the approaching monsters, kicking up debris and shrapnel. Xaphan hissed deep and low as he saw the alicorn in front of him.

"Who dares oppose us?" he said with a laugh, quickly signaling two demons to begin to flank him.

"I do," said Flaming Star simply, not giving the slightest inclination in any form that he was building up a massive blast of pure energy within his front hoofs.

Xaphan looked him up and down and said, "It would be such a shame to tear such fair flesh as yours, creature," he hissed through twisted teeth, "Take us to your ruler, and we will spare you."

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side, pretending to deeply consider the offer. "What will you do when I take you to her?" he said.

Xaphan grinned as he forced out, "We wish to discuss incredibly important matters with... her."

Flaming Star eyed the two dead guards and the smoking hole in the castle wall as he said slowly, "You could have just knocked."

Xaphan narrowed his eyes and replied, "They attempted to stop us. Our mission is too important for us to be slowed. You are stalling! What is your answer?! NOW!"

Flaming Star shrugged, "No." he said simply. The two flanking demons rushed him from opposite sides. Flaming Star stood on his hinds legs as he released the twin bolts of energy, the blasts incinerated the demons' heads. Xaphan immediately recognized what was going on.

"It's the firstborn!" he shrieked, "recover, retreat, and retaliate!"

The other three demons did as he bade and scrambled backwards as they fired a wave of demonic energy to buy them time. Flaming Star simply wove between the blasts and decreased their lead, giving them no room to maneuver. Soon he had cut a neat hole through one demon with a conjured blade, and relieved the head of another demon with a bolt of black matter. Xaphan, seeing that they couldn't add any more ground between himself and the firstborn by retreating, nodded quickly to the last demon, which, with a shriek, jumped on top of Flaming Star. Flaming Star dodged backwards and froze the lurching monster into an ice block. Nevertheless, this was enough for Xaphan to scramble backwards, conjure up a demonic blade, and get into a ready stance. Flaming Star strolled up to Xaphan, conjuring up a blade of his own, and levitating it in front of him.

"Firstborn," snarled Xaphan, "why are you here?"

Flaming Star grinned, "I have friends here."

With a scream, Xaphan lunged at Flaming Star. He quickly blocked the attack and followed up with a sweeping cut of his own. Xaphan twirled out of the way, but was off balance for a split-second, all that Flaming Star needed to ram the butt of the blade's handle into Xaphan's chest. Xaphan toppled over, did a backwards somersault, and returned the blow with a massive sweeping slash diagonally. Flaming Star simply side-stepped it, strode in close, and slashed Xaphan's face. Xaphan leapt backwards, but the tip of the blade cut a slim line across the right cheek, right above the jaw.

"You are quick," hissed Xaphan as he ran a long, slithering tongue across the wound, "But you will never prevail."

Flaming Star didn't reply, he was in the phase, nothing could distract him.

Quickly Flaming Star moved in, struck, dodged, parried, and struck again. Xaphan barely managed to move out of the way of the last attack, but stumbled slightly across an askew path stone. This was all Flaming Star needed and, once again, he leapt upon Xaphan with a slicing blow. It caught the demon across the chest, cutting a deep slash. Xaphan fell over, and Flaming Star prepared to leap forward and kill the demon when he realized something... Xaphan never worked in fives... he always worked in twenties. Where were the other fifteen? Then he realized something else, there were sounds of battle going inside the castle, something that should not have happened if he had stopped them at the front door. No one but travelers could really stop demons, and Twilight never ran away from a fight. Twilight was in trouble.

Despite the fact that it went against every nerve in his body, Flaming Star turned straight around and galloped towards the front door at full speed. As he burst in, his eyes met total disaster. At least twelve guards lay dead on the floor of the entry hall as twenty others battled four demons. Immediately Flaming Star moved forward and immediately burnt two demons to a crisp. The other two turned to face him, but a hail of magic blasts from the royal guard took one down, and a bolt of magic from princess Luna cut the other one down. Flaming Star ran to the unicorn that looked like the leader. He was on the ground with gash in his side, but he was still conscious.

"There should be more," said Flaming Star briskly as he held up the head of the gold-clad unicorn, "did you see anymore?"

The leader gritted his teeth but nodded, "one got by us. He's upstairs!"

Flaming Star felt his heart start with an icy fear.

Luna immediately spread her wings to leave, but Flaming Star shook his head. "No," he said, "Let me go, I can get there faster."

Gently laying down the wounded unicorn's head, he teleported himself up to Twilight's room. As the room blurred into view, Flaming Star saw another nightmare: Spike was unconscious, and Twilight was on the floor with her back right leg badly broken, and a demon was standing over her with a flaming spear, ready to strike. Flaming Star moved faster than he had ever moved in his life. In literally a single microsecond, he had whipped up a hoof and released a blast of pure power. It caught the demon full in the face, incinerating it immediately. Flaming Star was by Twilight's side before the dead body even hit the ground.

Tears were shimmering in her eyes as Twilight gasped in pain, "You came..."

Flaming Star quickly looked out the window and saw Xaphan get up and teleport away. He had failed to kill them all, but it mattered not. What mattered was that everypony here was safe.

He slowly lay down next to Twilight's downed form and placed a hoof gently on her left haunch. He felt the muscles hot and tense with pain, so much so that he felt the pain as his own. He looked at Twilight and said, "You will be fine... everything will be fine."

Tears continued to seep out of the corners of her eyes as she said, "You saved my life."

Flaming Star smiled, "You saved MY life."

Breathing in another shaky breath, Twilight gasped as she grabbed onto Flaming Star's other hoof and squeezed it very tight, "It burns…"

Flaming Star nodded and gently pressed his hoof into her haunch, releasing a soothing aura of energy to surround her leg, lessening the pain. Twilight sighed, and her eyes fluttered. Soon she passed out, with her hoof clutching at his. Flaming Star too sighed, the worst was over… He closed his eyes, laid his head down next to the unconscious form of Twilight, and went to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Town Square_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Sunset and Fluttershy were trotting side-by-side down town square to visit Rarity when they were joined by Applejack.

"How y'all doin'?" she said cheerily as she slowed to their pace, "It's a beautiful day ain't it?"

Fluttershy nodded, "Oh yes, it is. I really enjoy the weather."

Sunset just nodded.

"Where y'all off to?" continued Applejack.

Sunset replied, "Oh, we're off to see Rarity. She was making something for our baby, and we wanted to check how the design was progressing."

Applejack rolled her eyes, "A dress ALREADY? Ain't you still six months away, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy blushed and mumbled, "Yes… but Rarity asked so nicely."

Sunset laughed, "More like insisted. But if Rarity wants something, she rarely doesn't get it. How about you, Applejack? Where are you off to?"

Applejack grinned, "I'm off to Pinkie's! Gotta work on some apple cupcakes with her for a party!"

Fluttershy smiled, "That sounds delicious."

"Woo-eeh!" exclaimed Applejack, "It sure does, I suppose you two don't want to come along and help. Helpers get free samples!"

Sunset grinned, but looked at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy thought about it for a moment, "We were intending to drop in unannounced on Rarity, so she won't be missing us, I suppose we could spend a little time helping."

Sunset looked up at the sun's position and said, "I suppose we could. But not too much time…"

Suddenly, the chariot of princess Celestia crossed the sun, casting a large shadow, circled around, and landed in town square. The three turned to see Celestia exiting her chariot regally to talk momentarily with Mayor Mare. The two quietly talked urgently in a corner of the center gazebo.

Rainbow Dash landed behind Applejack, Fluttershy, and Sunset and trotted up.

Sunset greeted Rainbow with a nod. "Hey Rainbow," he said, "How are you doing?"

Rainbow nodded and squinted at the two, still whispering urgently. "I'm fine… what do you think they're talking about?"

Sunset shrugged, "I haven't seen Celestia that nervous since the attack of Abbadon… but I'm sure nothing is wrong. Princess Celestia probably forgot something important pertaining to Ponyville, and Mayor Mare is alerting her of the mistake."

Then screaming started. It first started as a single shout, then it intensified, and finally was compounded by an explosion. Sunset's ears flattened with horror as he realized they were under attack by somepony… or something.

Grabbing Fluttershy, he dove to the ground and shouted, "EVERYPONY DOWN! NOW!"

An explosion ripped through the square as a bolt of energy slammed into the gazebo, rocketing Mayor Mare and princess Celestia in different directions. Mayor Mare crashed through a window, and Celestia slammed into a wall and slid to the ground. Immediately Sunset leapt up, breathing heavily as he looked around for the source of the attack… nothing, too much smoke, debris, and dust. He looked at Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow! Get in the air! Identify the attackers! Applejack! See my wife safely home! I'll deal with this!"

Rainbow saluted, and Applejack shouldered Fluttershy, who had feinted. Sunset ran to Celestia and helped her up; blood was oozing from a gash on her head, just above the left eyebrow.

"Celestia," Sunset briskly, "How are you?"

Celestia staggered to her feet, wiping away the blood with a hoof. "I am fine, Sunset," she said, he voice full of shock, "What is going on?"

Rainbow, at that moment, landed next to them and shouted, "There are ten of them! Weird monster thingys! They shoot energy out of their claws!"

Sunset groaned. "Demons," he said, "They are demons. Rainbow Dash, Celestia, we need to contain them. Are there guards anywhere near?"

Celestia shook her head, but signaled to her two Pegasus guards from her chariot. "We only have two."

Sunset nodded, racking his mind for solutions. Could he really bring himself to kill again? Where was Flaming Star and Twilight?

After a short pause, he sighed and said, "Rainbow Dash, take the two guards and circle around, use the element of surprise and your air advantage to drive the forward, we need to keep them from splitting up. Drive them towards the town square, Celestia and I have the firepower, we will deal with them."

Rainbow Dash nodded with a determined look on her face. "Gotcha Sunset," she said, "Operation kick-demon-rump is a go!"

With that, she sped off with the guards. Sunset turned to Celestia, who still had shock etched on her face, but with determination emanating from her eyes.

"Celestia, are you sure you're okay?" said Sunset.

Celestia replied, "I am fine, Sunset, just a little shaken up. What do I need to know to battle against these demons?"

Sunset nodded decisively. "They have the ability to fire bolts, streams, and waves of demonic energy, which is like dark magic, except specifically lacerating. They also can conjure up demonic hand-to-hand weaponry. They are fast, ruthless, insane, and hard to kill, but we possess the firepower… but…"

Sunset paused and looked down at his hoofs, feeling a wave of intense nausea sweeping over him. Celestia moved her head down to look into his eyes and said quietly, "But what? Sunset?"

Sunset sighed again, but deeper. "Well… I… I don't know if I can bring myself to end another being's life… even a demon's life."

"I understand," replied princess Celestia, "perhaps there is a way to prevent their deaths."

Sunset looked forward as he saw the progress Rainbow Dash and Sunset were making through the town. There were fewer explosions now, as the range of the attacks focused in on the three Pegasus. Sunset's throat clenched as a bolt took off the head of one of the Pegasus guards. Another bolt followed up quickly and cut the other guard clean in half. Rainbow Dash was visibly shaken, but she kept at her job diligently.

Sunset shook his head, his eyes mournful, "I… I don't know. By killing innocent beings, do the demons give up their right to exist? Even if they do, when did we earn the right to end them?"

There was no more time to talk, the ten demons burst into the time square, and were met with a massive blast of magic from princess Celestia. Six dodged the blast, but the other four were caught in it, frozen, as it seems, in time. The six rushed Celestia and Sunset, splitting up into threes. Sunset rushed his three and froze two of the immediately. He then conjured up a sword and he clashed it with the demonic broadsword of the demon. The two immediately began to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

Celestia too was caught up in her own battle. She immediately used her magic to drop a large block of debris onto one, and then caught another in the face with a bolt of magic. The third rammed her and bowled her over. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash rammed it from behind and slammed it into a wall at top speed. Rainbow then grabbed a large block of stone and hurled it at the demon Sunset was fighting. The demon stumbled from the blow, and then collapsed as Sunset struck it across the face with his sword's handle. There was a short pause. Then Xaphan teleported into their midst. He looked around slowly at the battlefield with a confused look on his face, suddenly Rainbow Dash had knocked him off his feet, and Sunset was pressing his blade against his throat. Xaphan looked at Sunset, and then recognized him.

"Joseph Torrus… the madman of the multiverse, what are you doing here? Do you know that the firstborn is here?" Xaphan hissed through his yellow, gnarled teeth.

Sunset narrowed his eyes as he pressed the blade harder against the demons throat, a trickle of blood began to seep from around the blade. "I do… Xaphan. I am no longer the 'madman of the multiverse,' and I would appreciate it if you abstained from calling me that. Why are you here? There is no Legion to command you; did you finally have the guts to launch an attack of your own against a harmony unit? Did you not think it would be guarded?"

Xaphan gave a gurgling laugh as he replied, "You fools! Legion has returned! The plan is in motion! Kill me, and another will rise in my place, and then another, and then another, and then another. There is no stopping us!"

Sunset smiled coldly as he said, "Well, then it is lucky that I'm not killing you. Go back to Legion and tell him that the most powerful travelers of the ages of dimensional travelers have this place under guard, and that no demon will survive the next time they attack. If he doesn't believe me, ask Legion to hold a conversation with Abbadon in the seventh circle, I am sure he will be more than happy to verify the information I just gave you. Now get the hell out of here before I accidentally slip and cut your throat. Go, and take whatever living demons you have with you."

Xaphan looked curiously at Sunset, but then nodded. With a vicious grin, he teleported away; the ten unconscious demons around him dissolved into nothing.

Sunset straightened up and looked at Rainbow Dash, who was shaking slightly.

"Are you okay?" Celestia asked kindly.

Rainbow nodded her head vigorously, but continued to shake, "Y-y-yeah… I mean, why wouldn't I? Heh…"

Rainbow slowly turned around, and then threw up onto the ground. Sunset winced but turned to Celestia, who had great sadness in her eyes as she looked around.

"Minimal structural damage, two confirmed deaths, probably a score wounded by the sound of it," said Sunset to Celestia, patting Rainbow on the back, "See if you can revive Mayor Mare and begin rescue operation. Rainbow? Are you okay? We need to begin heading whoever you can find into rescue teams."

Rainbow gagged, and then straightened up, a look of determination on her face. "I'm on it, Sunset," Rainbow said, and she blasted off.

Sunset nodded to Celestia and immediately teleported himself to Canterlot castle. As the surrounding environment melted away and was replaced with the scenery of the castle, he was suddenly surrounded by a large group of unicorn guards, all pointing their horns at him.

Sunset immediately noticed the broken wall and front gate; he turned to the guard nearest to him and said, "Back down, guards. It is I, Sunset. Where is Princess Luna? And where are Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle?"

The unicorns backed up and put their heads up. "Sunset Shadow," the leader of the group said, "we were attacked by monsters, but Flaming Star defeated them. Luna right now is flying to Ponyville at top speed, I believe Twilight Sparkle and Flaming Star are upstairs in the guest rooms."

Sunset nodded and was about to teleport away when Discord flashed into view. He looked around with genuine surprise as he said, "My, my… what happened here? Did you let Pinkie Pie host a birthday here again?"

Sunset shook his head vigorously. "Discord! Where the hell have you been?!"

Discord put a clawed hand on his chest as he said, "Me? I've been here and there. Today, in fact, I was traveling about Baltimare, looking for Princess Celestia. I heard she was at a formal of some sort, and I wanted to… er, pay it a visit. Why? What happened here?"

"There's been a demon attack. One at Ponyville, and apparently one here as well. I need you to sweep the countryside to ensure there are not any other attacks anywhere else!"

Discord saluted and disappeared without another word. With that, Sunset teleported to the guest rooms.

The hall was absolutely silent as Sunset shimmered into view, and he looked around. One door was ajar slightly, so Sunset slowly pushed it open. He found Spike completely out still, with Twilight Sparkle and Flaming Star sleeping quietly side-by-side. Sunset smiled as he sat down in the doorway, quietly waiting for one of the three to wake.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: The Inferno<em>

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

Legion was staring across the seven circles of the infernal real, contemplating his plans for the future of eternity when Xaphan teleported behind him.

"You returned alive; I can only assume you return with glad tidings of your gloriously bloody victory," rumbled Legion without turning around.

Xaphan placed his face at the feet of Legion as he hissed, "My lord, we were defeated. But one of the creature that resided there said to give you a message-"

That was as far as he got. Legion stepped on Xaphan's head and crushed it to a pulp. Legion returned to his original position of viewing the seven circles.

"It seems I have underestimated you… James and Joseph," breathed Legion, "You killed my incompetent servants. But perhaps… perhaps…"

An idea formed in Legion's head and his sentence trailed off. Raising an armored fist, he snapped his fingers once. Again, a ripple spread through the air, and the arch-demon Astaroth materialized from nowhere to place herself at his feet.

"My lord?" she rasped.

Legion motioned her to rise, and she did.

"Stand before me," he commanded, and she complied. With one swift movement, Legion plunged an armored fist into her chest and ripped out her heart. Astaroth gave a gurgle of surprise and tumbled to the ground. Legion looked the bloody mass over and chuckled.

"The heart of a female arch-demon… one of the rarest commodities in the multiverse black market… A dimensional traveler will probably do anything for one of these…"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Hey everypony! I just wanted you guys to know that there might be a chance that I will stop posting as frequently as I have been. I'm thinking of instead of doing it every 24 hours, I might post a new chapter every other day. Remember, it is only a chance, it's not a certainty! Thanks!<strong>


	19. Chapter 19 - Rebound

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Flaming Star opened his eyes and looked around. The first thing he noticed was Twilight, who was still completely asleep. Smiling calmly, shifting a little bit to get comfortable, he prepared to drift back to sleep when he heard a voice.

"You're awake, Flaming Star. I need to talk to you."

It was Sunset. Flaming Star scrambled up, but was careful not to wake Spike or Twilight, who was still clutching to one of his hoofs. He cleared his throat and said, "Can… can I help you?"

Sunset nodded and said, "Xaphan was here, and he said that Legion had returned."

Flaming Star nodded. "I thought that that was a possibility," he replied, "If Legion has returned, then he will undoubtedly try to destroy the harmony units. What's more, if he is free from his icy prison, then he knows our situation, that we are the last true travelers. And if he knows that, then this place will be the focus point of his attacks. The harmony tree will prevent this universe from being completely destroyed, but it will not prevent us from all being slaughtered."

Sunset nodded again. "That is understood, come on, Flaming Star, Luna and Celestia are meeting up in Ponyville, we must join them and explain the situation."

Flaming Star started to get up, paused, and then sat down again. "No," he said, "I'm not leaving Twilight's side. I'm staying here."

Sunset blinked. "You do realize how important this is, don't you?" he asked, almost incredulously, "Since when did having a dear friend get into the way of victories and glories?"

Flaming Star looked pointedly at Sunset and replied, "Since when did having a wife get into the way of mindlessly killing civilians?"

Sunset smiled. "You have changed, firstborn," he said, "And it is for the better. I will deal with it; you watch over Twilight and keep her safe."

With that, Sunset teleported away, leaving Flaming Star all alone. Flaming Star sighed, he had passed the test: he was true to himself. Lying down next to Twilight's head, Flaming Star drifted back to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Town Square_

_Time: 1004 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

Celestia quickly cantered up to Luna, who had landed in a hurry in Ponyville town square.

"Sister!" exclaimed Luna, "We were under attack… by demons!"

There was a pause as Luna noticed the battle-scarred area. She looked at Celesta, who was still bleeding from her wound on her head. "Were… were they here too?"

Celestia nodded, and Luna rushed up to hug her.

"They were, dear sister," murmured Celestia, "But they are gone. Sunset and I defeated them here. How is the castle?"

Luna, still burying her face in Celestia, replied, "It is safe. We lost a score of guards at most, but Flaming Star managed to defeat them all. Equestria is safe, I believe… for now."

Celestia nodded, speaking softly. "We are, as of now, at war. We must set up shields and send out patrols, scouring all of Equestria. We do not know when the next demon wave will come."

Luna pulled back and said, "Yes, we must. But where is Sunset? He must know of what to do."

Sunset at that moment teleported in, and Celestia turned to him. "Sunset Shadow," she said, "Do you know what the next step must be?"

Sunset shook his head. "We can only wait," he replied, "there is certainly going to be another attack, but I do not know where it will be, or when it will be. Legion is crafty, and almost swung the traveler-demon war his way more than once, I do not know what to expect. We must simply wait… and prepare."

Celestia nodded, "I understand. We will set up shields around the major cities, and Ponyville, and start an airbase scouting system based in Cloudsdale. We will have Pegasus scouts networking the whole of Equestria, searching for a sign. Do we know how many demons would attack us at maximum?"

Sunset shrugged, "Millions at maximum, but Legion doesn't work that way."

"Do you know how he works his plans, then?"

"No. I do not have enough experience with him, I only fought Abbadon and his battalion of demon warriors, the traveler-demon war was over two thousand years ago."

"Do you know someone who can tell us of what to expect? Where is Flaming Star?"

"Flaming Star is resting with Twilight Sparkle, I suggest we do not disturb them as of yet; we are safe for now."

With that, Sunset galloped at top speed to his house. Flinging open the door, he leapt inside and was met by Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

Fluttershy leapt up when she saw him and seized him in a tight hug. Tears seeped from the corner of her eyes as she said, "Oh, Sunset! I was so WORRIED!"

"We were all worried," said Rarity as she trotted up, "We hadn't the slightest idea what was going on! Fortunately the demons didn't hurt my home, or many other ponies' homes for that matter."

Sunset hugged Fluttershy tightly back and looked over her as he said, "How is everpony?"

Applejack winked, "We're just dandy! A little shaken up, but I think Rainbow got the worst of it, but she's fine."

As Fluttershy released him, Sunset moved up to Rainbow lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. "Are you okay, Rainbow?"

Rainbow nodded and said, "I… I guess. I've never been in a fight before, and seeing that one pony get blown in two was terrible…"

Sunset winced as the memory came back. "I know, war is a terrible thing, but you kept going and completed your mission, that is more than any of us could have asked for."

He then turned to Pinkie Pie and said, "Where were you when this was going on?"

Pinkie, who didn't seem in any way put out with the day's events scratched her head and said, "Eh… I was bouncing around when suddenly everything went dark. A blanket from a clothes hanger had somehow fallen over me. At first I thought I was in a hide and seek tag game with all that screaming going on, so I pretended to hide. After a while I got bored and came out! Rarity wasn't home, so I came here and found you all! Why, what's going on? Is it… A PARTY?!"

Sunset rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah… It was a party. Trust me, you didn't miss anything. What we need to do now is stay calm, I don't want to alarm you all, but there is a certainty that there will be another attack, princesses Celestia and Luna are preparing for the worst, and I am going to help them. I need you guys to take care of each other."

Applejack nodded. "Just like old times! Uh… where's Twi and Spike?"

Sunset waved a hoof in a randomly picked direction, "Oh, she's with Flaming Star, protecting Canterlot castle during the absence of Luna and Celestia. What's important is that you guys stay safe."

Applejack and Rarity nodded and Rainbow Dash saluted. "You can count on me!" she exclaimed.

Fluttershy moved up and took Sunset's hoof. "What about you? Who will keep you safe?"

Sunset grinned. "I'll be fine, dear. I have no intention of dying… ever."

Fluttershy wrung her mane as she replied, "Oh… but I can't take the thought of you being all alone, without friends."

Sunset kissed her forehead and said, "Who said I was going to be alone? I'm staying within Equestria, and no doubt I will have somepony with me. We need to just make sure Equestria is secure from another attack."

Fluttershy moved closed and grabbed Sunset and pulled him into another hug. Sunset simply held it there and closed his eyes.

Applejack blushed and looked at the rest and said, "Well, y'all, I gotta get goin'. I need to make sure Sweet Apple Acres is all secure and like for the upcoming harvest. Can't be havin' no demons comin' in and messing up my crop!"

Rarity nodded, "Oh yes, most certainly! I will be back at my abode… doing, er, something."

Rainbow nodded, "Yep! I'm going to see what I can do for princess Celestia! Come ON Pinkie!"

Rainbow grabbed Pinkie and the four left as Fluttershy and Sunset continued hugging.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Flaming Star's eyes snapped open. He looked around, Twilight was STILL unconscious, but Spike was beginning to stir. Flaming Star stretched out a hoof and poked him. Groaning, Spike opened an eye and then shut it again. After a moment of silence, Spike slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes. Suddenly he jumped up and shouted, "Demons! Bad! Help!"

Quickly, Flaming Star got up and slapped a hoof over his mouth. "Shhh! Not so loud! Twilight is asleep!"

Spike swayed in place as he shook his head. She then looked at Twilight, and then at Flaming Star.

"What happened?" he asked.

Flaming Star rubbed his head as he said, "Well, I came in just in time to save Twilight. However, her back leg is broken badly. She passed out from the pain a while ago."

Tears welled up in Spike's eyes as he said, "Oh man… I hope she's okay!"

Flaming Star gently rolled Twilight onto her back. Prying his hoof from Twilight's grasp he began to gently feel her broken leg, wincing as his senses alerted him of multiple fractures and a total break and dislocation of the bone.

"That goddamn demon… He got less than he deserved, doing this to her." Muttered Flaming Star.

Spike went up and gently tapped Flaming Star, "Can you help her?"

Flaming Star pulled a face. "I really hope so," he replied, "I really, really hope so."

He began to slowly massage her leg, letting healing energy flow out of him and into the broken leg. There were clicks and snaps as the bone began to move around. Just the sounds cause Spike to feint again. Ignoring the prone form of Spike, Flaming Star continued his work. After a minute or so, he sighed, it was done. She would most certainly be limping for a bit, but the damage was reversed.

At that moment, Twilight shifted in her sleep, ever so slightly. Leaning forward, Flaming Star pressed his forehead against hers, blazing his eyes into her soul through her closed eyelids, looking for a sign of her awakening. She shifted again and slowly opened her bright eyes. She immediately noticed Flaming Star, whose eyes were literally a hairsbreadth away. She blinked, and Flaming Star sighed and moved backwards. He then pulled her into a sitting position. Rubbing her eyes, Twilight looked around blearily.

"Wha… What happened?" she murmured.

Flaming Star smiled. "You were unconscious," he said, "So I healed your broken bone."

Twilight looked around again as she said, "How is everypony? Where is Spike?"

Flaming Star patted her hoof and said, "Everypony is safe, the demons are gone. Spike is over there. He was awake earlier, but he feinted again as I fixed your broken leg."

Twilight motioned for Flaming Star to come closer, and he complied. Leaning forward shakily, she grasped him in a hug. Flaming Star awkwardly returned the favor. After a moment, he slowly eased away.

"Can you walk?" he said.

Twilight shook her head. "I have no idea," she replied.

Flaming Star got up and slowly helped her onto all fours. Shakily, she took a limping step, then two. Flaming Star gave a huge breath of relief and then turned to Spike. Shaking him gently, he brought the baby dragon back to his senses. Spike opened his eyes and saw Twilight.

"Twi!" he exclaimed, and he rushed forward to hug her. After a moment, he said, "What's going on?"

Twilight rubbed the back of her head as she replied, "I really am not sure. There was that demon… but then Flaming Star saved me. I think everything is fine now."

Flaming Star nodded. "Everything is fine. What we need to do now is prepare Canterlot for a whole new level of warfare. I know how Legion works; I fought him in the traveler-demon war. He isn't going to follow up with another demon attack, they were just scouts. He will either send in a group of elite demons as a strike force, or maybe even a team of arch-demons to fight us. He won't send an army just yet."

Twilight bowed her head, "I couldn't even fight one. How are we to stop them?" A lone tear fell from her eyes and splashed to the ground.

Flaming Star smiled quietly. Trotting up to her, he lifted her chin, as they made eye contact, Flaming Star seized her in his first EVER given hug from his heart. After a pause, the door to her room opened, and none other than princess Cadence stepped in. She looked at them and said, "Oh… I'm sorry…"

Flaming Star and Twilight released each other and turned to Cadence.

Twilight limped up to her and said, "Hello Cadence! This is the alicorn I told you about! Flaming Star!"

Cadence gave him a bow, and Flaming Star returned it. "Shining Armor and I have shown up to see what was happening," Cadence explained. "Sunset showed up to tell me that Ponyville and Canterlot had been under attack by a demon strike force, and to be on the lookout. He said he and his wife were holding Ponyville, while you and Flaming Star were protecting here. I didn't want to leave my sister-in-law hanging, so Shining Armor and I came here as fast as we could!"

Twilight gave Cadence a huge smile. "Thanks, Cadence! We really appreciate it. So far, everything looks quiet."

Cadence nodded. "From the looks of it, repairs are underway, and the citizens have been calmed down. Everything seems to be under control."

At that moment, Shining Armor strolled in. Twilight limped up to him and gave him a hug.

"Hey sis!" he exclaimed, "How are you?"

Twilight smiled ruefully and scratched the back of her head, saying, "I'm okay. I sorta broke my leg while fighting a demon, but I'm fine now. Flaming Star defeated them all."

Flaming Star frowned, his thoughts momentarily lingering on his failure to annihilate Xaphan. Then he nodded and went up to Shining Armor. He bowed low and said, "I am pleased to meet you."

Shining Armor returned the bow and said, "Likewise. Flaming Star, from what Twilight has told us about you in her last letter, you know about what is going on?"

Flaming Star nodded. "I do. It seems that the demon commander-in-chief, Legion, has broken free of the prison that had held him in the infernal realm for a long time. If this is true, he is preparing to assault this dimension to destroy the tree of harmony, something that all demons fear. We defeated the advance party, but Legion will not necessarily follow up with a battalion of demons. He will probably follow up with a group of heavy-hitters to weaken a specific location and to gain a foothold."

Shining Armor nodded. "I understand. So what we need to do is disperse our own 'heavy-hitters' in important locations that are likely prone to attack in order to cancel their elite forces."

Flaming Star nodded. "Agreed. Undoubtedly we will be spread thin though, so we will need to have an efficient communication and relocation system in order for us to refocus reinforcements when we are attacked."

"We could use Cloudsdale Pegasus, or the Wonderbolts, as messangers," suggested Cadence.

Flaming Star and Twilight nodded, and Shining Armor said, "Excellent. We are in agreement."

Flaming Star raised a hoof, and a magic-induced hologram of Equestria appeared in the center of Twilight's room. After a pause of looking it over, Flaming Star said, "The prime locations are Canterlot, the capital, Ponyville, the homes of the harmony bearers, and the Everfree forest, the harmony tree's location. Unless I am mistaken, the scouting parties only hit Ponyville and Canterlot, which leads me to assume that they have not yet deduced that the Everfree forest houses the harmony tree."

Twilight peered at the map and said, "That's good. We need to keep the focus away from it as possible. Do we have any suggestions on how to do that?"

Shining Armor shrugged. "It's risky," he said, "but I suggest we focus a large group of guards and maybe you or Sunset in a totally different town to completely throw off Legion's sense of location of where the tree is."

"That is a risky, but excellent, idea," said Flaming Star, "do we have any prime locations where we could set up such a diversion?"

"I know of some good places," interjected Twilight, pointing at the map, "We could either do Dodge Junction, or maybe even Vanhoover. They are both remote, concentrated, sparsely inhabited, and quite a ways from the Everfree forest."

Flaming Star nodded his head vigorously, "Nice choices Twilight. We also have another advantage: we have Discord."

Cadence looked at Flaming Star and raised an eyebrow. "Discord?" she asked, "What does he have to do with this?"

Twilight's eyes brightened, "I forgot! Discord is a dimensional traveler too!"

Cadence looked at Flaming Star, and then looked at Twilight. "Why didn't I ever know this?"

Twilight blushed and looked at her hoofs. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I sort of forgot after Sunset told me."

Flaming Star waved a hoof. "It's okay, it's not important. It is best that the extent of his powers is kept a secret. What we need to do now is ask him to watch over the Everfree forest. This way, if Shining Armor and I gambled wrong, he can hold the demons off long enough for Sunset and I to get there."

Shining Armor nodded decisively. "Wonderful, we have a plan."

Spike then spoke up. "Great! Um… Flaming Star? How long do you think we have?"

Flaming Star grimaced. "I really don't know. Demons have dimensional traveler-equivalent lifespans, so a hundred years is a mere blink in their existence. With this mindset, we could be waiting years. Or we could be waiting seconds. We cannot really-"

Flaming Star stopped and looked out the window. He squinted his eyes as he continued peering into the distance.

"Flaming Star?" asked Twilight, who began to feel very nervous, "What is it?"

Flaming Star's eyes widened in pure horror as he shouted, "DATHAN!"

Then the room exploded.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Sorry for the long pause everypony! I have been busy with other stuff. Fortunately, I managed to stockpile a couple of extra chapters in my Doc Manager, so I think we'll be set with the chapter updates for a few days or so! Don't forget to review! I love reviews!<strong>


	20. Chapter 20 - Regal Crescent

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

The explosion blasted the five backwards.

Cadence and Shining armor flew one way, and Twilight, Spike, and Flaming Star flew the other way, out the window. Grabbing Twilight and Spike, Flaming Star spread his wings and glided gently to the ground.

Flaming Star straightened up, looking around wildly. Then swiping a hoof through the air, he encased the entire area with an energy shield. Immediately the bubble began to buckle from blasts of energy from the unseen attacker, but it held. Flaming Star then teleported into the burning tower, quickly returning with a disheveled Cadence and Shining Armor.

Coughing out soot, Cadence rubber her eyes and said, "What's going on?"

Flaming Star sighed and replied, "The second attack. Legion did what I least expected, he set a traitorous dimensional traveler on us. We are in a really bad position."

Shining Armor winced as another massive explosion splashed over the shielding. "What can we do?" he said.

"Okay, here is what is going to happen," replied Flaming Star, "Twilight, I need you to fly as fast as you can to Ponyville. We need to get Luna and Sunset here. I have an idea."

Twilight shook her head vigorously. "I'm staying here with you," she said stoutly.

Flaming Star nodded. "Fair enough. Okay, Cadence and Spike, I need you two to get to Ponyville posthaste. I will hold Dathan off for as long as possible. Twilight, go get as many guards as you can."

Cadence nodded, than cringed as the bubble collapsed with an echoing pop. Quickly she gave Twilight a hug and exchanged a kiss with Shining Armor, then she spread her wings, Spike gave Twilight a hug and hopped onto her back, and they took off. As they did that, Flaming Star slammed a hoof into the ground, kicking up a massive blast of smoke and dust to cloak her escape. As it cleared, a lone, black and red unicorn faced them, glowing with energy and hovering a few feet off the ground.

"Dathan Enosson," snarled Flaming Star, "Or should I say… Regal Crescent."

The black unicorn placed a hoof on his chest as he said, "Oh my. You recognized me! How ever did someone as stupid as you figure that out?"

Flaming Star signaled to Shining Armor, who began to slowly and surely circle around. "Well, for starters, you wouldn't shut up about yourself in pony form for at least ten years," said Flaming Star, "Also, as you should know, unicorns don't regularly fly around and shoot explosive energy out of their horns and hoofs."

Regal Crescent kept one eye on Shining Armor as he replied, "I suppose. I guess I really have fallen out of touch with this place since you drove me away."

Flaming Star bared his teeth and took a step forward. "I NEVER drove you away. It was your own fault. Why, Regal Crescent? Why? You love this place! How much did Legion offer?"

Regal Crescent laughed out loud, his voice echoing through the empty courtyard. "Well," he replied, "He offered me the heart of a female arch-demon, that could buy me an entire planet. And if that wasn't enough, he gave me a perfect chance to kill my worst enemy: you."

With that said, Regal Crescent dove towards Flaming Star, who rocketed up towards him in return. They collided with a massive concussive explosion which set everypony flying backwards, and blowing a whole section of Canterlot castle's wall down. Flaming Star immediately recovered and fired off a blast of energy. Regal Crescent ducked and returned fire. Flaming Star flipped over the blast and fired dual bolts, one from the air and one as he hit the ground. Regal Crescent dodged one, but the second singed his blood red mane. Snarling, Regal Crescent levitated a long, sharp, stone shard from the downed wall and hurled it at supersonic speed towards Flaming Star's face. Flaming Star conjured up an energy shield in front of him, and the shard smashed into it, shattering into dust and slivers. Flaming Star immediately followed up by dropping the shield and launching a massive rolling fireball. Regal Crescent froze the whole plume of flame into ice, shattered it, and hurled the icy knives back, which Flaming Star promptly dodged via teleportation.

As this was going on, Shining Armor, who had hid in some bushes after the concussive explosion to conceal his presence, began to make his way around until he was directly behind Regal Crescent. He then levitated a massive block of stone using his magic and hurled it at high speeds towards the black unicorn's head. Somehow, at the last second, Regal Crescent ducked and the block flew over his head, and crashed straight into Flaming Star. Stumbling, Flaming Star was disoriented enough to be too slow to dodge the blast of kinetic energy from Regal Crescent that sent him spinning into a wall. Laughing, Regal Crescent followed up with a concentrated bolt of pure energy, that would have surely cut Flaming Star in half. However, Flaming Star flipped over, jumped off the wall he had collided with, and spun through the air, releasing a hail of conjured daggers as he dodged the blast. Regal Crescent melted these daggers into slag with a massive blast of thermal energy; he then molded the slag into a ball of magma, and hurled back at Flaming Star, who froze it and shattered it with a hoof.

Once again, Shining Armor released a bolt of magic from his horn, which Regal Crescent dodged with ease, but Flaming Star, knowing what was going to happen, released a perfectly timed bolt of energy at the same time, and the black unicorn reeled right into it, knocking him high into the air. He landed on all fours perfectly, and teleported behind Shining Armor. Shining Armor tried to react, but a tremendous hoof-punch to the face sent him flying to Flaming Star's side, who caught him quickly and set him upright. There was a long pause, with the three staring intensely at each other.

Suddenly, a large army of Unicorn, Earth Pony, and Pegasus guards rushed in and surrounded the entire area, all looking directly at Regal Crescent. Regal Crescent looked around and laughed.

"Is this how you choose to fight me?" he roared, "With an army at your back? My, the dishonor, the shame! You know that you cannot face me!"

Flaming Star simply smiled. "Oh, I can, but I'm just letting you think that I can't. Tell you what, let's say you're just better than me in some way, and let's just take that at face value. When we're done with that, I will have a clean conscious and set all these wonderful guards on your ass. It will be hilarious."

Foam began to froth at the corners of Regal Crescent's mouth as he yelled, "You're trying to provoke me!"

Flaming Star, this time, laughed. "Well DUH! Of course I am. Everyone knows I could beat you in a fair fight really."

"THEN PROVE IT! FACE ME!"

"Eh… no. I don't want to risk anything. So here's what we're going to do. We're going to take you down, all two hundred of us, and we're going to lock you up. You can rant all you want about me not being awesome or something stupid, but it really doesn't matter."

Now shaking uncontrollably with rage, Regal Crescent's voice went dangerously low as he said, "That's right, James, it's all about the win isn't it?"

Flaming Star dropped the façade and glared at his advisory. "No," he replied, "It is no longer. I will do whatever it takes to stop you from hurting my friends. Winning is simply a side effect… of your stupidity."

Regal Crescent screamed. The scream was louder than anything anypony in Equestria had ever heard, and the sheer power of knocked almost everypony in the area clean out. Flaming Star, Twilight, Shining Armor and Regal Crescent were now the only ones awake in the entire courtyard.

Raising an eyebrow, Flaming Star looked around. "Well," he muttered, "I suppose I can be wrong now and again."

He then looked at Regal Crescent, who had regained his composure and was now grinning ravenously like a wolf before a lamb. "So," Flaming Star said, "I suppose we get to slug it out then. Cool, cool… so, who get's to go first?"

Regal Crescent released a massive blast of dark matter from one of his front hoofs straight at Flaming Star. Flaming Star simply nodded at the blast, and it stopped. With a flick of his eyes, he rearranged the matter into the shape of a spear and hurled it straight back. Regal Crescent rocketed upwards and dodged it. He then sped off into Canterlot castle, smashing through several walls in the process.

Flaming Star turned to Twilight and Shining Armor. "I'm going after him," he said, "You guys wait here for Cadence and the rest. Stay safe."

Twilight, whose eyes were wide with shock, nodded slowly.

Flaming Star turned around, spread his wings, and launched himself after Regal Crescent. Rising high in the air, Flaming Star slowly scanned the area, looking for signs of the fleeing black unicorn. He then heard a scream. It was high-pitched, and it was full of terror. Quickly, Flaming Star went into a power dive, straight for the source of the noise. But just before he reached the hall from where the sounds were emanating, he pulled up and hovered outside, and peered through a stained-glass window. It was Prince Blueblood, who was cowering on the ground. In front of him was Regal Crescent.

"Well, look at you. Pathetic, sniveling, cowering," chuckled the black unicorn. "However… you somewhat remind me of James. Tell you what, let's pretend you're him, and I will kill you the way I've always imagined killing him, hmmm?"

Slowly, Regal Crescent raised a hoof, and conjured a long dagger, with its tip glowing red.

Flaming Star blinked. Then after a moment, he said to himself, "Not today." With that, he smashed through the window and collided head-first with Regal Crescent. Flaming Star's horn drove deep into his shoulder. Regal Crescent screamed again and yanked his shoulder away and clasped a hoof over the deep wound. He staggered backwards and then disappeared with a flash; he had teleported away. Flaming Star turned to help Prince Blueblood up.

"Y-y-you saved my life," stuttered Prince Blueblood.

Flaming Star looked the prince straight in the eyes and said, "You said you didn't need friends, and so in the hour of need, you were alone. However, whether you like it or not, you have a friend now."

Without another word, Flaming Star turned around and took to the air. Prince Blueblood sat, staring at his hoofs, thinking about what the golden alicorn had just said. Was this what it was like to have friends? Could he have friends? Maybe…

Flaming Star rose high above Canterlot Castle as he continued to look for a sign of Regal Crescent.

"He can't have gone far," he muttered as his sharp eyes scoured the area. Suddenly a sixth sense triggered in his head and he ducked. A dagger flew over his head. Whirling, Flaming Star turned to face Regal Crescent, who was directly behind him.

Seeing that the element of surprise was gone, the black unicorn dashed forwards and slammed into Flaming Star, the two spiraled down together and smashed into two towers before exploding into the Canterlot gardens. The two got up and stood a few yards from each other, breathing heavily. Suddenly, Discord appeared.

"Well, well, well. It's Regal Crescent? The coltfriend of Lulu! Long time no see! Oh... What do we have here?"

Flaming Star waved his hoof at Discord. "Not now, Discordious," he said urgently, "go and find princess Cadence and Sunset! I'll handle this!"

Discord blinked, and then realized the situation. He nodded and disappeared without a word.

Regal Crescent took a shaking breath and was about to renew his attacks when Flaming Star shouted, "Stop Dathan! Stop!"

There was a long pause. Then Flaming Star spoke, "Why are you doing this? Look around you! This was not what the Paradox wanted!"

Regal Crescent looked around, but only grinned voraciously. "It doesn't matter what the Paradox wants. He has no ability to stop what he started!"

Flaming Star shook his head. "It doesn't matter if he can control anything or not," he replied, "We were given this power under the solemn oath that we were to protect the multiverse to our very… last… breath. What are you doing now?"

Regal Crescent just laughed and said, "This is the era of anarchy, fool. Our words do not matter anymore. What's even more, we gave all truly gave up the right to called heroes after the destruction of the Barbiserunt dimension."

Flaming Star winced as he remembered that specific incident. He, Regal Crescent, and another traveler named Ada Adalbarosdaughter worked together to rig the entire dimension so that when Legion's largest army, the Oblivion Multitude, were drawn into it, the three could bring the whole thing down on them. It worked perfectly. The death of that army marked the beginning of the end of the traveler-demon war. It was necessary, but broke just about every code in the traveler's rule book.

Flaming Star shook his head. "You are right, it was wrong. We shouldn't have done it, but then when Ada and I sought out the Paradox for forgiveness, he gave it! We were in the wrong, but we were repentant, what more could we do?"

Regal Crescent bared his teeth. "It doesn't matter if it was enough or not, James… I am no longer abiding by the Paradox's, or your, rules… All that matters is REVENGE!"

With that, Regal Crescent fired a blast of energy. Flaming Star spread his wings to dodge the attack, but he found that, while he was talking, Regal Crescent had used his powers to turn the ground beneath him into tar. Stuck, Flaming Star took the full blast in his stomach, and he spiraled backwards. He smashed into the wall and was temporarily stunned.

Chuckling, Regal Crescent approached the downed form of Flaming Star and conjured a red-glowing dagger. He raised high above his head and was about to stab down when a bolt of magic knocked him head-over-hoofs.

"You stay away from him!" shouted Twilight Sparkle as she and Shining Armor galloped onto the scene.

Regal Crescent recovered and smiled. With a flick of his head, he sent his powers into the floor, causing massive tentacles of earth to erupt from the ground and wrap themselves around Twilight. Shining Armor immediately freed her with a blast of magic, but a bolt of energy from Regal Crescent knocked him out, and more tentacles rose up to seize Twilight. She tried to teleport out, but it was to no avail. Regal Crescent levitated his dagger and aimed it at Twilight's eyes.

"What's this? A young alicorn trying to defend the firstborn against one of the most powerful travelers ever? This is beyond foolishness… in fact… is this love?"

With that, Regal Crescent hurled the dagger straight at Twilight's face. Suddenly, the dagger crumbled to dust, and Regal Crescent was blasted away in a tidal wave of earth. Flaming Star shot forward and smashed the tentacles surrounding Twilight. The two stood side-by-side, facing Regal Crescent, he only grinned.

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to go to round three, won't we?" Regal Crescent said as he speedily recovered.

Flaming Star shook his head. "No, it's over. We were really just here to stall you."

Suddenly and explosion and earth blasted behind Regal Crescent as Sunset Shadow arrived in spectacular style.

Regal Crescent recognized Joseph Torrus almost immediately.

"Well, if it isn't the 'madman of the mulitverse!' So nice of you to… drop by."

Sunset straightened up, and glared at Regal Crescent. "I'm not a madman anymore. I am a hero."

Regal Crescent opened his mouth to laugh, and then stopped. Luna, Celestia, and Cadence arrived.

"Regal… Crescent?" said Luna, her eyes wide with shock.

Regal Crescent stumbled backwards. "Luna? No… no… NO NO NO NO NO!"

Eyes wide with horror, Regal Crescent stopped moving and stood stock-still. So shocked was he, that Flaming Star simply trotted up, drew back a hoof, and smacked him across the head, knocking him unconscious immediately.

Sunset then moved up and closed his eyes. Concentrating hard, he extended his hoofs towards the prone form of the downed black unicorn. There was a minute-long pause, and then, suddenly, a massive blast of golden energy erupted from Sunset. The chains of truth. They wrapped around Regal Crescent, binding him tight. Dathan Enosson, mercenary and traitor, was secure.

Giving out a huge sigh of relief, Flaming Star nodded to Sunset. "I really wish you could teach me that," he said.

Sunset winked. "It's a gift."

Flaming Star returned the wink, and then walked up to Twilight. "Thanks for saving my life." He said.

She blushed and gave him a huge smile. "I was only returning the favor."

The two slowly sat down, hoofs-in-hoofs. They just sat there, staring into each other's eyes. Sunset looked at them, and rolled his eyes. Shining Armor snorted, "What… are they just going to sit there?"

Cadence smiled and put a hoof on his shoulder. "It's what we used to do."

Shining Armor rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Spike wrinkled his nose and snorted. "It's still really weird. Can someone break it up?"

Sunset walked up to Flaming Star and Twilight, and began to pull faces at Flaming Star over Twilight's shoulder. Neither of them noticed. After a while, Sunset gave up and walked up to Celestia, who was smiling, almost dreamily, at the two.

"Well… all this has made me hungry," He said, "I'm going to go home to Ponyville. I think I'll go home, make a salad, and give Fluttershy some cuddles. All good? Smiles all around? Cool. I'm out."

The only one who wasn't happy was Luna. She stood over the unconscious form of Regal Crescent, shaking uncontrollably with grief.

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT NOTE: Hey everypony! After a bit of thought, I decided that I could use a few more good dimensional travelers. So here is what I am going to do: I will let you guys pitch me a few ideas! Either via review or by PM, send me a name, age, sex, species (human, pony, etc.), physical features, personality, preferred powers, combat orientation (do they fight aggressively, passively, etc.), backstory (if you have a lengthy one, please PM it to me) and wether or not you want them to stay in pony form and adopt a pony name if they go to the MLP dimension. This is really a first-come-first-serve situation, by the way. Have fun!<strong>


	21. Chapter 21 - Reformation

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Regal Crescent opened his eyes and sat up. He rubbed his eyes groggily and groaned. What had just happened? Then he remembered. Snarling, he got up and tried to move forward. He was locked in place by chains. At first he laughed. Chains? No one could bind him. He surged forward with enough force to capsize a beached aircraft carrier… nothing happened. Then Regal Crescent noticed something unique about the chains: they were glowing. He was trapped in the grip of the chains of truth. They were absolute; there was nothing he could do to break them. Slowly, he sat down. Suddenly, he became aware of a presence watching, and he glared up through the bars of his jail… it was Princess Luna. His eyes grew wide when he saw her tear-streaked eyes. He quickly got up and stumbled backwards, trying to put as much distance as possible between her and himself.

"L-Luna?" he gasped. "How is this possible?"

A tear rolled down Luna's face. "Why? Why have you done these things?"

Regal Crescent felt a lump in his throat. After a pause, he sighed. "I lost my way. I wanted to kill James so bad that… that I disregarded all else. Did… did I kill anypony?"

Luna shook her head. "Thankfully not," she replied, "there was damage, but no death."

Regal Crescent sighed again, but more out of relief than out of terror this time. "That is good."

There was a long pause. Finally, Regal Crescent spoke. "Luna," he said, "I have spent eons thinking of you…"

Luna interrupted. "Eons? Where were you then? Do you not think I waited eons for you as well? Where were you?"

Regal Crescent bowed his head. "I couldn't. I was no longer a traveler, I was a mercenary. A lowly criminal, willing to slit the throat of any comrade for power and fame… I think this is not the pony you had been waiting for."

Luna sat down and faced Regal Crescent. After another moment of silence, she said, "It was not. But how could I know? You left, and you never let me know of your whereabouts. You broke my heart."

Regal Crescent continued to look at the ground. "I'm sorry."

Luna got up and pointedly turned around. "You didn't seem to be sorry as you tried to kill Flaming Star and Twilight," she said as she walked away.

Regal Crescent watched as she walked away. As the door closed, his head drooped low to the ground. She was right. He had shown no remorse as he tried to kill Flaming Star, no control as he battled it out with his sworn enemy. Sworn enemy? How did it come to be like that?

Regal Crescent looked up as the door to the prison swung open again. This time, Flaming Star walked in. Regal Crescent felt a wave of multiple emotions wash over him. Hate, fear, remorse, and confusion. Flaming Star stood over Regal Crescent for a moment, looking down upon the feared mercenary, and then sat down quietly facing him.

"Hey," he said, "How are you doing Dathan?"

Regal Crescent averted his gaze.

Flaming Star persisted. "Dathan… Regal Crescent, why are you doing this to yourself? How did it get to be like this? I never harmed you; I never mocked your father. I gave you no reason for you to hate me. Why?"

Regal Crescent then spoke, slowly. "You know why?" he said, "Despite your best intentions, there was always something that gave me a reason to hate you: you. Your very existence irked me. I never wanted to be second; I wanted to be first, or, at least, my father to be first. I wanted Enos and his sons to have power, not you. I wanted power, but I was never fully given it. It was like being led to water, but not being allowed to drink. It was agonizing. I wanted to have it all."

Flaming Star narrowed his eyes and said, "And did you get it? No. I gave you nothing but acceptance, and you threw it back in my face. For six thousand years I tolerated you, and you did nothing for me but go rogue. So tell me right now, did your hate and envy win you anything?"

Regal Crescent shook as he suppressed his grief and his rage. Slowly, he said, "NO. It did not."

Flaming Star nodded, his face still a frown. "Yes, it didn't. You were at the top, but look at you now: groveling in the dust, nothing but a hated mercenary. And now that you have accepted a job from Legion, you will now never be even accepted back into the filthy taverns and the dilapidated strongholds of the traveler traitors. You have nothing."

A pause… "I know, Flaming Star."

Flaming Star leaned in close to the bars, his face now kind. "Then come back, nephew, come back to the light. Sunset has done far worse than you, but he came back. What say you?"

There was an agonizingly long pause… then, "I am sorry, Flaming Star. I am sorry."

Flaming Star smiled. He got up and said, "Then you have won yourself a friend. Goodbye nephew, I will come by to see you again."

As he walked away, Regal Crescent called out, "How long will I be kept here, uncle?"

Flaming Star paused, turned around and said, "I do not know. That is for princess Celestia and princess Luna to decide. You trashed their castle, and gave at least two hundred guards terrible headaches. I will see what I can do though… nephew."

Flaming Star then turned around and exited the jail; leaving Regal Crescent with nothing but the chains of truth, and his thoughts of ruin and self-hate. Everything Flaming Star had said was true. He was lower than nothing. He had spent every moment, every resource, on his hunt for revenge, and now all he found was emptiness. Was this the satisfaction that awaited him? Flaming Star was nothing that he had convinced himself to believe; Flaming Star wasn't cruel or evil, he was just a being looking for meaning in the endless strife of existence. Regal Crescent cursed himself for a fool: he had let it all pass on by; he had let his life slip away for a prize that turned out to be as empty as a black hole. All his life he had spent hating Flaming Star, and now he found out… it had all been a lie.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: The Inferno<em>

_Planet: The Inferno_

_Specific Location: The Inferno_

_Time: Eternity_

Legion opened his eyes. He looked around as his senses returned; he had been unconscious as a vision had permeated his mind. The vision had commanded him to perform a very unique part of a grand plan that even Legion had not dreamed of preforming. But could he be a part of something so vile? Even as a demon, the despicableness of the creature that had presented the scheme gave him pause. Shaking his head, Legion returned to breathing in the winds of time and space, immediately becoming aware of the happenings of the multiverse. Legion blinked, Dathan Enosson had failed. He had not been expecting that, but, perhaps, it was not completely unexpected.

"Hate and revenge can be a powerful motivator," Legion muttered, "but sometimes even it cannot overcome pure skill, or the power of love."

There was a pause as Legion considered the plan once again… and decided to play his part.

"I suppose, the My Little Pony universe has gone a little too long without a visit from a demon," said Legion. "Abbadon was a fool, perhaps I can dislodge the travelers from their little stronghold. If not… well… it does not even matter."

With that, Legion shot upwards with such power that the whole circle shook with violent tremors. As he shot through the air, Legion chuckled. "I am the many, the multitude, the army. I am everywhere, and I am nowhere. I am the reaper, the reapers… I am nothing, I am everything, and I am death."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Gardens_

_Time: Six days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Sunset and Fluttershy sat in the Canterlot gardens, overlooking a beautiful sunrise.

"Don't you wish these moments lasted forever?" sighed Fluttershy dreamily as she pressed her cheek against Sunset's.

Sunset sighed. "I sure do. These are moments are precious. We must savor each one."

Fluttershy lay down on her back and began to look at the red-streaked clouds. Quickly Sunset joined her.

With that, Sunset reached over and patted Fluttershy's stomach. "How's the baby doing?" he said.

Fluttershy smiled. "She's fine. I am just so excited!"

Sunset nodded. "So am I."

The two were suddenly joined by Flaming Star and Twilight. Sunset looked up and closed his eyes. "Oh no," he said out loud, "I hope you haven't come here to crash our wonderful peace and quiet, firstborn."

Flaming Star plopped himself down next to Sunset, and was joined by Twilight.

"Nope," he said, "nothing of the sort. We're here to join you."

Sunset snorted. "You? Look at clouds? Since when did Abimael 'James' Sethson, the firstborn take time to look at clouds? Did Regal Crescent knock you on the head sometime during the battle?"

Twilight answered, "No, he's fine. I just suggested that he spend more time watching the world around him, make each moment linger a little longer."

Flaming Star nodded, "Yep. So that's what we're going to do."

Sunset gave Flaming Star a side-long glance. "What are we going to do about Regal Crescent?" he said.

Flaming Star continued looking up at the sky as he replied, "We are going to let him go. That poor pony has literally nothing left. From what I can tell, Luna has turned her back on him. If that is the case then Regal Crescent is all alone. He is a traitor to his cause, he took a job from a demon so he will not be accepted back into the mercenary cartel, and he's feared here. Sooooo… I think he could use a little good luck… and some friends."

"But Flaming Star," interjected Twilight, "he tried to kill you… and me!"

Flaming Star lightly bumped her shoulder as he replied, "Of course he did! But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to be friends with him… right?"

Twilight gave him a huge smile. "The magic of friendship," she agreed.

Abruptly, they were joined by Discord.

"Oooh, what do we have here? Four ponies enjoying a romantic sunrise with their… er, best friends?"

Sunset waved his hoof in the air. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," he said, "If you think teasing me will work, forget it. I'm married, so get over it. It doesn't work that way anymore."

Discord rolled his eyes as he levitated over them. "But of course. Right now my target is that handsome golden stallion with that gorgeous purple mare. What a pair! I actually feel a song coming on!"

Twilight rolled her eyes and said, "Do whatever you want, Discord. I am perfectly happy right here."

Discord grinned. "All the more reason for me to start a song."

"That's enough, Discord," said Celestia as she entered the garden. Flaming Star rolled over and got up.

"Well," he said, "what's the verdict on Regal Crescent?"

Celestia beckoned to Luna, who slowly walked up. "We've decided… we've decided to let Regal Crescent go," Luna said, "he really has nothing left."

Sunset too rolled over and got up. "Really? Are you sure this is wise?"

Flaming Star snorted, "Probably not, but I'll keep an eye on him."

Luna looked down at her hoofs and said, "So will I. I- I want to believe he's going back to his old ways…"

Sunset nodded vigorously, "That is good. We have to show him trust. Right now, he's probably devastated, like I was when I first came here. He needs a little friendship right now."

Celestia nodded. "He most probably does. Sunset, you invoked the chains upon him, can you eliminate them as well?"

Sunset nodded and trotted off to the jail. He was quickly followed by Fluttershy, Flaming Star, Twilight, Celestia, and Luna. Discord just floated there, watching them go. He then pulled a face and flashed out of existence.

Regal Crescent looked up as the door to the jail opened. His head drooped again as Sunset strolled in.

"Well, Joseph, what do you want?"

"I'm here to set you free, Dathan."

Regal Crescent looked up in surprise. "Why? What guarantee do you have that I won't attack you! I'm evil! I know I am!"

Sunset peered close at Regal Crescent as he said, "And that is the first sign of a changing heart. We may not trust you just yet, Regal Crescent, but that doesn't mean we don't care for you."

With that, Sunset raised a hoof and preformed a downward slashing movement, with that, the chains stopped glowing and crumbled to nothing. Regal Crescent shakily stood up, and then sat down.

"I- I don't think I can do it Joseph." He said, "I mean, what if I see James and go all haywire? I've hated him for such a long time now…"

Sunset simply shook his head. "You've seen who he truly is, Dathan," he said, "I think all your years of festering your hate has blown your reasons for revenge out of proportion. I really don't think you want to hurt Flaming Star now."

Regal Crescent began to shake uncontrollably with grief. "I can't do it Joseph," he sobbed, "I can't go out there. Luna's out there. What am I to say? I turned my back on her, took her for granted… and now she has done the same to me."

Sunset opened the door to Regal Crescent's cell and walked in. He then placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Dathan, listen," he said quietly, "I understand that you have been compromised, but you must embrace it! I too felt completely disoriented when I first felt my black heart melt, but you must learn to cope with it. All you need now is a little bit of forgiveness… and some friendship."

Regal Crescent stopped shaking and straightened up. He nodded, "You are right, Joseph. I must get a hold of myself. If I am to put things to right, I must be in control of my faculties."

Sunset nodded as he led him out of the prison. "That you must. But remember, we are watching you."

Regal Crescent nodded, "I expected no less. And I appreciate it; I will undoubtedly need the help."

The courtyard was empty, all the workers were still asleep, the only pony outside was Flaming Star, who stood in the epicenter of the landscape. He quickly trotted up to greet the two.

"The rest have dispersed at my request," explained Flaming Star, "I want to talk to Regal Crescent."

Sunset nodded. "Where's my wife?" he said.

Flaming Star flicked his head to the left. "Over there, in the throne room."

Sunset nodded and quickly cantered off, leaving Flaming Star and Regal Crescent alone.

Flaming Star looked around. "Well," he said, "It's empty, I am off-guard, don't you feel an urge to attack me?"

Regal Crescent swayed in place for a moment. He then shook his head and said, "That purple pony… what is her name?"

Flaming Star raised his eyebrows and replied, "Her name is princess Twilight Sparkle."

Regal Crescent nodded. "She saved your life. Was it love?"

Flaming Star looked Regal Crescent straight in the eyes, and blazed through his soul. However, all he found was fear, and confusion… the black and red pony was terrified.

After a moment, Flaming Star simply asked a different question, "Regal Crescent, what are you going to do?"

Regal Crescent sighed. "I really don't know. I suppose I'll have to stay here, considering the fact that I have no other place to go."

Flaming Star nodded. "I think that would be a good idea. You aren't exactly the most welcomed pony in Equestria right now, but at least you have friends."

"Really? Who?" Regal Crescent asked.

"Me." Said Flaming Star simply. He then turned around and walked away.

Regal Crescent just stood there, staring off into the distance, thinking about what had just happened. It was true that he had nothing, but maybe… maybe he could have friends.

Abruptly a sixth sense alerted him that he was being watched from behind, so Regal Crescent slowly turned around. Princess Luna was standing a little ways off, watching him, with pain in her eyes.

Regal Crescent took a shaking breath, and started to approach her.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Sorry if this one seems a little boring! This one is really just a placeholder, and I made it in a hurry! Remember I am still looking for dimensional traveler suggestions! And don't forget to review! As I always say, I love reviews!<strong>


	22. Chapter 22 - True Forgiveness

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Six days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Regal Crescent looked at Luna straight in the eyes. "Luna… I'm so sorry."

Luna broke her gaze and looked away. "How do I know you're sorry? How do I know you won't simply work to earn my trust again, and then disappear altogether once more?"

Regal Crescent sat down. "Look, Luna, I have no place to go! I'm hated or unwelcome in every know dimension in this multiverse!"

Luna continued to look away. "That doesn't change anything."

"Even if it doesn't change anything," replied Regal Crescent, "I want you to know that I am sorry."

Luna turned around and looked at Regal Crescent, tears shimmering in her eyes. "I- I will have to think about your apology."

With that, Luna spread her wings and flew away. Regal Crescent sighed. With that, he stood up and walked away. He wandered the courtyard for a bit, watching as the sun slowly climbed higher and higher. Soon, worker ponies began to file in to continue construction. Seeing this, Regal Crescent quickly ducked into a nearby hallway to avoid detection. He peeked around the corner as he watched the ponies repair the damage that he had sown.

"So, what are we looking at?" A voice came out from behind him.

Regal Crescent gave a gasp of surprise and whirled around, one of his front hoofs crackling with energy. It was Discord.

"Well, you certainly have a jumpy disposition, not unlike Joseph Torrus, or as we like to call him, Sunset Shadow, when he first came here." Discord said as distastefully pushed Regal Crescents hoof out of his face.

Regal Crescent squinted at Discord for a moment, then said, "Oh, you're Discordious."

Discord bowed elegantly. "At your service. I must say, as a chaos weaver myself, I overheard Lulu's tales of woe more than once about you, but I never expected the famed Dathan Enosson to be the perpetrator. My, my, the shame."

Regal Crescent turned around. "I felt for sure that I would return. I was positive that after the harmony tree was planted, I could come back and be with the moon princess… I was wrong. After the harmony units were placed, demons began to show up, and we fought them. Then the demon-traveler war… then my rivalry with Abimael… then my betrayal. Next thing I knew, I was no long fit to even come crawling back."

Discord stroked his chin with a paw as he said, "Well… that was a sob story if I ever heard one! Nevertheless, you really shouldn't be too hard on yourself… well, maybe you should, but anyway… Sunset himself was in quite a pickle when he came here, but he managed to get out of it! And look at him now! Happy, married, is going to have a family… all that good stuff!"

Regal Crescent looked at Discord, "What? Joseph Torrus is married?"

Discord nodded. "Oh, he is; to the beautiful young Pegasus, and my personal friend, Fluttershy, the harmony bearer of kindness."

Regal Crescent blinked. "I think I will go to Joseph… er, Sunset and talk to him about my dilemma, perhaps he can give me a little insight."

Discord grinned, "Oh, I'm sure he would be more than helpful. Oh, and do stay out of trouble while you're here, I really don't want any competition in the chaos department."

Regal Crescent shook his head. "I have no intention of wreaking any more havoc, Discordious," he replied, "Where do you think Sunset is?"

Discord flashed out and flashing in again next to Regal Crescent. He conjured up a map and said, "Well… I don't know… He and Fluttershy are probably in Canterlot gardens. Those two love to relax there. Take a right… then take a left… no, take a left and then a right… no, I mean…"

Regal Crescent shook his head again and teleported away. Discord rolled his eyes. "My, my, even for an old pony he certainly has an impatient disposition. Beings these days…"

Fluttershy and Sunset were cuddling on a bench in the Canterlot gardens when Regal Crescent teleported into their midst. Fluttershy gave a little yelp and hid slightly behind Sunset at the sight of the black and red unicorn. Sunset simply blinked. "Well… Regal Crescent, what can I do for you?"

Regal Crescent slowly moved up to them and sat down on the bench next to Sunset. "I need your help," he said.

Sunset patted Fluttershy's hoof, and she settled next to him again. He then looked at Regal Crescent with raised eyebrows. "You need… my help. With what?"

Regal Crescent put his head in his hoofs as he replied, "I need help with Luna. How can I make her understand that I am repentant? I am truly sorry for what I have done! You're married, Sunset, can't you tell me what to do?"

Sunset stroked his chin for a moment as he thought. He then said, "I don't know, your situation is ever so slightly different than mine when I first came to Equestria. I didn't have a bad legacy when I arrived, and I didn't immediately attempt to blow up its capital. I'm not sure."

Regal Crescent groaned, "I don't know what to do! Help me!"

Fluttershy then spoke. "Um… excuse me? I might have something to say… If Princess Luna is hurt by your betrayal so many years ago, she is probably terrified that it will happen again. You need to show her a little kindness, and maybe earn her trust back. If you truly are sorry, then she will never have to worry about you leaving her again."

Sunset nodded in agreement. "Yes, show her that you care! I do not know how long it will take for you to fix her broken heart, but perhaps in the meantime you can show her that you care once more."

Regal Crescent gave a shaking sigh, "I am sooooo dead. Thank you anyway Fluttershy and Sunset, I will have to think about what you two have said."

With that, he teleported away, leaving the two alone once again. Sunset looked at Fluttershy. "I really hope he gets everything settled," he said, "I would hate to have to share a dimension with an extremely depressed dimensional traveler."

Fluttershy rested her head on his shoulder as she replied, "I am sure everything will be alright…"

Regal Crescent teleported to the top spire of Canterlot. On the very tip of the tower, he sat, watching the entire land as everypony went about their daily lives. He blinked… everything was so peaceful. In the serenity of the morning air, Regal Crescent thought about what everyone had talked to him about. If he wanted to gain Luna's trust back, he would have to show that he changed. But how? There was no trial, no great calamity that he could prove himself in battle. He groaned, fighting billions of demons was much easier than trying to win Luna's love back… if it was even possible. He continued to gaze across the land as he resided on those thoughts, and memories of the old days began to flood in. He remembered the first time he had met Luna and Celestia as fillies, and how he had asked if he could play with them. The three pranced through the meadows, enjoying the wonderful summer days. He remembered playing long games of hide-and-seek with them, as he searched thoroughly for a place to plant the harmony tree. He remembered bringing Luna a bouquet of flowers, and how she had given him the first and greatest hug of his life. He remembered spending long nights with her under the light of her moon, talking about how beautiful the night was in all its glory. He remembered kissing her, and telling her that he would forever love her. And… he remembered leaving in a hurry, trying to quickly get the consent of Paradox to confirm the location and plant the harmony tree so that he could be with Luna. He remembered his horror as a demon raid struck multiple dimensions, forcing him and the dozen other dimensional travelers to fight back, and leaver their pasts behind.

Regal Crescent felt a lump in his throat as he looked down at his hoofs. One thing had led to another, and now he was a rogue, a loner, with no place to go. He looked up, and he noticed Flaming Star and Twilight sitting on a balcony talking.

He couldn't hear what they were saying, but it was obvious by the way they sat together that they really enjoyed each other's company. He had been like that once as well. Regal Crescent continued to watch them as they stopped talking and simply sat there, enjoying each other's company. They continued sitting, and Regal Crescent continued watching. As he did, a few tears slid down his face. Slowly, Regal Crescent turned his back on them and watched the sky. He simply sat there. Minutes passed by, then hours… the sun rose over the hills, sailed through its apex, and began to slowly descend in the west. Still Regal Crescent sat there, thinking of all the things that he could say to Luna if he had the chance. However, no matter the time he went over his ideas, he couldn't think of anything he could say. He wanted her back, but there was no way he truly deserved her. The sun slid through the other half of its cycle and began to fall behind the west hills. It was all a blur for Regal Crescent, who was seven thousand years old. Soon the sun's light died over the land of Equestria, and so did Regal Crescent's hope for redemption. Perhaps he could travel to Dodge Junction, or maybe some other random location where he could live out his days in misery. However, he quickly pulled himself out of his self-pitying thoughts for a moment as the moon began to rise. It had always been a wondrous sight for him. The sun was grand, no doubt, but it was ferocious and precarious in its power. The moon had always been meek, silent, and beautiful, reflecting the sun's violent bolts of light in a calm aura of white and blue light…

Suddenly, Luna landed next to him. Regal Crescent nearly feinted. He quickly recovered and shot up and began to speak faster than Pinkie Pie during a self-introductory speech. "Luna! I'm sorry! I understand that you don't trust me, heck, I wouldn't trust myself, but I need you to understand that-"

Luna interrupted. "I understand, Regal Crescent."

Regal Crescent looked at her incredulously, "You… what?"

Luna sat down next to him and said, "I understand that you are sorry, and I accept your apology."

Regal Crescent couldn't believe his ears. Was he dreaming? Impossible. "I… I know that you have every right to ignore me and never see me again," he stuttered, "but… why?"

Luna sighed, "I could not stay angry for long. Seeing you return to me, humble, was like when you first gave flowers… I was overjoyed. I was hurt, but I felt happiness for your return the likes of which I have not felt since my return to Equestria."

Regal Crescent cocked his head to one side and said, "Your… return?"

Luna nodded. "That is the main that I felt truly that you deserved a place to return in my heart. I too went astray, driven by jealousy and envy. I wanted my night to be predominating, to be worshipped, but it was not the way of harmony. So I tried to take it by force, and I tried to kill my sister. I failed and was banished to the moon for a thousand years. It was during that time that I understood my errors, and when I returned, and the harmony bearers returned me to my right mind… I asked for forgiveness, and I was forgiven. I have done no better than you, and I was forgiven, you deserve that forgiveness as well."

With that, the two hugged, kissed, and tears were shed.

"I love you Luna," whispered Regal Crescent as they continued hugging.

"I love you too, Regal Crescent."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Equestia Earth's Stratosphere_

_Time: Seven days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Legion glanced around as he levitated in the stratosphere of Eqeustria Earth. His gaze raked the landscape as he used his vast, twisted knowledge to pinpoint all the different locations. The specific position of the harmony tree was somehow cloaked from his vision, but he could see Manehattan, Fillydelphia, Vanhoover, Canterlot, and Ponyville. He tapped his masked helmet as he thought about the best place to attack. Canterlot, he knew, was undoubtedly the location of the sun and moon sisters, and the capital of the whole of Equestria, but it was not the place he wanted to start. Canterlot had already been subject to a number of attacks: first from a squadron of demon warriors, then from Dathan Enosson. The place, he could see, was now under the protection of a shield, and there were guards patrolling every corner of it. What's more, Legion could see Pegasus taking off and landing from Cloudsdale, and scouting every corner of the land. These scouts were not really an issue, he mused, but he must strike at a place where he could dislodge the travelers, wherever they may be, and put them at a disadvantage.

His eyes fell on Ponyville. That was it; that was the place to start. It was the perfect location. It was open, and had a lot of avenues for an ambush, but once he controlled the area, he could easily fend off attackers from any location. With that, Legion rocketed towards Ponyville.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Seven days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Rarity trotted through town as the sun slowly rose past the east hills on her way to see Pinkie Pie. Pinkie was planning a party, and she needed a bit of Rarity's help with the costumes. Rarity frowned, she preferred making things that were more elegant, but if it was for a friend...

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash shot out of the sky and landed next to her.

"Oh, my, hello Rainbow Dash," said Rarity, "What brings you here?"

Rainbow Dash kept pace, "I'm so bored! Sunset, Flaming Star, Twilight, and Fluttershy are gone, and there is no one really to do stuff with!"

Rarity sighed, "Well, they will be back soon. They were needed in Canterlot after all those calamities going on. And if you are thinking of asking me to spend time with you, I am afraid it will have to wait. I have a meeting with Pinkie Pie to discuss some costumes."

Rainbow Dash levitated slightly above the ground and rolled her eyes, "Where has all the action gone?"

Rarity pulled a face, "If I recall correctly, the last time we had some 'action,' we were all fairly much scared witless. I don't think we need anymore of that trouble here."

Rainbow sighed as she remembered the terrible attack on Ponyville. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. But I still need something to do!"

Rarity shook her head. "There's nothing for you here, Rainbow Dash," she said, "Why don't you go find one of your Pegasus friends?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Alright! I'm going!"

Suddenly the two bumped into Applejack and Pinkie, who were both staring at the sky.

"Well," said Rarity, "What are you two doing out here?"

Applejack, not taking her eyes off the sky said, "Well, I was here to get some cupcakes from Sugar Cube corner, and met Pinkie Pie looking at the sky."

Rainbow blinked. She then said, "Looking at the sky? Pinkie?"

Pinkie too didn't take her eyes blue atmosphere. "Ooooohhh... Look! The thingy is getting bigger!"

Rarity and Rainbow joined her in sky-gazing. There was a small blot over the sun that was slowly getting bigger. Soon its size began to increase at an accelerated rate, and Rainbow Dash and Rarity realized what was happening.

"Oh no," Rainbow actually whimpered.

"DEMON ATTACK! EVERYPONY DUCK!" Screamed Rarity.

"Rarity! That doesn't look anything like a duck!" interjected Pinkie Pie.

"You always say that!" exclaimed Applejack as she tackled Pinkie and all four of them hit the dirt.

Legion shrieked overhead and landed in town square with an explosion that triggered planet-wide tremors.

As the smoke cleared, Applejack, with her ears flat against her skull, whispered to Rainbow, "Rainbow! Get help!"

Rainbow Dash zoomed off in the direction of Canterlot castle. The smoke cleared to reveal a massive crater where the gazebo once stood. In the crater stood Legion.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Oooooh! The suspense! Sorry guys, I think I'm out for the week, I have stuff I need to do! Nevertheless, I will see if I can add at least one chapter during the weekend. Don't forget to R&amp;R! And if you guys don't remember what the second "R" stands for, it means REVIEW! I love reviews!<strong>


	23. Chapter 23 - Legion

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Gardens_

_Time: Seven days after the arrival of Flaming Star_

Flaming Star opened his eyes and looked around. He was outside. His memories returned as he remembered going out to enjoy the night sky. Looking to his left, his eyes fell on Twilight, who was peacefully sleeping next to him. He was about to go back to sleep when Sunset trotted in with Fluttershy. Flaming Star immediately attempted to fake sleep, but Sunset cantered up and began to poke him in the chest.

"Nice try, firstborn. I need to talk to you."

Flaming Star groaned. "Can't this wait until some other time? Twilight is still asleep!"

Twilight then spoke, "Oh, I'm awake; I've just been enjoying your company and the sunlight."

Flaming Star groaned and rolled over. He looked up. "Well?"

Sunset smiled. "Regal Crescent has gotten back together with Princess Luna, all is well."

Flaming Star rolled back over and closed his eyes. "Great. Yay. Can I go back to sleep?"

Twilight on the other hand, got up and said, "That's wonderful! Has Regal Crescent really changed?"

Sunset frowned. "I think so. From my time talking with him, I think he's just scared now. It's like he lost the only thing that protected him from the outside world, and now he is exposed like a nerve. But I think he's getting better."

With that, Regal Crescent and Luna trotted in. Flaming Star groaned loudly, "Why don't we just invite all of Equestria in here? I'm sure it would increase my ability to sleep tenfold."

Regal Crescent smiled, the first time in a long time. "I understand, firstborn," he said, "I just wanted you to know that I am really grateful for the advice you gave me yesterday."

Flaming Star got up. "No problem. So, since I'm up, what's next?"

Suddenly Rainbow Dash landed in their midst.

She was breathing hard.

"Sunset!" she yelled, "Demons! In Ponyville!"

Sunset's eyes widened in horror. Flaming Star raced over, and Regal Crescent groaned.

"It's Legion, isn't it?" the black unicorn sighed.

Rainbow Dash, still gasping in breaths said, "I don't know. He's huge! Covered in armor!"

Flaming Star nodded. "It's Legion. Regal Crescent, Sunset, on me. We need to take him out before anypony is killed."

With that, the three began to take to the air, suddenly, Luna called out, "No! Regal Crescent!"

Regal Crescent looked at Flaming Star, who nodded. He went back as Sunset and Flaming Star were joined by Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

"What if something happens to you?" said Luna, her eyes wide with terror.

Regal Crescent shook his head. "Nothing will probably happen to me, my love. And even if something did, I will always be with you. In here." He covered his heart. With that, he turned around and said, "Get Princess Celestia, we will need you two."

With that, Sunset, Flaming Star, Regal Crescent, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Fluttershy began to fly away. The group was suddenly enveloped in a bubble of energy, that blasted off in the direction of Ponyville at three times the speed of sound.

A single tear fell from Luna's eyes. She turned around and galloped into Canterlot to find her sister.

Sunset bit his lip until it bled as he saw his beloved home, Ponyville, in flames. Even from the great distance, they could see Legion in the town square. He was simply standing there, tossing off bolts of demonic energy now and then. Suddenly, he spotted the group, despite the lengths that separated them, and fired a stream of energy. Flaming Star, who was steering the bubble of energy, veered off and dodged the blast. Soon they were caught in a hail of energy bolts

"I can't keep dodging them!" yelled Flaming Star as a bolt of demonic energy glanced off the bubble, causing it to buckle.

Regal Crescent nodded. "We're close enough now, everyone bail!"

Flaming Star dropped the shield and hurled a flare of light energy to block Legion's vision as they all scattered.

"Flaming Star! Regal Crescent!" yelled Sunset, "We need to attack Legion head-on! We need to keep his attention on us! Rainbow Dash! Grab Twilight and Fluttershy and find the rest of the harmony bearers! Wait until Celestia and Luna arrive!"

"Attack Legion head on?" yelled Regal Crescent, "That's suicide! He is pretty much the most powerful demon of all time!"

"People said that about Abbadon until I beat him!" replied Sunset, "We need to do this! For our friends!"

Regal Crescent seemed to fight with himself for a moment, and then he nodded. "For our friends," he confirmed.

Flaming Star then yelled, "Attack formation Delta Twelve! Spearhead!"

The three dove towards Legion. Legion rocketed up to meet them. When they collided, however, there was no explosion of energy, Legion simply blasted the three out of his way, sending them all spiraling into houses.

"Contact! Recover and regroup! Ten seconds!" roared Flaming Star as he jumped up from the crater he had created when he had crashed and took to the air.

Sunset and Regal Crescent both recovered and joined Flaming Star. They hovered in the air, facing Legion.

Legion stared at them, his face hidden by his face-plate. All they could see was his sinister red-glowing T-visor.

"Well, this is unique," laughed Legion, "I mean, you are a bunch of misfits if I ever saw one! Look what we have here: Joseph Torrus, a recuperating psychopath; Abimael Sethson, an obsessive, egotistic, moron; and Dathan Enosson, a traitorous wretch. You honestly think you three could take me down?"

Flaming Star grinned as he said, "Probably. For, from what I see, I see: Joseph Torrus, a strong, virtuous, knight; Abimael Sethson, an intelligent, yet humbled, warrior; and Dathan Enosson, a repentant, yet amazing, fighter."

Legion just floated there. After a pause he said, "That was really stupid."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes, "Whatever, I think it was an excellent comeback! Don't you think, Sunset?"

Sunset just looked at Flaming Star, "Are you honestly… he's our archenemy!"

Flaming Star rolled his eyes again and said, "Yeah, I know! But I can't let him get away with such an insult. Tell you what, Legion, let's rock-paper-scissors for whose statement was the best. Deal?"

Legion just looked at them. "Really? Wait… where's Enosson?"

Suddenly Legion reeled forward as a massive blast of energy knocked him forwards. Regal Crescent had snuck up behind him. Flaming Star had only been stalling.

Legion tried to right himself, but was blasted backwards by a dual attack from Flaming Star and Sunset. He flew backwards, only to be knocked forward again by Regal Crescent. Suddenly, Legion released a massive blast of energy in all direction, knocking the three askew. Legion righted himself and conjured his massive demonic blade. He rocketed towards Flaming Star. Flaming Star conjured a blade of his own and the two met in the middle. There was a clash, a concussive explosion, and a snap as Legion's sword shattered Flaming Star's. Legion reached forward to grab Flaming Star, but Flaming Star increased the temperature around his body to 2600 degrees Celsius. Legion quickly withdrew his hand and blasted Flaming Star backwards with a bolt of energy. Sunset caught Flaming Star as Legion turned to Regal Crescent and engaged him in a firefight. Regal Crescent was fast, but he was no match for the sheer overpowering might of Legion, who eventually connected with one of his demonic bolts and sent him spiraling away. Sunset and Flaming Star both rushed him, and released blasts of energy, but were met with a wave of demonic bolts. Sunset and Flaming Star teleported away from the attack and immediately began to engage Legion in combat. Legion simply waved away their attacks, and fired two blasts of well-timed demonic energy. They both hit their marks, stunning Flaming Star and Sunset. Legion lowered himself until he was hovering a few feet above the crater where had had initially landed. Suddenly he flickered, but it was only momentary, soon it stopped and Legion was still there, in all his horrific power.

Legion laughed, "You three are no match for me. In my time of imprisonment, I have only grown stronger! There is no chance that you three insignificant fools can take down the great Legion!"

Sunset quickly recovered and yelled, "Then it's a good thing that we're just not three!" Legion quickly turned to see Regal Crescent, leading Celestia, Luna, and the harmony bearers.

Legion laughed, "You don't have the elements of harmony, there is no way you could even touch me."

Celestia glared at the demon as she said, "We don't need the elements of Harmony to take you down, demon."

Legion raised his eyebrows. "You don't? Please, enlighten me, then, on how you plan to defeat me, Princess Celestia. Yes, I know who you are. I know who all of you are, and all of your greatest fears."

Twilight narrowed her eyes as she said, "Then you must know, Legion, that we have nothing to fear when we are together!"

Legion tapped his facemask. "Oh my, Princess Twilight, what a wonderful comeback. Maybe you could teach your coltfriend, Abimael, a thing or two about those skills of yours. Anyway, even if you have nothing to fear, it is not of my concern. I am not just fear, I am unkindness, I am disloyalty, I am dishonesty, I am greed, I am sorrow, I am the antimagic. There is nothing you can do against me."

Sunset simply raised an eyebrow. "Let's test that, shall we?"

With that, they all charged him. A massive blast of harmony energy erupted from Celestia, Luna, and the harmony bearers, and it became coupled with the chains of truth from Sunset, a massive blast of fire a billion times hotter than the center of the sun from Regal Crescent, and a bolt of energy powerful enough to shatter a planet from Flaming Star. They all hit Legion at the same time. A bright light filled every corner of the planet, and could be seen from outer space. The light was so bright, that everypony everywhere had to shut their eyes. As the light cleared, they opened their eyes… Legion was still standing. He looked at them. Suddenly he flickered again, and it looked like he was simply was blinking out of existence, but then it stopped, and Legion stood there... completely fine.

"That was impressive, but perhaps… just not enough."

Fluttershy feinted, and Rarity began to hyperventilate. Flaming Star's mouth literally dropped open. "But… but… but…"

Legion then said, almost in a terrified, haunted voice, "You just don't understand, do you? I am part of a greater plan, something so terrible that even I cannot bear it, but it is unstoppable, and thus by extension, I am unstoppable. This is not what we had planned for, but it is what will transpire. What I have witnessed… is unimaginable. I have kneeled at the throne of bones and rotting flesh, I have seen its king in all its hideous glory. I have seen the flayed and decaying hands of the Unknowns, as they cobble together the satanic machine, fueled by hate and the blood of innocents. The new plan… in all it malevolence… you cannot stop it. And if I could not stop it, than neither can you."

The entire team rose to fight him once more, but a massive blast knocked them all, except Regal Crescent who had somehow managed to dodge the attack, to the floor.

Legion smiled as he looked at the stunned forms of his adversaries. He then looked at Regal Crescent, "Just you and me, eh?"

Regal Crescent's eyes narrowed. "It doesn't matter what you have seen, Legion. Good will always prevail."

Legion roared with laughter, "What say you? Good will always prevail? I believe that a few days ago, I came to you with the heart of a female arch-demon and asked you to destroy Flaming Star, and you agreed! Don't tell me that you have somehow changed your mind and returned to these base sentimentalities. They are sordid… hoary… useless. What made you return to such things?"

Regal Crescent reached over and grasped Luna's hoof, who was still in a daze. "She did."

Legion snapped a finger. "Ah! Love! I should have known. Females do that, don't they?"

Regal Crescent nodded as he rose above the rest of his team to face Legion. "Yes, love. And if I had remembered my long-lost love when you came to me, I would have killed you where you stood when you approached me. But I lost my way… I have found it again now, and all the forgiveness that comes with it. No matter how terrible you are, or what 'plans' you claim to have seen, there is no way you or any other evil will prevail in the end. Good… will… always… WIN!"

With that, Regal Crescent, all alone, rushed Legion, who conjured up his blade again. Suddenly, Regal Crescent opened a portal to some dimension behind Legion. Then Regal Crescent rammed Legion, taking the blade full in his chest. Legion spiraled backwards and fell through the portal, however, just as half of him made it through, Regal Crescent closed the portal… cutting Legion in half. Legion was dead; half of him lay in the My Little Pony dimension, the other half in some other godforsaken land.

Regal Crescent gave a deep, retching gasp as he pulled the sword out of his chest. He stumbled and fell to the ground. "I probably should have thought of a better idea," he gasped.

Sunset was the first to recover. He rushed up to Regal Crescent and lifted his head. "Hang on there, Regal Crescent," he said, "We got you."

He was joined by Flaming Star, who began to pour healing energy into him… but the damage was too much.

"Eh, I think it's a little too late now, guys," whispered Regal Crescent, "I'm clocking out here… doesn't hurt too much."

Luna suddenly rushed over, she had recovered as well. "Oh… my Regal Crescent, what has he done to you?" Tears began to flow out of her eyes.

Regal Crescent tried to wink. "He gave me a win. At last… a win. I needed that."

Luna started to kiss him. "No! No! No! You can't leave me! You said you weren't going to leave me!"

Regal Crescent smiled and said, "I said I probably would not leave you. But I guess I will. Don't worry though… I will always be with you… in here." He reached up and tapped her heart. He gave a retching gasp, vomited up a massive gout of blood, and died. Luna broke down crying.

Rainbow Dash's eyes were wide as she began to shake uncontrollably, "No… not again! No! NO! NO! NO!"

Twilight buried her face in Flaming Star's mane and began to weep as well.

Sunset simply sat there, looking at Regal Crescent blood-soaked body. He had seen too much violence in his time to feel nauseated by the sight of blood, but Regal Crescent's death was terrible, and his emotions were on the brink of spilling over.

Flaming Star just stood there, letting Twilight cry on him. He looked at Regal Crescent and said, "Well… He… He killed the most powerful demon of all time."

Sunset nodded. "He was the best. I've never seen such power, or quick thinking."

Flaming Star nodded as well and said, "He was awesome… even better than me. He was the most powerful."

"Yes… he was," sighed Sunset, "We need to put him to rest, Luna is crying herself to pieces."

Flaming Star slowly levitated the body, and cleaned the blood and dirt off of him. Luna was still clutching to him and crying. "We need to bury him near the harmony tree," Flaming Star said, "that is the place he would have wanted to be buried in. Not Earth Prime, not anywhere else… he would have wanted to be here, with his harmony tree, and his loved ones."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Doctor Who<em>

_Planet: Phaester Osiris_

_Specific Location: East Desert_

_Time: 3825 Anno Domini_

Legion gasped as he felt his life slip away. He had lost. His vision began to cloud as he drifted into oblivion, where his soul would be imprisoned in eternal darkness and nothingness for the rest of eternity. As he died, he forced out a chuckle. He had lost… but it did not matter, things were going according to new plan.

"Perhaps double-crossing the Grand Devil isn't such a brilliant idea," he gasped, "but then... perhaps... this is the best way for life in the multiverse to go..."

Silently, Legion telepathically contacted the hive mind of the infernal realm. "The demon army has attacked the My Little Pony dimension and laid waste to it," he said, "I and my soldiers were not harmed. There will be no further attacks against the dimension from the infernal realm. The operation was a success. Legion out."

With a grunt, Legion dragged his halved body forward a few inches before giving up. "The Paradox better deliver," he said, and with a gasp, he closed his eyes.

And then Legion died, and his soul drifted away to be tormented forever.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Okay guys, here is what is going down now. A new age is starting, and a whole new level of warfare is coming. I've already chosen winners for the team that will be part of the new age section of this story, but if you want your OC to show up, PM me! I might have use of them! I understand that this is a bit of a cliffhanger, so I will roll out the next chapter as quickly as possible. And remember to R&amp;R!<strong>


	24. Chapter 24 - Revival

_Dimension: Orbis Terrarum II_

_Planet: Helios_

_Specific Location: The Burnt Wastelands_

_Time: Two Centuries after the Great Rebellion_

Helios had once been a beautiful place. It had been hot, no doubt, which was why it earned the name Helios, but it was grand. Lush, tropical rainforests, many different landscapes and biospheres. Once. Now it was a blackened rock, choking with soot, ash, and fire. For Daniel, leader of the Brother's In Arms corps of the dimensional travelers, it was also a place of failure. He had grown up here, fought here, and been recruited by the Paradox here. However, after adventuring through the multiverse, he had found the place overrun by Corruption, a deadly strain of parasitic fungus interdimensionally known as medusoid mycelium, thanks to the demons supplying an insurgency with it in the form of biological weapons. Daniel had burned his homeworld to the ground to keep the fungus from spreading, and now all he saw in the place was failure and guilt.

Daniel sighed, straight-faced, as he looked around at his ruined homeworld. "Maybe this was not such a good idea after all." Although he didn't let any of it show, he was torn up about his homeworld, and the state it was in, but he didn't have time for sentimentality.

Franklin Montgomery flipped his W.A.R. sniper rifle over his shoulder and snorted, "None of us said it ever was. It was your idea to come here after the Quinto Præsidium, our last stronghold, fell to the demons."

Night Shade just blinked. The eleven-year-old traveler prodigy hadn't said anything since Ada Adalbarosdaughter, his best friend, died during Quinto Præsidium's fall. Despite his young age, he had always been a "family man," looking out diligently for whoever chose to team up with him… But it wasn't enough to save Ada, who had her stomach blown through during the final stages of the battle.

Franklin viewed the area with a soldier's eye, he had been in the army even before he was recruited by the Paradox, at age twenty, now at age twenty-seven; he hadn't changed a hair. Calm, calculating, and pretty easy-going.

Daniel turned to Franklin, "I suppose we should stay here for now," he said, "It doesn't look like anything is going to happen soon. We need to hold tight and regroup."

Night Shade, for the first time in five days, spoke, "Regroup? We are all that's left. From what I've heard, the firstborn was killed in a failed mission in the Warhammer 40k universe, and Torrus, who tried to return to us, was killed by Abbadon. I think we are all that's left."

Franklin simply shrugged, "Well, if we are all that's left, than that means we get more experience points for killing the demons."

Daniel just ignored Franklin and turned to Night Shade, "I believe you are right, Night Shade. We need to just hold tight until I can think of what to do. We need to find a way to retaliate. We may be all that is it, but we must continue to make the demons pay for what they have done here, and everywhere else."

Franklin kneeled down, using his sniper rifle as elbow rests. "It seems clear, and the traveler database said that this place hasn't been visited since Daniel… well… you know."

Night Shade flopped down and buried his face in his hands. For an eleven-year-old seeing his best friend get her stomach ruptured, he was taking it pretty well. "Let's be careful, guys. You two are all I have left now."

Daniel smiled and sat down next to Night Shade and threw an arm around him. "We will be fine, Night," he said, "We're safe here."

Franklin, who had been looking off at the distance, stood up, and began to aim his sniper rifle. "Screw you, Daniel, you jinxed it. Demons incoming!"

Daniel eyes lit up with fire as the word "demon" escaped Franklin's lips. Quickly he got up and clapped his hands; the three were immediately surrounded by white flames. "How did they find us?" he said, working to control his rage.

Franklin, who was firing off shots faster than a machine gun, and hitting his mark each time, said, "I don't know. But somehow someone knows where we are, this is just as suspicious as the circumstances surrounding the death of the firstborn."

Night Shade leapt up, and began to conjure rippling bolts of kinetic energy around his fists, and the molecules of his body began to speed up.

The demons, which only Franklin could see at first, came into view… billions of them. Franklin had pulled out his other W.A.R. sniper rifle and was firing them both off at incredible speeds, dropping 20 demons almost every second. "Well, we're dead. Nice working with you two, the Brother's In Arms corps was the best team I ever had, and I used to work with the firstborn."

Daniel had gotten his rage under control and was watching the demons approach. Slowly he extended one hand… he then quickly flicked his wrist. Every square meter for at least a hundred kilometers exploded with fire and thermal energy, decimating at least a million demons. The demons simply ran over the charred corpses of their comrades and continued coming. Daniel did it again, and again, and again. No matter how many times he did it, the demons kept coming back. Soon he became exhausted, and simply stood there in astonishment as the demons kept on coming. Night Shade, who had joined in the fight, was firing a trillion joules worth of kinetic energy in each bolt, the impacts of which literally blasted massive craters in the ground. Nevertheless, the demons kept coming. Suddenly, the massive army just disappeared. Just like that, they melted into nothing.

Daniel blinked. He didn't say anything, just began to analyze the situation. Franklin grinned, but his eyes scoured every meter of ground in every direction. After a long pause, he said, "Well, that was… who is that?"

Immediately the three turned and faced a single being approaching them. It was Lord Abimael "James" Sethson, the firstborn.

Daniel scowled at the firstborn, the two had never gotten along very well. "Firstborn, what is going on? Why are you still alive? Where are the demons?"

James grinned. "Oh, I was never dead, just out of action for a bit. What demons? You mean these demons?" With a slight gesture, the Brother In Arms corps was surrounded by a vast army consisting of the fallen angels.

Daniel began to lose his temper, "What… Have you fallen in with our hated enemy?! TELL ME!"

James rolled his eyes, "Oh, I haven't really 'fallen in' with them, I just have amalgamated myself with their likes for the time being. Why don't you join me?"

"NEVER!" roared Daniel. He unleashed a massive firestorm that turned the ground to lava and shook the planet with massive tremors. After watching the destruction for a minute, Daniel snapped his fingers once, and the storm subsided. James was still there, cloaked in a shield of pure energy, laughing.

"Oh Daniel, you were always the feisty one. And you Franklin, look at you! Don't you remember how I never led you or your friends a step wrong during the battle of Malindi IV? And you, Night Shade, wouldn't you leap at the chance to join the firstborn on a glorious battle to free the multiverse of the tyranny of freedom?"

Daniel looked James in the eyes and said, in a dangerously low voice, "We will never join you. We would rather die."

James rolled his eyes and dropped his energy shield. "You fools, can't you see how you are all going astray? There is no more 'good' in the universe, it's all gone! It's eat or be eaten now, and I think the demons have the good side of things. Come on-"

A shot went off. James blinked, swayed, and toppled over, dead on the ground.

Daniel whirled to face Franklin, who had oriented his rifle in such a way that it seemed like it was on safety, and was simply hanging uselessly by his side… then he had pulled the trigger with perfect accuracy. "Franklin! You just broke the traveler's code!"

Franklin, who was frowning at the dead body of James, said, "No I didn't. That isn't James. The firstborn and I went Malindi VII, not IV."

The dead body of James suddenly flickered, and disappeared, replaced by a hideous creature. Daniel went up and inspected the dead body.

"What the hell is that?" said Night Shade.

Franklin shrugged. "It looks like… Heck, I don't know."

Daniel, on the other hand, suddenly became aware of the situation. "My god… these things are not even supposed to exist here."

Franklin got down on one knee and inspected the dead body as well. "It can shape-shift and can inherit adaptive powers. I know the Grand Devil can shape-shift, but what can do that AND take on powers?"

Daniel got up and said, "As I said, there shouldn't be something that can do both. These things are from another multiverse entirely."

Night Shade blinked. "Another… multiverse entirely?"

Daniel nodded, "There was a brief scuffle between these things and the dimensional travelers a hundred years ago, but the battle was struck from the record books, no one should know of them. Only the firstborn and I knew of them, after all, we were the ones who fought them."

Franklin also got up, "Well, we can't stay here. We have to keep moving. If there are more of these, than we have to get the hell away from here, we have to keep moving."

Daniel shook his head, "I understand, but… we have to tell someone!"

Night Shade sighed, "Yeah? Like who?"

Daniel sighed as well and turned to the other two, "I have no idea. But we can no longer trust anyone."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: LEGO universe<em>

_Planet: LEGO city planet_

_Specific Location: Bricksburg_

_Time: Twelve years after the Kragle Crisis_

Steve woke up and jumped out of bed. At first he went about his business like it was a regular day. He got up, took a shower, brushed his teeth, and ate breakfast. However, as he ate his food, he noticed the calendar, and the little note scribbled over the box that represented today… Then he remembered.

A week ago, a weird creature stumbled through a portal outside of a Bricksburg University classroom a few minutes after everyone but he had left. It fell to the ground and lay still. Suddenly, it had morphed into a LEGO girl, with a terrible wound in her side, and scars and bruises all over her body. He had rushed her to the hospital, and they had diagnosed her situation as critical. They ejected him from the room and said that she would be in surgery for about a week. He had been so fascinated by the situation that he marked specifically on the calendar the time he could visit her so that he could drop in and ask her about what had happened.

Excitedly, he grabbed a suit and tie and ran to his car, jumping in, he raced off to the hospital. Quickly, he entered in, checked in at the front desk as a guest, and followed an attendant to the room the mysterious LEGO girl was housed in. The attendant left him at the front door and went off to see to other matters. Steve took a deep breath, and eased the door open. He peeked through the crack and saw the LEGO girl, sitting in her bed, reading a book. She looked around and then spotted Steve. She smiled and beckoned him in.

"Hello, who are you?" she said.

Steve cleared his voice and said, "I'm Steve. I- I am the one who brought you to this hospital."

Her smile brightened, "Oh, you are, are you? Well, you have my thanks! I was really hurt."

Steve nodded. "You still are. But… what were you? I saw you as a weird creature, and then you fell over and turned into... well, turned into you!"

Her smile disappeared and she sighed sadly, "Ah yes, truth is, I'm not really a LEGO person. I'm a dimensional traveler."

Steve raised an eyebrow with interest. "Oh! We know of them! They helped the Master Builders during the battle of Demon Hill; 127 years ago right?"

She blinked in surprise. "Yeah. We did. I didn't think anyone would remember."

Steve winked, "I'm a professor in History at Brickberg University."

Her smile returned. "That's wonderful," she said, "Oh; my name is Miranda by the way."

Steve returned the smile. "Nice to meet you Miranda. If it's not too much to ask, why were you so badly hurt?"

She frowned as if in thought. Finally, she said, "I- I don't really remember. I was fighting something… and then I opened a portal to, er, somewhere… and then I ended up here!"

Steve frowned as well and said, "Wow, that sounds confusing. Well, I hope you're getting well quickly!"

She winked, "I sure hope so!"

Steve waved to her and left the room. Miranda stared off into the distance, listening to his footsteps grow fainter and fainter. Slowly she traced a finger down a long, purple scar that ran from he temple to her jaw. Then she brightened. She knew what she had to do. Quickly, she opened a portal to the My Little Pony dimension by her bedside, got up, and leapt through.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sweet Apple Acres_

_Time: A year after the death of Regal Crescent_

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders will now call their clubhouse to order!" said Sweetie Bell as she tapped her hoof against their pedestal in their clubhouse.

"Uh, Sweetie Bell, we were all waiting already," said Scootaloo.

Sweetie Bell just smiled, "I know, but we can't have a meeting without one of us saying that! It's just how things are!"

"Okay! Let's get a move-on then!" said Apple Bloom, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sweetie Bell nodded. "We are here for an emergency meeting about Flaming Star and Twilight!"

Scootaloo rubbed her head. "Wait… what? I thought this was about Summer Harvest Parade!"

Sweetie Bell shook her head. "No silly! That was last meeting! You just fell asleep during it! We're here to talk about Flaming Star and Twilight."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yeah, they've dating for a year now! How many times now?"

Sweetie Bell pulled a face, "361 times, I counted. All they do is order food, ignore it, and just stare at each other for the duration of the meal! How long are they going to do that? It's really embarrassing."

Scootaloo pulled a face as well, "Yeah. They really have to stop doing that and get married already."

Apple Bloom facehoofed. "I think everyone thinks that, but Flaming Star is insisting they 'take it slow.' Some excuse. He's just scared."

Scootaloo brightened up. "Maybe we could slip a wedding ring in their drinks! Then maybe Twilight will think he's proposing, finally, and say yes!"

Apple Bloom then said, "I don't see how that would work. Flaming Star is one of them, er, dimensional traveler thingys, he probably would know what we were doing before we even knew."

Sweetie Bell frowned and sat down. "Yeah, I don't see how we could do it…"

Suddenly, a loud clatter rang outside, and the CMC rushed to look out the window. A bright yellow earth pony covered in scars was dangling from the lower branches of an apple tree, he eyes wide with confusion.

The CMC rushed outside and galloped to the base of the tree and looked up through the branches.

"Hello up there!" yelled Apple Bloom, "Are you okay?"

"I think so," came the reply, "I have no idea what I'm doing."

Scootaloo snorted. "Clearly. How in the hay have you gotten yourself up there?"

There was a pause… "I have no idea."

There was an abrupt snap, and the earth pony yelled, "Incoming!"

She fell straight out of the tree and landed hard on her rump. Dizzily, she stood up and swayed in place. She then shook her head and looked around with clear blue eyes.

The CMC just stared at her.

The pony smiled, "Hello, my name is Miranda. What are your names?"

Scootaloo shook herself out the stupor first and said, "Oh! I'm Scootaloo, she's Apple Bloom, and she's Sweetie Bell! We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Miranda cocked her head to one side and said, "What's a cutie mark?"

Sweetie Bell blinked. "It's on your flank. Oh no, you're a dimensional traveler thingy, aren't you?

Miranda didn't answer, but looked at her flank. It had a bright star, encased in an infinity sign. "Well, that's pretty, isn't it? Um… what am I?"

Sweetie Bell was still just staring. "Well… you're a pony. An earth pony. Are you a dimensional traveler?"

Miranda eyes brightened. "I am! How did you know?"

Scootaloo answered. "We have two here already! There is Flaming Star and Sunset Shadow!"

Miranda's brow furrowed as she thought. After a pause, she said, "It that… their names?"

Apple Bloom rubbed her chin as she said, "I THINK so. I know that Sunset Shadow's name was originally Joseph Torrus, but…"

Miranda's pupils shrunk and she pressed her ears against her skull as she said, "Torrus… HERE?"

Scootaloo reached up and pattered her shoulder. "Calm down, Miranda. He's not evil anymore! He's our best friend!"

Sweetie Bell gave her a huge smile and said, "Yep! Wisest, smartest, bestest friend we could ever have!"

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow and interjected, "Um, Sweetie Bell? Bestest ain't a word."

Sweetie Bell rolled her eyes. "Neither is 'ain't'… anyway, I don't remember what Flaming Star's name was originally. Something really long and weird. Do you want us to take you to them?"

Miranda had gotten her emotions under control and she nodded silently.

"Right!" said Scootaloo dramatically, "Then off we go… to Ponyville!"


	25. Chapter 25 - A Shocking Discovery

_Dimension: Looking For Group_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Nestorep_

_Time: 1 Year after Cale'anon Meets Richard_

"This place looks safe," said Night Shade as he strolled into the little town.

Franklin just scanned from side-to-side as he muttered, "Yeah, you probably jinxed it now. It is so jinxed now."

Daniel quietly walked in front, he eyes downcast as he tried to blend in. "Be careful guys," he said, "the database states that this place runs off self-sustainable magic. You can use amulets to enhance your abilities, but for the most part it all runs indefinitely, we have to watch for mages."

Franklin continued to look around as he said, "I don't think we will have to completely worry about that, no doubt demons will show up now that Night Shade has jinxed it!"

Night Shade looked at him with confusion on his face. Daniel just snorted, "I suppose the number thirteen is a bearer of bad news as well?"

Franklin shook his head. "Of course not! I don't really believe in superstition, it's bad luck."

There was an extremely long pause. Suddenly Night Shade said, "Oh! I get it!"

Daniel stopped at a tavern inn and looked it up and down. "This place should do. We will stay here indefinitely until we can figure out what steps we are to take."

With that, the three entered the tavern. All noise stopped momentarily as all people in the building turned to stare at them. The three, even Night Shade, cut imposing figures in the shafts of light streaming through the door, and Daniel could see several humans beginning to sharpen daggers. He shook his head and approached the innkeeper.

"How long?" the fat man said, sweat beginning to bead on his brow, his mustache twitching nervously.

His eyes still downcast, Daniel said, "Indefinitely. We will sort the bill out later."

The innkeeper looked like he wanted to argue, but he nodded quickly as Daniel began to look up. Franklin, who had been watching their back, nodded to Daniel. They took their room number, and immediately went to it. They closed the door, and all sat down around a small table in the middle of the room.

"I think," started Franklin, "we should first discuss who has to share a bed. Night Shade is a REALLY loud snorer."

Night Shade gasped, "I am not!"

Daniel lifted his voice a little and said, "Stop it. We need to talk about the next steps."

Franklin just snorted. "What steps can we take? We are all alone, demons are amok, and hostile creatures from another multiverse entirely are invading. What plans? All I can see is disharmony and chaos."

Night Shade shook his head, "Oh, evil has a plan alright. It's there, we just can't see it."

Franklin raised an eyebrow as he looked at Night Shade. "Well, that's what you get from being RAISED by the Paradox. Your mind gets filled with too many good thoughts. The multiverse isn't all black and white, you know."

Night Shade rolled his eyes and replied, "Having Paradox as my parent was the best thing that could have happened to me. And yes, the morals he instilled in me are predominate in my thoughts, but that doesn't mean the multiverse is black and white, I just know that evil has a massive capacity to make order look like disaster to hide their plots."

Franklin blinked. "You know, for an eleven-year-old, you are quite articulate. Your mother would be proud."

Daniel slammed a fist on the table, and the table simply shattered into sawdust from the force. Quickly he withdrew his hand and said, "Sorry… But stop it you two! We can't be arguing amongst ourselves, heaven knows the demons don't do that when they're trying to kill people. We need to figure out what to do next."

Franklin sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "As I said, there isn't much we can do. I am not being pessimistic; I am just stating the facts. We have no idea where to start."

Night Shade sighed and said, "For once, I agree with Franklin. I… I cannot risk losing any of you two."

Daniel stroked his chin. "I understand," he said, "But we have to do something. We are dimensional travelers for a reason, we protect the multiverse, and we can't do that if we are hiding. What we need to do is find out what the demons are planning."

Night Shade pulled a face. "How would we do it? We can't capture a demon; Daniel would probably just gut it without reserve."

Daniel sighed. "I hate demons and what they did to me and my homeplanet, but that doesn't mean I would kill one if I needed it alive."

Franklin cocked his head on one side as he said, "I don't know… from what I remember, there has been no account of dimensional travelers interrogating demons in the records before. This would be an unwelcomed first."

Night Shade nodded. "Most certainly an unwelcomed first. Besides, where would we find a demon who knew enough to even tell us anything?! Heck, we would probably need to capture an arch-demon for that!"

Daniel stood up and said, "That's what we need to do. We need to find an arch-demon, capture it, interrogate it, and find out what the hell is going on."

Franklin leapt up and stuck a pose. "Yes! Let's go and preform something equivalent to suicide! FOR PONY!"

Night Shade got up and said, "Okay, let's do this. But… how are we going to find an arch-demon? It's not like they are just hanging out, ready to be captured."

Daniel nodded. "No, it's not, that is why we are going to the Quinto Præsidium. That place has just been destroyed; it will most certainly have at least one arch-demon directing their search-and-kill parties through the dimension."

Franklin dropped his pose. "Well, I would have said something about this being equivalent to suicide, but… it's just suicide, plain and simple. There is almost no way we could get in there, capture an arch-demon, and not get spotted. We may be a good team, but we're not that good."

Daniel allowed himself a rare smile as he replied, "I have a plan."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: A year after the death of Regal Crescent_

"Um… ma'am?" said Apple Bloom, a little nervously, "Could I… er, ask ya' something?"

Miranda turned her bright eyes to the filly and said, "Of course you can sweetie! Anything!"

Apple Bloom looked down and said, "Um… how did you get… er, covered in scars?"

"Yeah," said Scootaloo, her voice gentler than usual, "I mean… you're covered in scars, bruises, and burns! Are those… BRANDING MARKS?"

Miranda's face fell. She tried to smile a little again, but only sighed. "Am I… scary?"

Sweetie Bell trotted over and gave her a side-hug. "Oh course you're not! You're lovely! We're just wondering why you look so hurt!"

Miranda sighed. "I'm sorry children, but I can't really tell you. It's not something for ears as young as yours."

Scootaloo looked a little put out, but then motioned for Miranda to follow her to a large cottage on the border of town. Sweetie Bell knocked on the door. A yellow Pegasus peeked through a crack in the door.

"Hey Fluttershy!" said Scootaloo, "We have someone to see Sunset!"

The door opened and Fluttershy looked at Miranda. He pupils shrunk. After a pause she exclaimed, "Oh my goodness! You look terrible! Come in!"

Fluttershy seized Miranda by the hoof and pulled her in. She sat her down and began to look her over.

"You're so hurt! What creature could do this to you?! Sunset! Hurry!"

Sunset trotted in the room, carrying a baby filly.

"Huh? What?"

Fluttershy, not looking up, said, "Put Starlight Amber in her crib and help me! This pony is really hurt… if you don't mind, please?"

Sunset carefully handed Starlight Amber to Apple Bloom and trotted up Miranda. His pupils shrunk as his gaze fell on Miranda. "My god… What happened?"

Mirana blushed and looked at her hoofs. She mumbled, "Oh, nothing. It's nothing really."

Sunset trotted close to her and began to run his hoofs over some of the wounds. He could the pain emanating from them. "Who are you?"

Miranda, who was still blushing, mumbled, "I'm Miranda."

Sunset raised his eyebrows and said, "Miranda? That's an unusual name. Where are you from?"

Sweetie Bell answered this. She piped up, "This is Miranda! She's one of those… er, dimensional travelers."

Sunset blinked. "What?"

Miranda pointed at herself and said, "Miranda Arkine. Dimensional Orientation PD – 7. Power Tier 3. Generation: 79th."

Sunset looked at her suspiciously for a moment and then turned to Scootaloo. "Scootaloo," he said, "Could you get me Flaming Star?"

Scotaloo nodded and dashed off. Sunset turned back to Miranda and said, "I'm… I'm Joseph Torrus."

Miranda blanched a little and her pupils shrunk. She began to quiver in fear violently, but Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder and said, "Oh, don't worry. He's my husband. We have a nice little family here; he's changed. You're safe."

Miranda, who still looked a little scared, nodded.

Sunset sat in front of her and said, "So, tell me, what monster did this to you?"

Tears began to trickle from her face as she said, "Demons. They… they tortured me."

At that moment, the door opened and Scootaloo, Twilight, and Flaming Star entered. Flaming Star looked at Miranda and his eyes widened. "My god," he said, "What could do that to you?"

There was a pause, and Flaming Star said, "Oh, I'm Abimael 'James' Sethson. The firstborn."

Miranda's eyes widened twice their size as she said, "James? It's me! Miranda! Warhammer 40k? Extraction? The failed mission?"

Flaming Star gasped and he stumbled back. "But… but you're dead! I heard you all die! I went nova!"

Miranda nodded. "You did. But I was captured when I found Alice dead, and some arch-demons spirited me away to a stronghold somewhere as the planet was destroyed by you."

Flaming Star, who still looked absolutely surprised, then said, "They… captured you? Since when have demons spared dimensional travelers?"

Miranda, who began to tear up, shook her head and said, "I… I don't know! They brought me to a stronghold and began to torture me. They seemed furious about something, screaming about a double-agent within their ranks. They said that no one should have ever found their nuclear weapon factory. How did you find it?"

Flaming Star rubbed his head as he said, "It was from Corey Baudelaire, one of the new recruits. He never said how he got the information… How could he have been a double agent?"

Miranda began to cry like a little child. "I don't know," she sobbed, "I wouldn't tell them anything though, and they began to torture me worse and worse. It got so bad…"

Slowly Miranda sat back on her haunches and straightened up. A long purple scar ran from just above her pelvic region up across her stomach, over her chest, all the way up to the side of her neck. Fluttershy turned away, buried her face in Sunset's mane, and began to cry as well.

Flaming Star's eyes were full of sadness. "But… but you got away!"

Miranda smiled through her tears as she said, "I did, the demons were attacked by something, and they all rushed to defend the fortress. I escaped, but a demon saw me and stabbed me in the side. I managed to escape to another dimension where I was found and nursed back to health. But… it hurts."

Sunset, who still sat in front of her, looked her straight in the eyes and said, "Did you figure out what was going on?"

Miranda shuddered. "I think so… They would talk about it with each other as the cut me open. They were really mad and scared about you finding the one factory…"

Flaming Star then interjected. "I don't see how they could! We walked straight into a trap!"

Miranda nodded, "I don't understand it either, they seemed to think that somehow they had been double-crossed. It all was a part of some plan to be initiated by the Grand Devil. It code name was… Astrol."

That was the unintelligible word that Abbadon had whispered to Legion when he had been trapped within mount Azrael.

Sunset nodded slowly. "Astrol… okay. What was supposed to happen?"

"It was supposed to be initiated after Legion was released," Miranda said, "this plan is supposed to start in two hundred years, when Azrael melts. When it does melt, Legion will command his armies from his base in the infernal realm to destroy the harmony units and conquer the multiverse using guerilla tactics."

Flaming Star looked really worried. "This isn't good. Are you absolutely positive this is operation Astrol?"

Miranda nodded vigorously. "It is! I am positive."

This only made Flaming Star and Sunset even more worried. Flaming Star then said, "This is not good at all. Miranda, Legion escaped a year ago… and he never attacked with an army, he attacked us himself."

Miranda looked shocked. "So… Legion, who knew of operation Astrol… purposefully defied the Grand Demon?"

Sunset nodded, and said, "It looks like it. Something isn't right here…"

Flaming Star nodded. "It looks like something is lying to the Grand Demon. No one has done that… ever. That something must be powerful too…"

Sunset nodded, "I agree. When Legion attacked us, he actually seemed coerced into it. I know it sounds weird… but I could tell that he was scared."

Flaming Star nodded. After a pause, Sunset turned to Miranda, "Are you okay? Is there anything we can do for you? You really need those wounds to be treated."

Miranda smiled as she absent-mindedly patted Sweetie Bell's head. "I'm fine… I… just… need… to…"

Miranda gave a small gasp and feinted. Then everyone noticed that blood was beginning to seep from some of her wounds.

Twilight ran over to her. "Her wounds have opened again!" she said, "she needs to be taken to the doctor!"

Quickly she levitated the unconscious form of Miranda and they bore her off to Ponyville.

Flaming Star turned to Sunset. "This is NOT good."

Sunset grimaced. "I agree," he said, "but there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. Legion is dead now, thus operation Astrol, even if it was botched, is finished. We can't do anything about anything else now."

Flaming nodded and galloped off after Twilight.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Unknown<em>

_Planet: Unknown_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

"The pieces are moving forward. The board is set. The time to act is now."

"The Council must know."

"Yes, The Council must know. But before that, we must send forth our agents."

"Regulars or Elites?"

"Elites, we must ensure things do not go wrong. Start the war now. Then we will make our real move."

"They will begin to suspect. Already I know they are aware to some extent."

"It does not matter, we will take advantage of it."

"Very well, let it begin."


	26. Chapter 26 - Rehabilitation Begins

_Dimension: Raging Fires_

_Planet: Quinto Præsidium_

_Specific Location: The ruins of the outer walls_

_Time: A week and a half after the Demon siege_

"This is a really stupid idea," said Franklin, "I love it."

Daniel didn't take his eyes off an arch-demon who was directing a battalion of demons to search a couple of passageways. "It has its charms," he said, "We are going to have to be careful. One alarm goes off, and it's all over."

Night Shade nodded as he too squinted at the arch-demon in the distance. "We have one shot guys, let's make it count. What was the plan again?"

Daniel returned the nod. "Okay, in exactly a minute I am going to cause the diversion, this will funnel the demons through the main passageway. Night Shade will have used his superspeed to quickly set up the satchel charges in that area during the initial stages of distraction. As the demons funnel through, Franklin will detonate the charges. The passageway will fall through to the cellars below, which are blocked. Franklin will then take out whatever other demons survived the fall and will cover Night Shade as he engages the arch-demon. You think you can handle the guy, Night Shade?"

Night Shade blinked with nervousness as he replied, "Yeah, I think I can, as long as Franklin has got my back."

Franklin winked and slapped Night Shade's back heartily as he said, "I've totally got it. I've got your back more than you've got it."

Night Shade pulled a face, and Daniel turned and started to walk away. "We have twenty seconds, brace yourselves."

With that, Daniel teleported himself just outside the decimated main entrance of the ruined fortress. He quickly cloaked himself from view and began to count down from twenty. As he hit zero, he uncloaked and released a massive blast of fire and heat. Immediately demons rushed from all corners of the fortress to engage him, and immediately they were incinerated by blasts of flames. Soon Daniel realized he was hopelessly outnumbered. Biting his lip, Daniel continued to expend huge amounts of energy to fight back the demons.

In the fortress, the effect of diversion became immediately known. A small party of demons ran up to the arch-demon and alerted him of the situation. The arch-demon nodded and quickly signaled the nearest group of demons to follow him. He then turned around and dashed off through to the main passageway. Franklin smiled when he saw what was happening: everything was going according to plan.

Quickly Franklin signaled to Night Shade and the two swiftly ran across the roof supports, trailing the demon group. Soon they entered the main passageway, where Franklin could see the satchel charges cleverly hidden. He scoped out the target explosive… and shot it. With a massive roar all the charges ignited and exploded, bringing the whole passage down. All of the demons fell down, some killed in the explosions, others were killed by falling masonry. However, the center group, the one containing the arch-demon, was safe, and just fell to the cellar below, unharmed. They immediately tried to escape the trap, but all the exits were blocked by large stones. Suddenly all the surviving demons that were guarding the arch-demon fell dead with sniper bullets in their heads. The arch-demon was alone.

Night Shade gave Franklin a quick hand-shake and leapt down to meet the trapped demon. The monster hissed loud and long as he saw the dimensional traveler, and immediately conjured up a demonic mace. Night Shade just nodded to him and conjured up a rapier. The two met in the middle and clashed weapons. The demon had ferocity and brutality on his side, but Night Shade was quick, and smart. For the most part, the arch-demon simply swung his mace, and Night Shade just dodged the attacks, but every time the demon attacked, he became more and more unbalanced, allowing Night Shade to stab his adversary now and then. Soon, the demon was bleeding from several wounds and was breathing heavily. Night Shade glanced up as Franklin shouted, "There are too many! I can't take them all out! Prepare for hostile reinforcements!"

Suddenly a demon leapt into the pit and grabbed Night Shade from behind. The arch-demon swung his mace forward, but Night Shade flipped the demon holding him into the attack, killing it instantly. However, Night Shade let out a yell as a spear pierced straight through his shoulder as another demon attacked him from behind. Night Shade whirled, blew off the head of the offender with a kinetic blast, and the turned to face the arch-demon only to take the mace full in the face. He flew backwards and smashed into a wall. He leapt straight up and hurled his rapier. It flew true and went straight into the arch-demon's weapon arm. The demon shrieked, but it was cut off as Franklin leapt from the roof supports and landed behind the monster, bringing his sniper rifle butt down on his head. Franklin ran up and grabbed Night Shade.

"Hey, Night, are you okay?"

Night Shade ran his hand over a bloody wound on his head and said, "I think so. It hurts, but I'll be fine."

Franklin grabbed the arch-demon and slung him over his shoulder. "Right, let's get the hell out of here."

Night Shade grabbed Franklin's arm, and sped up their bodies' molecules. The three then blazed out of the pit, through the main gate, past Daniel, and off to the meeting point. Daniel noticed the blur and knew that the plan had been a success. With the last of his strength, he released a massive explosion of fire and ran off to the meeting point. He glanced over his shoulder while running and raised his eyebrows as the entire fortress was lost in a sea of charging demons warriors. Breathing hard, Daniel simply ran to the limits of his endurance. He got to the point where Franklin and Night Shade were waiting, gave a deep, gasping breath, and collapsed. He raised a hand and gave them a thumbs-up.

"Mission accomplished. Let's get back to the Looking For Group dimension and find a nice place to interrogate this piece of refuse," Daniel said.

Franklin grinned as Night Shade opened the portal. "Shiny."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: A year after the death of Regal Crescent_

Flaming Star and Twilight sat side-by-side as they waited patiently outside the doctor's office.

"So, do you really know this pony?" asked Twilight, her eyes wide.

Flaming Star shrugged, "I did… once. We were on a team, she was in charge of extraction. However, I thought for sure she died on my last mission. She must have gone through so much…"

Twilight's eyes shimmered with tears as she said, "I've read a lot of books on wounds and the healing of them, but what she has gone through… I've never seen anything like it! How is it possible that she is okay?"

Flaming Star grimaced. "She's not okay. I think she's slowly going crazy. All her willpower went into giving us that information, but it's all gone now…"

At that moment, the doctor walked in. "I've done all I can. You can visit her now, but be quiet, she's sleeping peacefully."

Twilight and Flaming Star trotted into the room and looked at Miranda. She was lying peacefully on the examination table, her body covered in bandages and bindings. Despite her being asleep, her body shook from fever, and exhaustion.

Suddenly she opened her eyes and screamed, "DEMONS! THEY'RE HERE! GET THEM AWAY FROM ME!"

The doctor rushed in and helped Twilight and Flaming Star restrain her. Miranda screamed and cried, and eventually the doctor was forced to sedate her.

Flaming Star's eyes were full of sadness as he said, "She's broken. What she has gone through…"

A tear fell from his eyes. He then turned around and said to Twilight, "There is nothing we can do now. Doctor, what should we do next?"

The doctor felt Miranda's brow as he said, "I'm really not sure. This pony has suffered so much that her mind has become unstable. I don't think it's bad enough that she needs to be sent to a mental hospital; her willpower is immense, but I think she will need friends and family to help her mind recuperate."

Flaming Star bit his lip. "This isn't good. I don't think she has any friends anymore, they're all dead. I also never knew who her family was or where they lived. We're all that she has now."

Twilight nodded. "We've got to help her. I'll let her stay with me."

Flaming Star pressed his ears against his head as he grimaced. "You understand that she is going to sway in and out of lunacy, right?"

Twilight nodded. "I understand, but she needs a friend right now, sane or not, and that is what we're going to give her."

Flaming Star kissed her and the cheek. "You're the best pony in all of Equestria."

Twilight returned the kiss.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Border_

_Time: A year after the death of Regal Crescent_

Sunset, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, the CMC, and Spike all sat in a park, doing absolutely nothing.

"Er… is there somethin' we're a supposed to be doin'?" asked Apple Blossom after a really long pause.

Sunset blinked, "Um… no. Twilight and Flaming Star are handling Miranda. We just… wait…"

"Booorrringgg!" exclaimed Rainbow, "Isn't there SOMETHING we could do?"

"We could play duck-duck-goose!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

Rarity pulled a face. "Oh dear, I really think all that running would mess up my mane."

Applejack rolled her eyes, "We have to somethin'! We can't just sit here and wait 'till somethin' happens on its own!"

Fluttershy blinked as she snuggled close to Sunset. "I don't know, this peace and quiet is really nice."

Scootaloo pulled a face, and Sweetie Bell exclaimed, "Really what? I have no idea what is going on!"

Sunset sighed. Then he said, "Well… we have the Summer Harvest Parade coming up in a few days. We should all talk about that!"

Suddenly Spike grimaced and belched out a parchment. Rarity picked it up. There was a long pause.

Suddenly Rainbow snatched it up and said, "Aw, to hay with it, Twilight would have read it to us anyway."

She tore it open and read it. Then she exclaimed, "Wow! Princess Celestia says that this year she will be attending our parade! And she'll be in a float of her own!"

Rarity gave a little exclamation of excitement. "Oh how posh! This will be wonderful! I will have to make sure everything is perfect!"

Sunset smiled, "I agree."

Apple Blossom began to bounce. "This'll be great! Come on Cutie Mark Crusaders, we have brainstorming to do! Sunset, would you like to come and help us?"

Sunset jumped up, "I would love to! Fluttershy, will you be okay with Starlight Amber?"

Fluttershy kissed him on the cheek. "I'll be fine, sweetie."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm outta here!"

With that, everypony dispersed.

As Sunset and the CMC were trotting to the clubhouse, they came across Twilight and Flaming Star, who was levitating the cot with an unconscious Miranda in it.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell, "Is she okay?"

Flaming Star sighed. "Sort of. She's okay in body… but her mind isn't quite right anymore."

"What do you mean?" exclaimed Scootaloo, whose face was a picture of worry, "She seemed fine when we found her!"

Twilight shook her head sadly. "She was barely holding herself together. After feinting, her will broke… and so did her mind. The doctor said that she could become better… she would just need time, and friends."

Sunset smiled, "She came to the right place. Oh, Twilight! Spike got a message from Princess Celestia! Rainbow Dash opened it and said that Princess Celestia said that she would be coming for the Summer Harvest Parade!"

Twilight gasped in joy, "I forgot about that all! That's wonderful!"

Even Flaming Star cracked a smile as he said, "I suppose we should make a float. I've always wanted to make a float."

Twilight seized him in a hug and said, "We should! We could make a giant book float!"

Sunset snorted with a chuckle as he and the CMC passed by. "You have fun with that. We're off."

With that, Sunset and the Cutie Marks Crusaders passed on by. Flaming Star turned to Twilight. "Let's get Miranda to your house… are you SURE this is what you want? I could just take her to my house."

Twilight shook her head, "I'm sure. I would like her company."

Flaming Star sighed. "Okay, but don't forget you have Spike with you… and that Miranda is pretty much insane right now. She will need a lot of attention."

Twilight gave him a huge smile. "Oh, I'll be fine! Let's go and make a float!"

The three quickly trotted off to Twilight's house. Silently, they lay down Miranda's cot next to Twilight's bed. Suddenly, Spike entered. He looked at Miranda. "Who is this? Wow! What happened to her?"

Twilight sighed. "Her name is Miranda. She's a dimensional traveler who has been tortured for a while by demons. She's not right in her mind anymore, so we're letting her stay here with us."

Spike blinked nervously. "Um… stay with us? What do you… is she crazy?"

Flaming Star frowned. "Yeah, she has mental problems due to the pain she has endured."

At that moment, Miranda let out a scream and began to thrash around in her bed. Twilight moved to her and began to pat one of her hoofs, saying, "It's okay… you're safe now…"

Miranda calmed down, and went back to sleep. Spike, who had leapt and hid behind Flaming Star the moment of Miranda's outburst, peaked around Flaming Star as he said, "Wow… That's sort of…"

Twilight sighed again. "She's staying with us, Spike. She needs friends, and we're going to give her some."

Flaming Star smiled. "You're a wonderful pony, Twilight. Let's go downstairs and maybe start some drawing for a float."

Twilight brightened as she said, "That's a wonderful idea! I think I have a few books on float-making."

As they trotted downstairs, Flaming Star laughed, "You have books on everything. Anyway, I'll grab some paper, you grab some pens."

As the two continued downstairs, Spike slowly moved up to Miranda. Her body shook as it worked overtime to heal the wounds. Tears began to well in his eyes as he hesitantly reached forward and placed a claw lightly on a dark branding mark on her hip that was scorched deep into her tender flesh.

Spike then turned around and ran downstairs to join Twilight and Flaming Star around a drawing board. They worked on the design for a book-shaped float for the rest of the day; however, as the sun was setting in the west hills, Miranda woke up.

Slowly she sat up and looked around. Quietly she called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Twilight and Sunset scrambled over each other as they rushed upstairs to greet her.

"You're awake!" exclaimed Twilight, giving Miranda a huge smile, "I was hoping you were okay!"

Miranda blinked. "Who are you?"

"Oh! I'm Twilight. This is Flaming Star, or, as you know him, James. You remember James, don't you?"

Miranda blinked. "James? What's wrong with me? The images… the dreams… they won't go away. The voices are too loud…"

Flaming Star's eyes were full of sorrow as Twilight went up and patted Miranda's hoof. "You'll be fine, Miranda, you will be fine."

Miranda gave a shaking sigh, "The demons… there are so many… SO MANY!"

Miranda tried to jump out of bed, but simply collapsed and blacked out.

Flaming Star sighed and turned to Twilight. "She's going to be like that for a while I guess. She seems stable as of yet, but we will have to be careful."

Twilight nodded and turned to Spike. "Spike, could you watch over Miranda for a while?"

Spike nodded wordlessly, his face a picture of pained concern. Seeing any pony in this state hurt him. Quietly Twilight and Flaming Star went downstairs again to finish their plans on the book float. As this transpired, a little bit away, Sunset, Sweetie Bell, Scootaloo, and Apple Blossom worked on a float of their own for the upcoming Summer Harvest Parade.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: What, no feedback? You're hurting my feelings guys! Just kidding. Just don't forget the R&amp;R thingy! Oh, what do you think, should I be posting new chapters at 4:00 pm, 5:00 pm, or 6:00 pm PST regularly?<strong>


	27. Chapter 27 - Assassins

_Dimension: Looking For Group_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The Forest of Nestorep_

_Time: A year after Cale'anon meets Richard_

"So," said Night Shade, "How the hell are we going to get the arch-demon to talk? They really don't hold their lives very highly in regard thanks to their hive mind disposition."

Daniel stroked his chin. "We need to trick him into talking."

Franklin laughed heartily as he slung the unconscious arch-demon off his shoulder and tossed him against a nearby tree. "That should be interesting," he said, "I mean, how are we going to trick him? How does that even work?"

Daniel nodded decisively after a short pause. "I have an idea. Here we go…"

The arch-demon woke suddenly. Snarling, he attempted to lurch forward only to find himself tightly bound by bonds of pure energy. He struggled a bit with the bindings before giving up. He then noticed Night Shade and Daniel standing in front of him.

"Who are you? How dare you defy the great Malpas! You're corpses will burn and rot!" the demon screeched.

Daniel just rolled his eyes, pulled back a hand, and backhanded the demon hard. He then said, "Yeah, great. Could you just shut up for a moment?"

Malpas spat out a broken tooth and growled, "Why have you held me captive?! No traveler has ever held demons captive! Why are you here?!"

Daniel laughed. "Oh, it's really simple. We usually don't like sparing abominations like you, but we're desperate, and we need some answers."

Malpas just laughed in turn. "You will never get answers from me."

"Oh really?" said Night Shade, "you might find us… quite persuasive."

Malpas leaned forward in his bonds and spat at Night Shade. "Do your worst, you mewling youth!"

"Oh, leave him alone," said a voice. All three looked to see Franklin strolling in.

"Franklin, what are you doing here? I thought you were watching our backs!" exclaimed Daniel.

"Oh, I would be, except for a minor issue," said Franklin as he strolled in closer.

"And what issue would that be?" said Night Shade, cocking his head to one side.

"I'm not Franklin," said Franklin. He raised a hand and snapped it once. Both Daniel and Night Shade let out yells and collapsed to the floor in crumpled heaps.

Franklin strolled up to the bondage and flicked a wrist, the bonds disappeared.

Malpas looked at Franklin curiously. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Oh, you know who I am, arch-demon Malpas," snarled Franklin, "You know very well."

Malpas began quivering. He collapsed at Franklin's feet. "Oh Grand Devil!" he cried, "What honor have I earned to be in your presence?"

Franklin kicked Malpas and snarled, "I have no time for your bowing and scraping, underling. There are issues that I have heard about from the Raging Fires dimension, and I want you to resolve them."

Malpas looked up and replied, "What issues?"

Franklin glared at the arch-demon as he replied. "There are creatures loose from another multiverse," he said, "Why are they here?"

Malpas looked confused, "Other creatures? We do not know of such things!"

Franklin kicked Malpas again and screamed, "LIAR! TELL ME THE TRUTH!"

Malpas cowered as he said, "We don't know of other creatures! We are simply preparing for the aftermath of operation Astrol! Like you commanded!"

Franklin stroked his chin. "Astrol… you changed its name, no doubt; without my permission."

Malpas shook his head, "We did no such thing! It was codenamed Astrol."

Franklin pulled out a long knife and said, "You did. In fact, how do I even know you are arch-demon Malpas? The Malpas I know would never lie like this."

Malpas gulped and leaned back. "No! I swear! Operation Astrol! We were to wait until mount Azrael melts, and then, with Legion as our leader, attack the harmony unit dimensions!"

Franklin pulled back the blade as he said, "Oh… so you are him. Mount Azrael… that's supposed to melt in, what, two hundred years?"

Malpas blinked, "No, Grand Devil, it shattered last year, far ahead of schedule. But… you should have known that…"

Franklin swore and hurled his blade against a tree. The tree shattered into splinters. "Curses! I knew I should have listened to that messenger before killing him!"

He whirled back to Malpas and seized him by the throat. "Status update! NOW!"

Malpas wriggled as he said, "Operation Astrol is complete! Legion was successful in destroying the My Little Pony harmony tree and is now taking leave until he can attack the other harmony units! We are awaiting orders from you sire!"

Franklin nodded and said, "Very well. You want orders? I'll give you orders. Go to hell."

With that, Franklin whipped out a handgun and shot Malpas through the head. The arch-demon simply blinked stupidly, and then fell over. As his body hit the ground, Daniel leapt up and said, "Well done!"

Franklin bowed, "Acting is one of my many gifts, fearless leader."

Night Shade, who was still lying in the grass, just burst out laughing.

Smiling a little, Daniel went over and helped Night Shade up as he said, "Well, our next step is clear now. We need to go to the… er… um, My Little Pony universe to see what is left of it. Then we will track down Legion and kill him. With the infernal realm's commander-in-chief down, things will function a lot slower for the demon armies."

Franklin nodded, "Right-o. Let's get moving!"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Dimension: Flaming Star's house_

_Time: 2 days after the arrival of Miranda_

Flaming Star awoke to the sound of trumpets. He hopped out of bed and ran to his window to see Princess Celestia in her royal chariot touching down in Ponyville's town square. He quickly got himself ready and galloped off to meet her. As town square came into view, he was joined by Twilight.

"How's Miranda?" asked Flaming Star as he kept moving.

"She's fine. She woke up screaming about nightmares a couple of times last night, but she's sleeping soundly now. Spike is watching over her."

Flaming Star sighed as he said, "Are you sure Spike is up to the job? Last time he took care of Angel, he near ended up burning Sunset and Fluttershy's house to the ground."

Twilight laughed, "Oh, I think he will be okay."

At that, the two entered town square to see Celestia getting off of her chariot. Flaming Star cantered up and bowed with Twilight, Celestia then returned the bow.

"It is so nice to see you two again, my little ponies," she said.

Flaming Star nodded and said, "It is good to see you as well, Celestia. Tell me, how is Luna?"

Celestia's eyes fell as she replied, "She is still mourning. There is nothing we can do for her."

There was a long pause, finally broken by Twilight who said, "Princess? Where is the float you said you would ride?"

Celestia smiled as she replied, "Oh, it will be coming in time for the parade. Noon, correct?"

Flaming Star nodded. "It will be taking place this noon."

Celestia smiled. "Wonderful, I will see you two there. I have a few things to discuss with Mayor Mare."

Flaming Star nodded, and Celestia trotted away. Flaming Star then turned to Twilight. "Well," he said, "I suppose we should go and get our float prepared with everything else."

In a couple of hours, the book float was set up, and was driven by Flaming Star, and Twilight to the meeting place for all the other floats. There they met with Sunset, Fluttershy, Starlight Amber, and the CMC.

"Well hello you two," said Sunset as the book float pulled up to his apple-shaped float, "How are you doing?"

Flaming Star leaned on the driving wheel and winked, "Oh, we're just dandy. You wouldn't believe the engine we packed into this. 10-Cylinder, 90 degree V-type, 8.4 liter…"

"Wow, great, awesome, whatever," interjected Sunset, "Does this mean it's really flammable?"

There was a long pause. Finally Fluttershy said, "Where's Spike?"

Twilight waved, "Oh, he's watching over Miranda while we set up everything. When we can find somepony to watch her, he'll tag along."

Fluttershy wrung her mane, "Oh dear that sounds tiring, do you want me to watch her?"

Sunset kissed her on the cheek. "No dear," he said, "You've got to meet up with the rest of the Ponytone Quintet for practice. I'll watch her."

Twilight gave him a smile, "Thanks! Spike would appreciate the break."

Sunset nodded back and turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Will you three be fine?"

Scootaloo saluted. "We will! Have, um, fun!"

Sunset winked and trotted away with Fluttershy.

Suddenly a fanfare blared out, and the small group turned to see Celestia, followed by the rest of the Mane 6, cantering in with a large, beautifully adorned sun-and-moon-shaped float behind them.

Twilight ran up and gave Princess Celestia a hug. "Wow! It's amazing."

Celestia smiled, "Not as amazing as your float, Princess Twilight."

Mayor Mare then trotted up and said, "Okay everypony! Time to get the floats ready! Here is the list with the order of the floats in it!"

Flaming Star trotted up and scanned it quickly. Their float, followed by Celestia's float, were in the middle, usually the best place to be in a procession. He grinned and went off to tell Twilight. With that, the parade began. The cheering was immense, and the music of the Ponytone Quintet sailed through the clear blue sky as the procession slowly moved down from the Ponyville Town Square.

Flaming Star and Twilight sat side-by-side, grinning as they continued down the road. Flaming Star stuck his head out the window to watch as all the happy faces of a multitude of ponies passed by his vision. He turned to Twilight. "This is the life," he said, "I couldn't think of anything better."

Twilight smiled back and said, "Is this a memory you'll recall?"

Flaming Star kissed her on the cheek, "Oh yeah, this memory I will remember."

He then looked out the window to continue watching the ponies pass by. The parade floats in the middle slowed down a bit as the rounded a tight corner to pass by Sugar Cube corner… then it happened.

As if time slowed down, Flaming Star saw a group of hooded figures part the crowd near the corner they were rounding. As the crowd moved aside a bit, one of the figures hoisted a grenade and hurled it… straight at Princess Celestia. She wasn't looking, and they couldn't miss. Flaming Star didn't think, he just acted. Kicking down the door of the book float, he leapt sideways out of the vehicle and hurled a bolt of kinetic energy. It struck the grenade straight-on and blasted it high in the air where it detonated. Unfortunately, it was a shrapnel grenade, and slivers of deadly steel and ceramics sizzled down to the crowd below. The splinters hit Celestia in the leg, Flaming Star in the side, and the backs of several other nearby ponies. The rest of the ponies started screaming and running amok. Despite the deep pain in his side, Flaming Star didn't take his eyes off the direction the hooded figures had gone. Twilight ran out of the float and frantically began to hug Flaming Star.

"Flaming Star! Are you okay?!" she yelled, her eyes brimming with tears.

Gritting his teeth, Flaming Star reached his head down and pulled out two long, bloody steel splinters. He spat them out and said, "I'm fine. See to Celestia, she's hurt as well. I cannot let those insurgents get away!"

Twilight, her eyes wide, nodded quickly and ran off to Celestia, who was lying on the ground, surrounded by her guard. Flaming Star staggered up and swiftly got his bearings. Then he galloped off after the hooded group. They had head-starts, but they couldn't outrun the firstborn. Soon, after rounding a corner at top-speed, Flaming Star saw the group. Three hooded ponies. Gritting his teeth through the pain, Flaming Star picked up the pace and closed in. When they were close enough, he sent waves of seismic power into the ground, causing the earth beneath the hooded figures to shift and explode. The ponies fell to the earth. The moment they hit the ground, tentacles of stone erupted out of the ground to wrap themselves around them, binding them tight.

Breathing heavily, Flaming Star slowly moved up to them. He threw off their cloaks. He did not recognize any of them, though they most certainly were not from around Ponyville; two stallions and one mare.

"Why?" he said, breathing hard, "Why?"

"Long live the Black Hoof!" yelled one, he ground his teeth, there was a snap, and the pony's mouth was filled with foam and he went into convulsions. They had Nytebane, the deadly herb, in little pills in their back molars. The other two began to do the same. However, only one managed to break the pill before Flaming Star had knocked them out. Looking at the last living instigator, Flaming Star gingerly pried open his mouth and pulled the pill out. Wrinkling his muzzle in disgust, he vaporized it with a dark matter blast. He then picked up the unconscious form of the hooded pony and slung him over his shoulder. He then slowly limped away.

Several minutes later he had returned to the scene of the crime. Twilight was helping a shaken and wounded Celestia as police ponies were working to calm the crowds. Sunset and Fluttershy were with Twilight, and as soon as Sunset saw Flaming Star, he galloped over.

"What happened?" he exclaimed as he pulled up next to Flaming Star.

Flaming Star sighed as he dropped the insurgent. "I don't know, some act of terrorism I guess. There were three hooded ponies waiting near the corner. As we rounded it, they threw a shrapnel grenade at Princess Celestia, I blocked it, and they ran. I managed to catch them, but they had nytebane pills for suicide. Nevertheless, I was able to take one captive anyway. They called themselves the Black Hoof. Does that ring a bell?"

Sunset stroked his chin. After a pause, he said, "No, sorry. I don't think so."

Twilight turned to see Flaming Star. She galloped over as well and began to mop Flaming Star's wound, which was still bleeding profusely. "Stay still Flaming Star!" she exclaimed, he eyes wide with worry, "I need to patch it up!"

Sighing, Flaming Star lay down and let Twilight put a bandage on it. After a moment, he turned to the Sunset. "We need to find out what is going on with these terrorists."

Sunset nodded. "I'm sure we can figure something out."

Flaming Star grimaced as Twilight tightened the bindings as he replied, "Yeah, I suppose so. However, if they're an extremist group, we will have trouble getting anything out of them."

Twilight finished the bandage and said, "Princess Celestia will know what to do."

Flaming Star got up unsteadily and moved over to the hooded pony. He pulled of the cloak. The pony was rough cut, with black skin and a cyan mane. His cutie mark was that of a dagger.

Sunset frowned. "Hmmm… an assassin pony. Interesting. Do we even have those types of ponies here in Equestria?"

Celestia limped over as she interjected, "We do not. This pony is from one of the other lands."

Flaming Star nodded decisively. "Okay, so this was most certainly an act of foreign terrorism."

Abruptly, a large bat-winged pony landed and yelled to Celestia, "You're highness! Princess Luna was attacked by assassins!"

It was a pony from Luna's infamous Night Guard. Celestia gasped, "My dear sister! Is she alright?"

The Night Guard bowed low as he said, "She was fine. We were able to protect her with minimal casualties; the terrorist group had no survivors. What has happened here?"

Celestia sighed, "We were attacked here as well. It seems somepony wanted us out of the way."

Flaming Star narrowed his eyes. "It seems so," he said, "But who? Who would want to make an enemy of Equestria?"

The assassin let out a groan, and Applejack trotted up to him, prodding him in the chest. "Looks like we about to be findin' out!"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Ooooh... assassins! Anyway, nice to see those reviews rolling in! Thanks! Keep them coming!<strong>


	28. Chapter 28 - Negotiations

**Note: To all those eagerly awaiting the dimensional travelers to meet up with each other... Give me a moment! I can't just make Night Shade show up and say "Yo ponies! Where is Abimael? I totally know we're not the last good travelers alive!" I will need to beat around the bush a bit. Sorry, but this will make them all finally meeting (and yes, they will meet) so much more awesome. Oh, and what do you think of my new story cover?**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Looking For Group<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Forest of Nestorep_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of the Brother's in Arms corps_

The three stood in a circle, as Daniel prepared to open the portal to the My Little Pony dimension.

There was an extremely long pause.

"Well?" said Night Shade, "what do we do now?"

Daniel nodded quietly as he said, "We are going to send one of us in. They will scope out the location quickly, and return back to us. While they are gone, the rest of us will be setting up a perimeter in this forest. We will use this as a base for our other operations against Legion and his armies."

"Soooo," added Franklin, "what do we do now?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Okay, we need one of us to go to the My Little Pony dimension as a silent scout. They will spy out the land."

Franklin nodded. "Cool, cool…"

Daniel turned to Franklin and said, "I advocate that you go."

Franklin pointed at himself. "Me?" he said, "Why ever me?"

"Well, you are the best at first-contact situations, and you are a sniper. If there is anyone there, you will be well suited to deal with them, friend or foe," replied Daniel.

Franklin bowed. "Oh, thank you, fearless leader. However, I don't think this would be the best time for me to do it."

Daniel cocked his head to one side. "Okay, why?"

"Well," explained Franklin, "For starters… there is wwwaaayyyy too much pink. I mean, this dimension, from what I've seen, is too feministic. I probably could get a stroke, or cooties, from breathing in the air."

There was another extremely long pause.

"Okay," said Daniel, "I can see where you're coming from, but remember, it's completely destroyed. All of it."

Franklin stroked his chin. "Hmmmm," he mused, "I don't know if I like the color of blackened pink either. I wonder what a rainbow looks like if the air is on fire…"

Night Shade rolled his eyes. "Okay, great, whatever. I'll go. I have the speed; I'll be able to quickly scope out the planet's entire situation without being seen effectively."

Daniel turned to Night Shade, "Are you sure? We can simply open a portal and boot Franklin inside… or I can go. I don't mind."

Night Shade nodded, "I'll quickly jump in, and then jump out. No problem."

Daniel nodded, "Okay, remember, don't take too long. It may be destroyed, but that doesn't mean the dimension is not crawling with demons. Be careful." With that, he opened a portal to the My Little Pony dimension.

Night Shade saluted. "Okay fearless leader," he said, "I'll be back in a moment." Night Shade turned around and jumped through the portal.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of Miranda_

The assassin opened his eyes slowly. He was in a brightly lit room, with shafts of bright and clean sunlight streaming through a window. The room was nicely furnished, and everything was regally comfortable.

The assassin blinked as his vision came into view, two ponies stood before him: Celestia and Flaming Star.

Growling aggressively, the assassin reached for a hidden blade… it wasn't there. He reached for several others, they all were gone. Sighing in resignation, he looked up with a scowl to face the two standing before him.

"Tell me," said Celestia after a moment of silence, "what is your name, young pony?"

The assassin spat at her feet. He then said "It doesn't matter what my name is to you."

Celestia smiled calmly, "It does, friend. We are just worried about your safety."

"Safety?" snorted the assassin incredulously, "why? I tried to kill you!"

Celestia sighed, as she slowly sat down, resting the back leg that had been ravaged by the shrapnel. "I know you did, but you didn't succeed. Why? Why are you doing this?"

The assassin shut his muzzle tight. He shook his head.

Celestia sighed again, and levitated forth of tray full of teacups and tea. She levitated on over to the assassin.

The assassin simply looked at it, and turned his head away. Flaming Star took the teacup that was offered to him and looked at it.

"The best way," he said, "to detect if a teacup is poisoned is by looking at the sides. For the most part, all master murderers smear the powder on the sides of the user's cup, not actually sprinkle it into the teapot. This way taste-testers will not be able to detect the source of the poison directly from the tea itself. See? There is no powder on the side, if we had wanted to poison you, we would have done it in your sleep."

The assassin slowly took the cup and sipped the tea. He continued to look warily at the two as he finished it. Flaming Star sat in the sunlight, enjoying the warmth as he finished the up with Celestia.

"I do enjoy a cup of tea," said Celestia, "it brings back good memories of the quiet days."

"I agree," added Flaming Star, "in fact, it reminds me of this one time when I was sitting quietly at… um, someplace somewhere, drinking tea. It was really nice actually. In fact…"

The assassin then burst out, "What do you want with me?!"

Celestia smiled at him. "We want nothing from you right now. We're just here, enjoying your company."

The assassin ground his teeth and snarled, "If you want to know anything about the Black Hoofs official leaders, then forget about it."

Flaming Star winked at the assassin, "Okie dokie. Thanks for that tidbit though. So, you're not actually an anarchist or an extremist cult, you have leaders. So what is that, a foreign terrorist group? A mercenary band?"

Eyes wide with shock at letting that information slip, the assassin closed his mouth and shook his head vigorously.

Sighing deeply Flaming Star trotted up to the assassin and placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"Look," he said, "I understand that you're reluctant to tell us anything, but unless you can provide anything, we will have to assume you're a spy, and hand you over to the… Twilight Shredder."

The assassin then said, "The… what?"

Celestia's face darkened. "The Twilight Shredder is a terrible machine," she said, "It is designed to kill a pony in the most terrible way possible. If I truly was in charge, I would have had it dismantled eons ago. Unfortunately, the senate has branded you a spy, so unless you can prove us otherwise, we will have to take you to it."

The assassin began to sweat as he said, "But… I'm not a spy! And you're Princess Celestia! You can do anything!"

Flaming Star patted him. "We know you're not, but the senate thinks otherwise. As for Princess Celestia, sorry to burst your bubble, but she is really more of a figurehead, this is not a monarchy, or a diarchy. It is a republic. And this republic does not look very kindly upon spies. They will tolerate anarchists, assassins, and mercenaries to an extent… but spies… I'm sorry."

The assassin began to look really nervous. "I'm not a spy! I'm part of the terrorist group Black Hoof!"

Celestia looked downcast. "That doesn't prove anything, my friend," she said, "Unless you can give us real proof that you're not a spy, the senate will take you to the Twilight Shredder. It will be terrible, but our hoofs are tied: we cannot do anything for you."

Flaming Star frowned. "Last time somepony was taken to the Twilight Shredder, it took two whole days for it to kill him. It was absolutely terrifying to watch. From that point on, Princess Celestia and I vowed to protect those we could from such a terrible fate."

Celestia nodded. "It is true," she agreed, "the senate is corrupt and out of its mind. We have tried many times ourselves to depose of it and its cruel ways. We're not too different after all, and we want to help you. We just need information about this Black Hoof group!"

The assassin shook his head, "I… I can't! They would kill me!"

Celestia sighed and tapped on the door next to her once, "Then there is nothing we can do to protect you."

The door opened and a black, cloaked figure slowly paced it. It levitated a long, nasty scythe in front of it as it approached the terrified assassin.

At first the assassin looked like he had been frozen in place then he scrambled back yelling, "My name is Dunkle Dolch! I hail from the Black Hoof mercenary organization based in the Irrum Empire, near the border of Saddle Arabia and Equus! We were hired by the Irrum-Equus alliance to depose of Equestria's Princesses! Please don't take me to the Twilight Shredder! PPLLEAASSEEE!"

The hooded figure stopped and lowered the scythe. There was a long pause, and then it pulled back the hood. It was Twilight Sparkle, smiling huge and bright at Dunkle Dolch.

Flaming Star winked at him, "Thanks, Dunkle Dolch of the Black Hoof mercenary organization," he said, "Oh, by the way, Equestria is a diarchy, and there is no such thing as a Twilight Shredder. Have a nice day!"

With that, Celestia, Flaming Star, and Twilight Sparkle turned tail and cantered out of the room. The door closed and locked. Dunkle Dolch just stood there, blinking. Then the full realization of what had happened hit him… and he feinted.

Celestia, Flaming Star, and Twilight waited until they were sure they were out of ear-shot, then they burst out laughing. Twilight was laughing so hard that she had to lean on Flaming Star for support, who eventually fell down after a redoubled bout of the giggles. Even Celestia eventually collapsed with laughing. After a good four minutes or roaring with laughter, it eventually died down.

"Oh… that was the most fun I've had in forever," gasped Celestia as she righted herself.

"I know what you mean," said Flaming Star between breaths as he helped Twilight stand up, "that was hilarious. I swear I'm going to find Sunset and give him a massive trophy. The idea was freaking brilliant!"

Twilight sighed and leaned against Flaming Star's shoulder. "That was wonderful."

There was a long pause. Then they remembered what Dunkle Dolch had said.

Flaming Star's eyes darkened. "The Irrum-Equus alliance? Since when did those two start working together? I thought Saddle Arabia and Spurdan had to constantly mediate peace between those two."

Celestia brushed a tear of laughter from an eye as she said, "I don't know. However, if they have joined together, then they will be a formidable power. Equus has technology, and Irrum has soldiers and industrial power, a perfect combination for war."

Twilight, who was still leaning against Flaming Star's shoulder said, "What are we going to do about it? I could tell Dunkle Dolch was way too terrified to not be telling anything but the truth. And if that is the truth, then the Irrum-Equus alliance is not out for peace."

Flaming Star wrapped a hoof around Twilight's back and gave her a little squeeze. "We'll be fine. I do know for a fact that he was telling the truth, my gaze-of-the-souls could identify that much, but that could just mean he was misinformed. For all we know, it might not be high officials of this alliance, it could just be some large terrorist group based in that area."

Celestia nodded, "We need to find out. I will call for an audience from the two nations immediately."

"Wonderful idea Princess," said Flaming Star, "and may I suggest you get an audience from the Crystal Empire and perhaps Saddle Arabia or Hor Sey nation. They are good peace mediators."

Celstia smiled, "Excellent, Flaming Star. I will call for an audience at once. I would like you and Princess Twilight Sparkle to attend; I will need help with asking some very interesting questions about this situation."

Flaming Star saluted. "I'll get Sunset." With that, he turned around and exited the building and trotted towards Twilight's library.

Suddenly he stopped and turned around and reentered the building. Twilight and Celestia looked at him curiously. Flaming Star smiled, "I suddenly had a brilliant idea. Don't tell anypony, but I think I have a way to assemble some solid proof that this alliance is the perpetrator for this crime."

Celestia nodded. "Go and do what you have to do."

With that, Flaming Star turned tail and galloped out.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of Miranda_

Fluttershy, Starlight Amber, and Sunset were sitting next to each other in Twilight's library, just enjoying each other's company as they watched over Miranda. Starlight Amber was sleeping quietly in a crib nearby.

"Have I ever told you that I love you?" sighed Sunset as he sat next to Fluttershy.

She snuggled in closed and said, "Oh so much. I love you too."

Sunset closed his eyes, settled down, and started to drift off to sleep, letting the golden mist of Flutershy's kindness blot out any troubles. Suddenly a noise rang out and his eyes snapped open. The door opened and Flaming Star peeked in. His saw Sunset and Fluttershy, and quickly trotted in.

Sunset simply closed his eyes again and shifted closer to Fluttershy, who had fallen asleep, with her head lying directly atop of his back.

"Sunset, we have a situation," whispered Flaming Star as he sat down close to Sunset's head.

Sunset sighed. "A situation? Why must there always be situations? I just want the multiverse to stop moving so I can enjoy the company of my wife, and my foal. Tell the situation to go screw itself."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, we all know how happy you are, but we actually have a really large problem."

Sunset opened one eye and looked at Flaming Star, "This better be good, firstborn."

Flaming Star snorted, Sunset only called him firstborn now if he was really, really annoyed. "Well, we might be facing open war with some other nations."

Sunset opened both eyes and said, "Oh, that is a problem. I thought I had fixed relations with the other countries!"

Flaming Star nodded, "I thought so too. But now we are facing an issue: the Equus and Irrum nations have joined together and hired a mercenary group to assassinate the Equestria princesses. This is an open act of hostility."

Sunset groaned, "I hate violence. I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it I hate it…"

Flaming Star sighed, "I understand, Sunset, but we need to get ready for the worst. I am going with Celestia, Luna, and Twilight to a summit meeting with several other nations to ask them about what the hell is going on, but we cannot be sure that this will fix anything."

Sunset waved a hoof. "Awesome, great, yay. Tell you what; I'll start getting ready for this impending 'war' after I have spent quality time with my lovely wife. You go off and do whatever the firstborn does. Oh, and go ahead and marry Twilight already, then you will understand how annoyed I am."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes and got up. He then turned around and cantered out. As he closed the door, Sunset sighed and closed his eyes. Sleep returned, and he drifted into peaceful sleep.

A couple of hours later, he awoke to the movement of Fluttershy. He opened his eyes to see her slowly getting up and rubbing her eyes. He too got up and said "Morning sweetheart! How is everything?"

Fluttershy yawned, "I'm fine. I don't know about you, but I haven't slept this well in a while."

Sunset stretched, "I agree. That was wonderful." He then moved over to look at Starlight Amber. She was still sleeping peacefully, sucking her hoof. Sunset then turned to see Fluttershy, eyes wide, staring at Miranda. The scarred earth pony was sitting, staring out the window quietly.

Sunset grimaced. The pony was unstable, so he had no idea how dangerous she could be. Slowly he approached Miranda and tapped her on the shoulder. Miranda jumped and turned around. She calmed down as soon as she saw Sunset and Fluttershy.

"H-hello? Who are you?" She said hesitantly.

Sunset smiled calmly. "I'm Joseph Tor… er, I'm Sunset Shadow, a friend."

Miranda shivered. "I'm cold," she said.

Fluttershy smiled and spread a blanket over her shoulders. "There, there," she said, "everything is well. You just need to rest…"

Miranda looked around, "Something happened."

Sunset frowned. "Yes," he replied, "Something did happen. But nothing for you to worry about, you just need to sleep."

Miranda nodded, and slowly drifted to sleep once more.

Sunset turned to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy," he said, "There has been an attack against Equestria, there seems to be open hostilities between Equus and Irrum, and Equestria. We will have to be careful."

Fluttershy's eyes were wide, but she nodded silently.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle, Summit Room_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of Miranda_

"Cadence!" exclaimed Twilight as she rushed to meet her beloved sister-in-law.

"Twilight!" exclaimed Cadence right back. They hugged.

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybug awake, clap your hoofs and do a little shake." They said in unison.

Flaming Star grinned, and he then turned to Shining Armor. "Shining," he said, "It is good to see you once more."

Shining Armor nodded, "It is good to see you as well. How have you been doing?"

Flaming Star returned the nod, "I've been fine."

Shining Armor glanced at Twilight and then whispered, "Have you asked her to marry you yet?"

Flaming Star pulled a face. "I haven't. I don't know about you, but this whole 'love' thing actually sort of maybe probably scares me."

Shining Armor chuckled as he patted Flaming Star's shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, you'll be fine. Do it before I die, okay?"

With that, the grand doors to the Summit Room burst open and Celestia walked in. The four trotted up to meet her. The door opened once more as Luna, her head down, slowly moved in as well.

It pained to see Luna still mourning, but Flaming Star smiled at her and said, "Greetings, Princess Luna. How fares you?"

Luna glanced up and said, "We are fine, thank you."

Celestia cantered up to Flaming Star and said, "I've asked the rulers of Saddle Arabia to meet us. They will be arriving shortly. We've been fortunate: the Equus and Irrum nations have agreed to meet us as well. They will be arriving within the hour."

With that, the doors to the room opened once again, and the leaders of Saddle Arabia, Ahmed and Ali Ponhammad, trotted in in, accompanied by a troop of Saddle Arabia and Equestria guards.

"Welcome," said Celestia, bowing deeply, "How is your nation faring?"

Ahmed frowned, "Fairly well, Princess Celestia. Unfortunately, you are not the only one to be having issues with this so-called Equus-Irrum alliance. We have received multiple alerts that unidentified desert-cameo pony tanks have been seen mobile in the great desert bordering our beloved nation. The alliance has not claimed responsibility for these seen mobilizations, but the tanks' markings say otherwise. We will all have to watch our step."

Celestia looked worried, but she nodded and said, "Very well. All this will come properly to light when Equus and Irrum arrive.

A few minutes later, they did. With a massive fanfare, the leaders of the Equus-Irrum alliance trotted in. For Equus, Shadow Scepter, and for Irrum, Corona Oscura. The two stallions regally cantered in, their heads held high, openly disregarding the escorting Equestria guards. They moved to their assigned places in the Summit room and sat down with alacrity. Everypony else did the same. Soon the room was complete: Cadence and Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire; Flaming Star, Twilight Sparkle, Luna, and Celestia of Equestria; Ahmed and Ali Ponhammad of Saddle Arabia; Shadow Scepter of Equus; and Corona Oscura of Irrum.

"What is the meaning of this meeting?" started off Shadow Scepter immediately, with disdain laden heavily in his tone.

Celestia looked at him coldly. "You know very well, Shadow Scepter. There was an assassination attempt upon me and my beloved sister not two days ago. We caught one of the perpetrators. When we interrogated him, he indicated that he was from the Black Hoof mercenary group. Recognize that name in any way?

Corona Oscura stroked his chin. "I am deeply apologetic, your highness," he said, "But that name in no way rings a bell. You will have to try to jog our memory a little harder, perhaps."

Celestia snorted a little in frustration, but hid it for the most part fairly well. She nodded and said, "This Black Hoof mercenary identified your so-called Equus-Irrum alliance as the clients who had paid them to kill us. How do you plead?"

Corona Oscura laughed. "Is this a courtroom? I think not. I will not plead in any form, guilty or otherwise."

Shadow Scepter slammed a hoof on the table. "Not guilty!" he roared. There was a long pause. Corona Oscura rolled his eyes and whispered to Shadow Scepter, "Old chap, let me do the talking. Your Equestrian sounds like a duck being murdered with a mallet."

Ali Ponhammed then interjected, "And what of the tanks in the great desert? Are they not another piece of evidence for your open hostility against the League of Pony Nations?"

Shadow Scepter then yelled something in Equusian. Corona Oscura facehoofed. After another moment of silence, he said, "What proof do you have that we are even sending pony tanks into the desert?"

Ahmed pulled out a little packet and tossed it to Corona Oscura. The pony caught it and opened it up. It contained pictures of the pony tanks. In each picture, the area where the Equus or Irrum insignia was visible on a tank was circled in thick, red marker. Corona Oscura smiled, "Oh, these tanks. I deeply apologize to burst your war-thirsting bubble, Ahmed Ponhammed, but these tanks are in the desert for another reason: a deadly fugitive has escaped into the desert. He has a six-star wanted lever, so we are sending our joint military to capture him."

Flaming Star raised his eyebrows. "A six-star wanted level?" he said, "From what I understand, the military might of the Equus-Irrum alliance seems a little too great for either of you to order a massive mobilization over the account of a single escaped fugitive, six-star or not."

Shadow Scepter snarled and said, "He is a very dangerous person, you understand? He must be brought to justice!"

Corona Oscura nodded. "Oh, he most certainly is."

Flaming Star nodded, "Oh, I suppose he is. So, you are saying that these pony tanks advancing on the southern border of the Saddle Arabia and the northern border of Stirrupus are simply in search of dangerous fugitives, and the Black Hoof assassination had nothing to do with you two at all?"

Corona Oscura nodded curtly. "It is. I appreciate your understanding."

Flaming Star smiled. "I doubt that so very much." With that, he pulled out a packet and tossed it to Corona Oscura. He opened this one up as well and looked at the contents. It was a contract from the Black Hoof officials, signed by both them, Shadow Scepter, and Corona Oscura.

Corona Oscura's face darkened. "How the hell did you get these?" he said. He then swore in Irrumian.

Flaming Star grinned, "I have my connections. I simply got the location of the hideout from the assassin we have in custody, I teleported there, grabbed the contract while everypony was still asleep, and teleported back. There was no issue."

Corona Oscura dropped the façade. He glared at them, "I suggest you and your little empire watch your backs, Princess Celestia. We are tired of your snobbish ways, and are willing to go to great lengths to shut your livelihood up. We will be back with an ultimatum, please don't provoke us any further. Oh, and Ahmed, we have tanks outside the front door of your little nation, don't make us use them. Let us leave, Shadow Scepter."

The two ponies stood up decisively and left in a huff. Flaming Star grimaced, that had not gone all too well. Celestia looked at the receding backs of the two leaders darkly. "This is not good," she said, "They obviously are out for hostility."

Luna nodded quietly, "They are."

Flaming Star turned to Cadence and Shining Armor, "What is your take on all of this?"

Shining Armor looked interested. "I don't know… they seem to have no interest in hurting the Crystal Empire…"

Twilight looked at them anxiously, "But you will help us if there is a war, right brother?"

There was an uncomfortable pause. Flaming Star broke the silence. "War is not something to be taken lightly," he said, "This isn't like chess game. Countless lives are at stake. All we can do now is wait for this 'ultimatum' to come, and then see what will happen after that."

Celestia got up and nodded. "Flaming Star speaks the truth. We must wait for the ultimatum."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Soooo... Some guy wants me to recount a little bit of the Brother's In Arms corps past, as well as how Luna and Rainbow Dash handled Regal Crescent's death. I decided I should actually do this, so be expecting another "Recollections" set of chapters rolling in some time. Thanks guys! Keep the feedback coming in! Oh, and by the way, do you guys want the new "Recollections" chapters to show up first, or a little more of Night Shade, Daniel, and Franklin first?<strong>


	29. Chapter 29 - The Ultimatum

**Note: Does anypony want a map of Equestria Earth? Or a description? Just wondering...**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

They weren't waiting very long for that ultimatum. The very next day, word got out that a personal courier from the alliance had arrived, carrying it. Celestia called Twilight Sparkle, Cadence, Shining Armor, Ali and Ahmed Ponhammed, and Flaming Star to the Summit room to read it out loud.

As all the pones got assembled, Celestia took center-stage and opened the letter. She cleared her throat and read, "Equus-Irrum Alliance ask the indulgence of Equestria to comply to these rules to prevent further hostility, propaganda, and violence between these respective illustrious nations. Failure to comply will instigate… will instigate… will instigate WAR!"

There was a long pause, and Twilight gasped. Celestia blinked at the paper, as if it had suddenly caught on fire. She continued reading.

"The ultimatum read as follows: One. You will destroy all forms of history regarding the Equus-Irrum war, the Irrum civil war, and the fall of the Ottopony empire. Two. You will disband the famous group called the Harmony Bearers, as their power poses a threat to the natural balance between pony nations. Three. You will recall any form of military influence from your neighbors, Bray, the Crystal Empire, and Hor Sey. Four. You will accept the arrival of important representatives from both the Equus and Irrum nations and grant them special military powers as to allow them to suppress any form of anti-alliance uprisings. Five. You will provide an explanation as to the circumstances surrounding the escape of six-star wanted fugitive Dark Hoof. Six. You will immediately dissolve any form of propaganda regarding the Equus-Irrum alliance that casts this distinguished union into the role of any form of villainy. Seven. You will provide the alliance with the proper evidence surrounding the escape Dark Hoof. Eight. You will arrest the suggestive perpetrators involved in Dark Hoof's escape; these involved are named to be Flaming Star, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Sunset Shadow, and Rainbow Dash. Nine. You will incarcerate Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle with respects to the gravity of their felony. Ten. You will alert the alliance immediately of the execution of these previous nine conditions."

There was a long pause, broken momentarily only by a small, broken sob from Twilight. Flaming Star leaned back in his chair. "Well," he said, "I vote I show you guys how to make ballistic hydrogen bombs, and we toss twelve or twenty their way. I get to keep the crater as a memorandum though."

Luna slammed her hoof down so hard on the table that it cracked and splinter. "This is blasphemy! I agree not to a single one!"

Celestia folded up the paper, "We cannot agree to these. They obviously have no intention of not going to war, they simply gave this out so that, in the event that we lose, all future history books will make us look like the villains."

Flaming Star stroked his chin. "It is a clever setup. What we need to do now is buy a little time before alerting them that we will not agree to their ultimatum. While we beat around the bush, be can mobilize the Cloudsdale airforce, and get the Equestria Regulars up near the frozen north. We will need tank emplacements at the Freezelock pass in the mountain to keep them from sending military hardware through via the train tracks."

Celestia sighed, her face the picture of despair. "I suppose there is no other act to take but declare war then."

Ahmed nodded. "It seems that way. We ourselves will not get directly involved as of yet, but a single alliance tank so much as crosses our outermost border, we too will declare war and send troops to engage Irrum's territory."

Twilight got up and said, "We will need to see what is going on negotiation-wise between the alliance, Trotton, Spurdan, and Bray. If any of these nations have agreed to aid the alliance, they will have direct passage to the frozen north without any hindrance."

Flaming Star got up as well. "Twilight is right," he said, "We need to reach out to at least Bray. If we can get military assurance that they will not join the alliance, we will be able slow their attacks by some extent."

Celestia nodded. "This is what we will do. We will stall with the answer to the ultimatum. While this is happening, we will send a representative or two to Bray to negotiate. We will also mobilize Equestria's royal army."

"Who would we send as representatives?" asked Twilight.

Celestia smiled. "I was thinking Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord."

Twilight's mouth dropped. "What?" she said, "Why?"

"Rarity is an excellent speaker," said Celestia, "And Discord is a very powerful dimensional traveler. He may not be the best traveler, but he owes Rarity and the Harmony Bearers, and he should be more than happy to watch over her while she negotiates. And Pinkie Pie… they both could use a little laughter."

Twilight's eyes were wide as she said, "But what about me?"

"You need to be here to help oversee mobilization," replied Celestia. She then turned to Flaming Star, "You seem to know what you are doing with the tank emplacements. I put you in charge of securing the Freezelock. Will Sunset be of any help to you?"

Flaming Star shook his head. "No," he said, "As powerful as Sunset is, I think he has truly become a pacifist. I do not think he will want to be involved in any of this. I will take Twilight with me."

Celestia nodded. "Make it so." She turned to Cadence and Shining Armor. "Will I be able to count on support from the Crystal Empire in any time of need?"

Cadence looked worried. Finally she said, "I think… I think so. But remember, we owe it to our people to keep them safe. We will in no way put them in unnecessary danger."

Celestia bowed her head. "We understand. We thank you for your time. Ahmed, I believe you should return to your people, these are dark times."

Ahmed nodded, and he and Ali left quickly. Flaming Star spread his wings. "We need to oversee mobilization immediately," he said, "We can only withhold our reply to the alliance for about two days."

With that, Flaming Star and Twilight left, leaving Celestia and Luna alone.

"What will become of Equestria, sister?" asked Luna in the silence that followed.

Celestia bowed her head, "I do not know. We most certainly are facing grave times, but we must be strong."

"Ever since the arrival of Sunset Shadow, we have not had even the slightest trouble from the other nations."

"I know, something is not right, but we have to time to ponder it."

With that, the Sun and Moon sisters left the Summit Room.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Outskirts of Ponyville_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

Just shrouded by bushes, a portal opened and black Pegasus pony with an electric green mane trotted out. He immediately fell over, tried to get up, and fell over again. After a bit, he stood up on all fours, wobbled a bit, and steadied himself. He looked around and then said through a telepathic intercom, "Well… I don't see any fire. Are you sure it's the right place?"

Daniel's voice came back, "I am sure. What do you look like?"

Night Shade looked at himself and rolled his eyes, "I look like… a moron. This form is absolutely ridiculous. Can I shape-shift out of it?"

"No," Daniel's voice replied, "If the planet isn't destroyed, then there is probably life. Your body has taken the form of this dimension's main sentient species; we don't want to seem out of the norm."

Night Shade shook a hoof. "Great. Okay, I'm going to quickly see what is going on in the world. Give me three minutes."

With that, Night Shade sped up his molecules and blasted around the world, checking every nook and cranny of the earth to see what damage Legion had wrought. When he came back, he was really worried.

"Are you SURE this is the right dimension?" he said three minutes later as he returned to his arrival spot.

"I am SURE this is the right dimension," replied Daniel, "Why? What's the matter?"

"Well," said Night Shade, "I don't see anything wrong with it. There is literally no destruction anywhere. AT ALL. EVER."

There was a pause. Finally Franklin's voice came over the intercom as he said, "Is there lots of pink? How about rainbows?"

Night Shade rolled his eyes, "Yes there are a lot of colors, and pink seems to be a favorite color amongst some, but that is only the case in this specific land. What should I do?"

Daniel replied over the link, "Stay there and blend in. When Franklin and I finish securing our location, we will join you to see what is going down ourselves."

Franklin's voice then said, "WHAT? No, I am NOT going there. What if I have a stroke?"

There was a quick scuffle over the intercom, and then Franklin said, "Fine, whatever, cool."

Daniel then said, "Okay, hang in there. Will you be fine?"

Night Shade, who was staring indignantly at his reflection in a nearby stream said, "Yeah… yeah I will be fine."

"Cool," said Daniel, "Remember, when in Rome…"

"… Cause a fire," came in Franklin's just as Night Shade was going to say: do as the Romans.

There was a really long moment of silence. Finally Daniel said, "Franklin… you weren't the one who cause the Great Fire of Rome on 64 Anno Domini in the Orbis Terrarum XII dimension were you?"

There was another really long moment of silence. Finally Franklin replied, "Hey! The entire planet was going to go during World War III in 1989 Anno Domini anyway! Besides, I didn't think my experiment with a pre-classical ceramic barbeque would go awry like that anyway! Not that many people were hurt!"

Night Shade interrupted, "Wow, okay. I'm going to be signing out and seeing what I can see while you two figure out stuff. I'm out."

With that, Night Shade terminated the link. Taking a deep breath, Night Shade trotted to the nearest sign of civilization: Ponyville.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

"Oh darling, that would be WONDERFUL!" exclaimed Rarity as Twilight informed her of her new task, "I've always wanted to travel abroad. Bray has always been one for the classical era, how elegant! This will be wonderful!"

Twilight smiled, "I'm glad you agree. Remember, you will be escorted to speak to the Bray senate, and you will need to discuss the situation between us and the alliance. You can go shopping later."

Rarity nodded, "Of course, darling. However, are any of you going?"

Twilight pulled a face. "Weeellll… yes. You're going with Pinkie Pie and Discord."

Rarity just blinked. "Pinkie Pie… and Discord."

Twilight nodded. "Celestia said so. I'm not sure why she chose Pinkie Pie, but Discord is a powerful dimensional traveler, and he owes enough to us that he will willingly protect you from any harm."

Rarity groaned, "Very well, I just hope I don't have to bring them on my shopping sprees… or my elegant gatherings… or my social gatherings… or my senate speeches… or my-"

"Yes, yes," interrupted Twilight, "I understand. They are there to be your friends, not to ruin your life, just remember that. You will be leaving within the hour."

Rarity's mouth dropped. "WITHIN THE HOUR? Why, that isn't ever enough time!"

Twilight dipped her head apologetically. "I understand that it isn't really enough time, but we have no time. We are postponing our refusal of the alliance ultimatum for as long as possible, but we cannot do it for long. We need everything in motion as soon as possible."

Rarity sighed, "Very well, dear. Let us go, I must get ready!"

Twilight smiled and hugged her, "Good luck Rarity!"

With that, Twilight turned around and quickly galloped to Sugar Cube corner where she found Pinkie Pie.

"Hey Twily!" exclaimed Pinkie, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Pinkie," said Twilight, "I need you to go with Rarity and Discord to Bray to discuss peace talks with them."

"Okie Dokie Lokie! When we goin'?"

Twilight smiled, "Within the hour."

"Gotcha! I'm ready now! Do you want a cupcake?"

Meanwhile, Flaming Star was wandering Canterlot Castle, looking for Discord.

"Stupid Discord, where is he when you need him?" muttered Flaming Star as he continued to trot down the grand halls. Suddenly he tripped and fell over. Glancing up, he saw whose cloven hoof he had tripped over… Discord.

"Oh dear, I didn't see you there firstborn," said Discord in mock worry. "My deepest apologies."

Flaming Star leapt up and said, "Discord, I have a job for you."

Discord pointed at himself, "Me? Why, what is it?"

"I need you to watch over Rarity and Pinkie Pie as they negotiate some issues with the Bray senate."

Discord began to laugh. After a bout of laughing, he said, "Oh my, what exactly are these issues? I mean, Bray is a nation of mules! They obviously have no idea what is even going on outside their borders!" Discord doubled over as he continued to laugh.

Flaming Star raised his eyebrows and waited patiently for Discord to stop. Finally, he said, "Yes, we understand. However, if you were somehow unaware, we are about to go to war with Equus and Irrum."

Discord's laughter caught and died in his throat. He looked at Flaming Star. "Oh… Well, I need to watch over Rarity and Pinkie Pie? Why?"

"You are a dimensional traveler, one of the most powerful; your protection would be well needed as they are discussing matters with the Bray senate."

Discord sighed and nodded his head, "Oh, very well… I will do just that."

Flaming Star bowed his head. "Thank you Discord. The train to Bray is leaving within the hour, so you will need to be ready to trail it as soon as possible. I will be leaving you now to find Rainbow Dash. Remember how much you owe the Harmony Bearers, don't let me down."

With that, Flaming Star turned and teleported away to Ponyville.

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><p><strong>Note: An invisible trophy to whoever can tell me what two wars this crisis is based off of... Anyway, don't forget all the R&amp;R stuff! By the way, I understand that you guys are still really excited to see the BIA corps meet up, so here is what I am going to do: if you PM me or something before 7:00 pm PST telling me what Franklin Montgomery would do if he was trapped in a small room with Pinkie Pie, I will put up the next chapter (specifically devoted to the BIA corps and them meeting with the other guys) at 7:30 pm PST. Sound good? Just let me know...<strong>


	30. Chapter 30 - The Meeting (Part 1)

**Note: Okay! So, I am posting this early because a few choice (and thus, by extension, totally awesome) people wanted this to show up a little early. I will, however, lay off updating anything tomorrow (a mayhap the day after tomorrow) so anyone who is behind can catch up, and so I can restock my doc manager again.**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

"Wow…" muttered Night Shade as he slowly trotted into Ponyville. He looked around, and was about to move to find a map to the town when he was tackled by a certain pink earth pony.

"Hey! What's going on? Who are you? Oooohhh… You're new. IknowthatbecauseIknoweveryponyinponyvilleandsinceIdon'tknowyouthatmustmeanyou'renew! Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you?"

Night Shade gaped and blinked at the pink party pony who was now hopping around him.

"Er… hello? Who… are you?" he managed to say.

"I just said silly! I'm Pinkie Pie! Sundown! Twilight's House! Don't be late!" With that, Pinkie Pie began to bounce away.

"Late for what?" Night Shade yelled out.

"Your welcome-to-Ponyville party!"

With that, Pinkie Pie disappeared around a corner. Night Shade got to his hoofs and shook his head. Twilight's house? Where was that? All the more reason to get a map, he supposed. With that, he went off to Town Square.

The more he walked through town, the more he doubted the demon Malpas's information. This place in no way had been destroyed by Legion's armies. His mind darkening with these thoughts, Night Shade trotted into Mayor Mare's office.

"Hello, young pony. What can I do for you?"

Night Shade smiled a winning smile and said, "Oh, I'm just here for a map, thank you. Are you the mayor?"

The mayor smiled back and said, "Indeed I am. Are you new here?"

Night Shade nodded. "I am. Just moved her from… er… Are these the maps? Thanks!"

He picked one up, and quickly left.

"I've got to think of a good back-story for myself if I want to blend in here."

He flipped open the map and looked it through. After a few moments of scrutinizing it, he determined where this "Twilight's Library" was and looked at the sky. He still had a good few hours before sundown. He looked around, he supposed he would just have to bide his time somewhere. Suddenly, a ringing noise went off in his head, the telepathic intercom was coming back up. Looking around frantically, Night Shade dove into a bush and accepted the link.

"Hey, look, I'm busy," he said, "I can't risk looking like a lunatic here."

"Yeah, cool, but that would be lying otherwise," rang out Franklin's voice.

"Stop it Franklin," said Daniel's voice, "Night Shade, what have you learned so far about that place?"

"Well," replied Night Shade, "I have no idea where Malpas got his information, but this place in no way has been destroyed."

"That isn't good," said Franklin, "Malpas was too scared to be lying, obviously he must have been misinformed."

"I don't know how that is possible," said Daniel, "I mean, he's an arch-demon, all his information comes straight… from… Oh no."

Night Shade rolled his eyed, "Oh, no what?"

"Malpas, as I said, is an arch-demon," replied Daniel, "this means he get his information straight from the telepathic hive-mind, which gets its information straight from Legion, Abbadon, Lord Diablo, Baal, and the Grand Devil. Lord Diablo and Baal are dead, and Abbadon was never involved in any of the Grand Devil's plans. This means…"

"This means Legion purposefully lied to the hive-mind, and thus, by extension, the Grand Devil himself," finished Night Shade, "What could make him do that?"

"Probably nothing," said Franklin, "Which is the most worrying part. Legion is the freaking commander-in-chief of the whole infernal realm, if something forced him into lying… well, that's just not possible."

Night Shade shifted in the bush uncomfortably, "This is reaallllyyy bad. Now that we know Legion has lied to the Grand Demon, now what? Where would Legion be? Where would he go?"

"Who ya' talkin' to?" a voice rang out behind Night Shade.

Night Shade gave a surprised whinny and tumbled out of the bush. As he did, he conjured up a cellphone out of thin air and quickly picked it up.

"Oh, er, I was talking to a friend," said Night Shade as he turned to the source of the voice. It was Apple Blossom, Sweetie Bell, and Scootaloo.

"Oh… Hi! I'm Apple Blossom!" said Apple Bloom, "Who are you?"

"Oh, er… I'm Night Shade."

"Who are you talking to?" said Franklin over the intercom, "Oh no! You're cover has been compromised by little ponies! Attack! Attack!"

"Shut up Franklin," whispered Night Shade, he then looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders and said, "How… how are you three?"

"Oh, we're just fine, thank you!" said Sweetie Bell brightly, "we were off crusading for cutie marks when we saw you in this bush!"

"What's a cutie mark?" asked Night Shade.

Sweetie Bell's pupils shrunk. "Oh no… it's on your flank. Do we have to explain this to everypony?!"

"Oh no, I totally knew that," said Night Shade, grinning, "I was just checking to see if you guys remember. A pop quiz, if you will."

Scootaloo looked at Night Shade's cutie mark, it was a blue lightning bolt encircled with an elaborate eternity circle. "Oh man… you're a dimensional traveler aren't you?"

"How come we are always a runnin' into you ponies! Are you ALL comin' here?" exclaimed Apple Bloom.

"No, I am so totally not a dimensional traveler, in fact, what is that anyway? Nope, no travelers around here, I'm just a pony minding my own business," said Night Shade quickly as he backed away.

Sweetie Bell blinked at him. Then she pointed behind him and yelled, "Oh no! It's Abbadon! He's come to get us! Run!"

Night Shade instinctively conjured up a bolt of kinetic energy and hurled it off behind him. It harmlessly disappeared over the horizon. He turned around sheepishly. "Oh… er, that was magic?"

Scootaloo facehoofed. Night Shade sighed in exasperation, "Okay fine, I'm a dimensional traveler, but I come in peace! Honest! Um… if you don't mind me asking, how do you three know about travelers?"

Apple Blossom smiled, "Oh, we know a mite about them! First we found Sunset Shadow, he was the first traveler to show up, then Flaming Star, then Regal Crescent, then Miranda! Sunset was later followed by that scary demon Abbadon, but Sunset defeated him. Then another giant demon came along, his name was Legion, but Regal Crescent killed him! Sadly… Regal Crescent didn't make it."

There was a moment of silence. Then Night Shade said, "This Regal Crescent… he KILLED Legion?"

"Killed who?" exclaimed Daniel over the intercom. Daniel lifted the phone up to his ears and said, "I can't talk right now, buddy, I need to go." With that, he made a show of turning off the cellphone before terminating the telepathic link. He then looked at Apple Blossom, "Are you saying Legion is dead?"

Scootaloo pulled a face. "We didn't see it, everyone was evacuated, but eventually Sunset told us that Ponyville was safe again, and that Legion was gone. That was about a year ago now."

"Um… woah… I can't believe it… Er, so, um, who is Sunset? Is that his name?" said Night Shade, who was still trying to wrap his head around the death of Legion.

"Oh, his actual name is Joseph Torrus," said Scootaloo happily.

Immediately Night Shade became alert. "Torrus… is still alive? Are you sure?"

Scootaloo nodded. "He sure is! He is a great friend!"

Night Shade just shook his head. "Okay… my head is near exploding now. So, I'm almost dare not ask, who is this Flaming Star?"

Apple Bloom scratched the back of her head with a hoof. "Oh, er… what was his name again? Somethin' weird and long and the likes…"

Sweetie Bell gave her a playful shove, "I know right? I remember it now though, I think it was, er, Abbamal 'Jamie' Sethy or something…"

Night Shade's ears pricked up. "Abimael 'James' Sethson?"

Sweetie Bell nodded vigorously. "That's the one! Abimael… wow, that is a mouthful. I'm so glad he changed his name to Flaming Star."

Night Shade was teetering on the edge of feinting. This was too much. According to these three ponies, Abbadon had been defeated again, Legion was dead, and both Joseph and James were still alive… Wow.

Night Shade shook his head as he tried to clear it. "Wow… just… wow… I cannot believe it. Um, could you three take me to one of them?"

Sweetie Bell frowned. "I don't know… they've been quite busy so far. Something about trouble with other nations at the moment. Flaming is looking for Rainbow Dash… I'm sure we don't want to interrupt him. I don't know where Sunset is. Hey, do you want to hang out with us?"

Night Shade blinked. "Um… okay… I suppose hanging out with you three for a bit wouldn't hurt. I really do need to figure out what is going on. Give me a second, I need to call my buddy, er, Bob, back."

With that, Night Shade pretended to turn the phone on again and reconnected the telepathic link. "Hey, we have a problem," he said.

"There's always a problem," said Franklin.

"Shut up Franklin," said Daniel, "What is it, Night?"

"According to some ponies I've been talking to, dimensional travelers have been here before recently."

There was a short pause, then Daniel said, "Okay… weird. Who were they? Do you know?"

"That's where it gets weird," said Night Shade, "The dimensional travelers who are here are James and Joseph."

There was another pause, but this one was a little longer. "Ooookkkaaayyyy… weird. Anything else life-altering like that piece of information?"

"Unfortunately yes," said Night Shade, "Legion is dead, and has been dead for over a year."

There was one last pause, this one twice as long as the previous one. "Well… I'm going to have to think about that one," said Daniel, "Could you find a way to verify all that information while we secure our new base?"

"Will do leader," said Night Shade, "I was just about to hang out with the three ponies. See you later."

"Wait… what?" interjected Franklin as Night Shade began to disconnect, "Hang out with ponies? What-"

Night Shade rolled his eyes and closed the phone as he disconnected the link. He then turned to the CMC, who were looking at him curiously and grinned. "Okay! I have the rest of the day. I have to go to some 'welcome-to-Ponyville' party thingy at, um, Twilight's library or something at sundown though."

Sweetie Bell winked. "Pinkie Pie found you, didn't she? We know where that is! We can take you there when it is time!"

Night Shade nodded his head. "Thanks! Soooo… what's there to do around here?"

"Let me tell you, Night Shade!" said Scootaloo, "There is so much to do here! Let's start with Sweet Apple Acres!"

With that, the four trotted off, the Cutie Mark Crusaders talking to a dumbfounded Night Shade faster than rain fell from the sky during a deluge.

For the next couple of hours, the CMC showed Night Shade all the best hangout spots, where the best milkshakes were, and where to hide from Rarity if you messed up one of her dress designs. Night Shade at first was simply confused with everything that was going on, but he eventually got the hang of it all, and actually began to enjoy himself.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Looking For Group<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The forest of Nestorep_

_Time: A couple of days after the arrival of the Brother's In Arms corps_

Daniel turned to Franklin as the telepathic intercom link was terminated with Night Shade.

"This is bad," he said.

"I'll say," replied Franklin, who was cleaning his sniper rifle, "It looks like we have to sit here making sure we don't get ambushed in the future by demons while Night gets to prance about in a rainbow-filled land with a bunch of new pony friends! I mean, talk about unfair!"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "No, I'm talking about this issue with Legion."

Franklin nodded. "Ah, yes, that is a problem. It looks like not only did Legion lie about destroying the dimension, he also died. And since he was the only one who could possibly lie to the hive mind about this situation, we can only assume he double-crossed the Grand Demon just before dying at the hand of these ponies. That doesn't make sense, what could be so important to Legion that he would indirectly protect the creatures that killed him by lying to his greatest superior?"

Daniel returned the nod. "Exactly," he said, "That is what worries me. Is it possible that something coerced Legion into doing this? So much so that he cared not even at the doorstep of death what would happen to him, only to carry out this new… plan?"

Franklin finished cleaning the sniper rifle and stood up. He balanced the thing on his shoulder. "Yepper! That's what it all looks like. And what about this issue with Joseph Torrus and the firstborn still being alive?"

"That's weird too," said Daniel as he continued to shore up the camp with photon-reflecting energy shields and dark matter pitfalls, "We were told by traveler database that they had died. This means that the database is either inaccurate, or being tampered with."

"You know what I think?" said Franklin, who was always more than happy to state his opinion, "I think we need to get over to that My Little Pony universe, cootie filled or not, and figure what the hell is going on. If Torrus or the firstborn is there, we will be able to get answers from them."

Daniel, not taking his eyes off the lightning wire he was conjuring in a large perimeter, then said, "I agree. Let's finish the last of these defenses and get there. We have no time to lose. If something is going on where Legion is being forced to lie to his superior and something is tampering with the traveler database, then we have a major multiverse upset coming on, and we need to figure out when it is going to get worse."

Franklin snorted. "I think it's already 'getting worse,' Daniel," he said, "Remember the weird shapeshifting, power-adapting creatures from another multiverse? That was where the worse got worse, the worse is just being upgraded to worst now. Soon it will be more worst, then most worst, then most most worst…"

"That's right, those creatures," said Daniel, "Well, we are sort of in luck then. If the firstborn is there, perhaps we together can shed light on what is going on now."

Franklin winked, "Sure you can! We all know how well you two get along!"

Daniel sighed. "Yeah, well, we have no other choice. Let's get going."

Franklin conjured up a gas mask and placed it on his face. He then gave Daniel a thumbs-up. Daniel rolled his eyes, seized the mask, vaporized it, and opened a portal to the My Little Pony dimension.

Franklin rolled his eyes back at Daniel and jumped through the portal. Giving the place one last look-over, Daniel too turned to the portal and jumped through.

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

"You just have to watch out for Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon," said Sweetie Bell as she trotted along with Night Shade, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, "Those two are trouble. Are you sure you're not allowed to even use a LITTLE of your powers on them?"

Night Shade snorted, half-amused, half-annoyed. "Sorry, Sweetie Bell," he said with a wink, "No-can-do."

"Oh! And here is Twilight's Library!" said Scootaloo as the approached the large tree-cottage, "This is where Miranda is staying. I think Fluttershy is in there as well! Let's see if she is in!"

Apple Bloom rapped a hoof against the door and said, "Hello?"

The door opened. It was Sunset. "Oh! Hey Apple Bloom! Hey Scootaloo! Hey Sweetie Bell! Who is this?"

Night Shade recognized Joseph Torrus. His pupils shrunk, and he flattened his ears. Despite the rumors of Torrus turning his back on crime, the atrocities he had committed three years ago still held a terrible place in his most traveler's hearts.

"This is Night Shade!" said Sweetie Bell brightly as she gave Sunset a huge hug.

Sunset smiled kindly at him. "Well, hello Night Shade!" he said, "It is so nice to meet you! I'm Sunset Shadow."

Night Shade looked at Sunset curiously as he gave each of the CMC a hug. Was this the Torrus he had last seen, burning down a city? Impossible.

"Torrus?" he said, "Are you really changed?"

Sunset blinked. He then noticed the cutie mark with the eternity circle. "You're a dimensional traveler."

Night Shade chuckled nervously. "Um… yeah."

Suddenly Sunset recognized Night Shade. "Oh my god! Night Shade! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

With that, Sunset seized Night Shade in a hug. "The Paradox prodigy! It's so nice to see you again! I can't believe this! This is wonderful news!"

Night Shade gaped in surprise. Joseph Torrus was actually happy to see him?

"Um… hi. I really didn't expect all this. Are you really changed?"

Sunset winked. "I sure am. I have a house, a family, and friends. This is literally the best place possible for any pony, or any person. Where is Daniel? Weren't you chilling with him last?"

Night Shade nodded. "Yes, I was. I am actually quite relieved to see you, Torrus, I thought we were the last good travelers!"

Sunset returned the nod, "And I thought Miranda, the firstborn, and I were the only good travelers. This is good news indeed."

Night Shade smiled, feeling relief creep into his heart. He sighed, "Well, that is good. By the way, is Legion really dead?"

Sunset nodded again. "He is. He is dead. However, have you ever heard of the operation called Astrol?"

Night Shade frowned. "I unfortunately did. We dragged it out of an arch-demon. So… you think Legion really double-crossed the Grand Devil?"

Sunset stroked his chin, "I think so… But enough about this! We can discuss this later, I think you have some friends who want to keep giving you the grand tour. Keep close to them, they will prove to be the best of friends any pony could have."

Night Shade was loath to leave the conversation hanging, but the smiles of the CMC convinced him otherwise.

"I'll be back at sundown, there's a pinkie party going on here in my honor, you know," called Night Shade as the CMC dragged him away.

Sunset just grinned. As Night Shade disappeared around a corner, Sunset turned around and trotted back inside of Twilight's house.

"This is interesting," he murmured, "I wonder if Daniel will show up, and maybe even Franklin… Perhaps there is a little bit more good in the multiverse than I previously had hoped… I hope to God that it is… I can only hope…"

Even before Sunset had finished those thoughts, a portal on the other side of town, just outside of the Everfree forest, opened up, and Daniel and Franklin walked through.

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><p><strong>Note: The meeting of the dimensional travelers is drawing close! The suspense! Anyhow, keep that feedback coming in!<strong>


	31. Chapter 31 - The Meeting (Part 2)

**Note: Hey everyone! So, I know I said I would wait a couple of days to post the next chapter, but I decided to post it today anyway as a form of an apology for something. What is that something, you may ask? Well... it is because I HAVE BEEN SPELLING APPLE BLOOM'S NAME WRONG THIS ENTIRE TIME. How is that even possible? Anyway, one awesome guy caught it and pointed it out, so I went through all my chapters and fixed the errors. Please forgive me for my extended bout of incompetence and don't forget to R&R!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Miranda_

Franklin looked down at his pony form, blanched, and immediately shape-shifted back to a human form. The form stuck out in the surroundings like a sore thumb, but it seemed to fit Franklin just fine.

Daniel, on the other hoof, seemed to like his new form fine: he was a dragon, twice the size of Princess Celestia, with black spikes, a grey underbelly, and red scales covering his powerful body. He grinned, which looked quite fearsome on his new face.

"This is pretty awesome," said Daniel, admiring his claws.

Franklin transformed back into a pony, conjured up smart phone, took a selfie, and then changed back into a human. He then looked at Daniel, "I look like a freaking idiot. Why do you always get it good?"

Daniel rolled his eyes and snorted out a blast of fire. "Yeah, the tragedy. Anyways, we need to get moving. Night Shade is in that town over there."

Franklin grimaced. "Great, from what I understand, that place is inhabited by ponies. We obviously are not ponies. You are a dragon, I am a human, we in no way will blend in."

"Then I suppose we should both shape shift into pony forms," said Daniel.

There was a pause. "Screw this," said the two in unison, and they strolled off to Ponyville.

"You know, it would be a lot cooler if we were flying," said Franklin, giving Daniel a side-long glance.

Daniel, who didn't take his eyes off the town, replied, "You put one foot on my scales, and I will pound you into the ground."

Franklin shook his head. "My, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, er, nest today. Do dragons have naturally soured dispositions?"

"Shut up," said Daniel. Soon the forest had cleared around them, and they began to near the border. No pony had yet noticed them. Suddenly, there was a cry of distress. Cheeriliee, who had been on her way to the Ponyville schoolhouse, noticed the two. She stood stock still, quivering.

Franklin strolled up to her. He gave her a flourishing bow, took a hoof and kissed it and said, "Greetings fine madam! How are you on this fine day?"

Cheeriliee feinted. Franklin crossed his arms indignantly. "Well look at that! No respect…"

Daniel chuckled, "I am sure we're a sight. But I'm not changing forms."

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Well, neither am I. Soooooo… I guess we will have to get used to ponies having heart attacks around us. Heh, its kind of like that punching zoo I once visited in the Explosm dimension."

Daniel gaped at him. "Punching… zoo… What?"

Suddenly, voices from afar alerted them that a group of ponies were approaching. Franklin and Daniel glanced at each other, nodded, and dove into a bush. It was totally obvious Daniel wasn't hiding very well, as his whole back stuck out of the foliage, but they didn't move either way. They peeked through the branches at the group coming around the corner: It was Night Shade and the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"This is the way to our schoolhouse!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell to Night Shade, who seemed to, for once, be completely enjoying his company, "Our teacher is Cheeriliee! She is wonderful!"

They then noticed Cheeriliee, who was still unconscious. The four stopped and looked at her. Night Shade quickly trotted up and checked her pulse, and pulled back an eyelid. He then turned to them, "She feinted out of fear. Is there anything scary around here that I should know about?"

Apple Bloom shook her head, "No! I ain't seen nothing around here scary enough to take out Cheeriliee like that!"

"Except for that poorly hiding dragon over there," said Scootaloo casually.

Daniel immediately tried to sink lower to the ground, but it was too late. The CMC and Night Shade were over there in a flash.

Daniel sighed and got up. "I am a fearsome dragon! Run for your lives!" he said halfheartedly.

Night Shade just looked at him. "Are dragons here… always like this?"

"I dunno," said Scootaloo, "According to Twilight, we know next to nothing about them!"

Then Franklin got up to take a photo of Daniel with his new smart phone. Everyone looked at him.

"Oh… hi!" he said awkwardly, "What, you guys don't have humans here? Um… awwwkkwaarrrdd…"

Night Shade recognized Franklin immediately and facehoofed. "You just couldn't take a pony form, could you?" he muttered.

Franklin pointed at himself defensively. "Hey, looking like a cute little pony is unnerving kid. Especially with all this weird 'rainbows and unicorns' theme going on here."

Night Shade looked at Daniel, who had given up looking fearsome, "Nice look Daniel."

Daniel winked, "I know right. So, who are these three?"

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were just looking at them all conversing with awe. However, when Daniel addressed them, they smiled and waved. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell. "Pleased to meet you!"

Daniel dipped his head. "Likewise. Now, Night Shade, can you take us to one of the other dimensional travelers?"

Night Shade frowned. "What… like that?"

Franklin glared at him. "Oh no… I am NOT going to look like some mutated horse! I am staying like this!"

Daniel stroked his chin. "Should I change? I really don't want to cause too much alarm."

"Oh no! Mr. Dragon!" exclaimed Apple Bloom, "You're fine the way you are!"

There was a pause. "Could we ride you?" said Scootaloo, giving him a winning smile.

Daniel pricked up his ears, and glared at them. There was a another elongated moment of silence as neither party broke eye contact.

Finally… "Fine," growled Daniel, "Just this once."

Franklin began to laugh so hard that he almost fell over. Then Daniel smacked him across the face with his tail and he really did tumble heads-over-heels.

"Well, look on the bright side," said Night Shade as he helped the CMC onto Daniel's back, "when we go into town, Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo will make you look less like a threat."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let it never be said that I wasn't a fun guy when it came down to it," muttered Daniel.

Franklin, rubbing his head ruefully, got up and said, "Yeah, I suppose so. Let's get moving before any more weird horses start feinting."

Night Shade shouldered Cheeriliee onto his back and turned to Daniel. "This way," he said, "I'll take you to Joseph Torrus."

Franklin blinked. He then said, "Um… Torrus? I know the rumors reported that he had reformed, but don't you think he would still be a little… um… azycay in the eadhay?

Night Shade shook his head vigorously, "No way. His change is so drastic that it is almost unnerving. He's pretty nice now!"

"Our best friend!" interjected Sweetie Bell from atop Daniel's back.

"Well, great," said Daniel, still feeling a little apprehensive, "Let's get a move on, we're losing daylight."

With that, the group moved off into town. Almost immediately, they ran into Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Rarity, Spike, and Discord, who were on their way to the Ponyville train station.

The two groups stared at each other. "Sup." Said Franklin.

Rarity feinted.

"Sweetie Bell! Scootaloo! Apple Bloom! Who are you with?" exclaimed Twilight in surprise.

Sweetie Bell waved to her happily. "Oh, these are our friends! The pony is Night Shade! He's a dimensional traveler! These two…"

"These two are my friends," interjected Night Shade, "the dragon is Daniel. This… um… human, is Franklin. I apologize for our untimely appearance, as it seems you are all off to somewhere."

"Oooh, a dimensional traveler, how quaint," said Discord, who flashed out of existence, and then flashed in again next to Night Shade. "Do you know who I am, perchance?"

Daniel was the one who answered this. "You're Discordious, I believe," he said, snorting out a short blast of flame.

Discord bowed. "I am. Do my ears deceive me, or am I speaking to the great Daniel Dragoon?"

Daniel nodded his great scaly head. "You are."

Discord winked, "Then I can bet there are probably zero demons alive in all the surrounding dimensions then."

Daniel smiled a little. "I suppose not."

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait…" said Twilight, "You two… know each other?"

Daniel nodded again. "Yes, Discord usually stays here, but he did show up to aid me totally on accident during a firefight two hundred years ago."

Franklin looked at the sky and interrupted, "I'm sorry to ruin this heart-felt reunion," he said, "but if you four are going to be going off somewhere…"

Spike, who had originally not been able to see behind all of the luggage he was carrying, dropped it and saw Daniel. His mouth dropped. "Wow!" he exclaimed, "Another dragon!"

He ran up to him and looked up in awe. "You look awesome! Are you from the dragon herds of the north?"

Daniel smiled down at the dragon baby and said, "I'm sorry, but no. I'm actually a dimensional traveler, but my body chose to take this shape when I arrived here."

Twilight looked at Franklin, meanwhile, and said, "You're a human!"

Franklin raised his eyebrows, and began to inch away as Twilight approached him. "Um, yay? Great. Soooo… how do you know about that?"

"I was one too myself once," she exclaimed, "I went to another world, where I was transformed into a human, and met all these other humans!"

Franklin continued to back away, pointedly dodging Twilight's attempts to prod him. "That's amazing! Could you stop doing that?"

Twilight blushed, "Oh… I'm sorry."

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Think nothing of it. Are you going to go off catch a plane, or train, or cab or something now?

Pinkie nodded, "We most certainly are! Oh! Nighty-Wighty! You're cake and balloons are waiting at Twilight's Library now!"

Daniel glanced at Night Shade. "Nighty-Wighty? Okay…"

Night Shade facehoofed again. "Yay, thanks Pinkie Pie. I was actually heading there now to see Sunset Shadow."

Twilight looked at Cheeriliee, who was starting to awaken. Night Shade gingerly set her down. Suddenly the magenta pony rocketed up. "Dragon! In the dungeon! I thought you might want to know… Huh?"

Daniel smiled at her in the gentlest way he could possibly manage. "Sorry about that. I forgot that I look terrifying."

"He means awesomely terrifying," corrected Franklin, who helped her up, "As for me, just consider me more awesome, that's usually how things go down around here."

Cheeriliee blinked at him. "What are you?"

Franklin gasped in mock dismay as he said, "What am I? What am I? I am a human, and I have a name! My name is Franklin Montgomery, thank you madam."

Cheeriliee, though she was still a tad bit flustered, caught on and gave him a smile. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Montgomery."

Franklin lifted one of her hoofs and kissed it elegantly. "Please, mademoiselle, call me… Frank."

Night Shade began to laugh, and Daniel snorted out a blast of flame. Franklin felt the heat of the blast as it just skimmed past his head. He released Cheeriliee's hoof and straightened up. "Well… that's my signal to go. I do apologize for any inconvenience on my part."

Daniel wrapped his mighty tail around Franklin and dragged him off as he thundered slowly off into town.

"We really have to get going. When you wake up that white pony, pretend no one she knows was riding me. In fact, pretend we never existed," said Daniel grumpily.

Franklin waved, and mouthed the words "call me" to Cheeriliee as Daniel dragged him away.

Pinkie Pie waved enthusiastically back at the receding figures of the other group as she yelled, "Have fun causing total havoc in Ponyville! Don't forget to write!"

Twilight rolled her eyes as she helped Rarity up.

"Wha… what happened Twilight?" Rarity said as she shook her head.

Pinkie smiled at her. "Oh nothing, just a large, giant, humongous, colossal dragon-"

"What Pinkie means is that we saw nothing of importance," said Twilight, covering Pinkie's mouth with a hoof, "Right Discord?"

Discord placed a paw over his heart as he said, "Perish the thought! We saw absolutely nothing on our way here. Just some birds that looked remarkably like the Cutie Mark Crusaders riding a dragon! Nothing out of the ordinary."

The hint flew completely over Rarity's head, fortunately, and she nodded. "Oh dear, I have no idea what came over me. Anyway, let us be off, darlings! We have a train to catch! To Bray!"

With that, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord began to move off at a lively pace towards Ponville's train station. Twilight slowed down and let Spike catch up.

"Wow… a dragon!" exclaimed Spike in muffled tones as he carried Rarity's luggage, "I can't wait to see him again!"

Twilight smiled, "I'm sure you can't, Spike. They should be at my place when we get back. Hopefully Sunset can keep every pony under control until we get back."

With that, they all trotted off to see Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord off to Bray.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Franklin were causing havoc. Most ponies just quickly galloped into their homes and shut their doors as they all approached, but a few choice ponies simply fell over, unconscious. However, there was not too much of an uproar, since most of the ponies simply feinted without a sound. A few choice ponies, though, approached the group.

"Apple Bloom," exclaimed Applejack in indignation when she spotted her sister, "What in tarnation are y'all doin' up there?!"

Apple Bloom smiled innocently down at her sister and waved a hoof. "We're just fine sis! Daniel here is giving us a ride!"

"A ride?! He's a dragon!" exclaimed Applejack back.

Daniel snorted some flames in frustration as Franklin said, "He is. But don't worry, he's a harmless dragon. I don't even think he knows how to fly. Hey Daniel, do you think you could breath fire?"

"Not that you would want to try to right now," interrupted Night Shade.

Applejack looked at Franklin in suspicion. "What are you?"

Franklin rolled his eyes, "I'm a human, and a dimensional traveler. I refuse to look like a pony, so can everyone get over it? Look, Apple Bloom's sister, we are not here to barbeque your sibling, we're here to see Joseph Torrus."

Applejack blinked. "Who what now?"

"He means Sunset Shadow," said Night Shade.

Applejack nodded slowly, "Okay… but I'm coming with you!"

Daniel looked at the other pony, Ditzy Doo, who was looking at him too in surprise. "I don't suppose you want a ride too? Sorry, we're all out of room. Call back tomorrow."

With that, the group went off. As they approached Twilight's library, Night Shade knocked on the door. Sunset opened the door. He blinked, "Applejack," he said, "Why the hell is there a dragon in outside Twilight's house?"

Applejack shrugged. "I dunno. This here is Night Shade, he knows."

Sunset facehoofed. "Night Shade…"

He then looked at Franklin. "Great… Franklin… And is that… Daniel?"

He looked at the dragon. Daniel nodded. "Who are you again?"

Sunset grimaced. He then said, "I'm Joseph Torrus."

Daniel immediately glared coldly at him. "Joseph… It's so… nice to see you again."

Sunset stared evenly back. "I agree. Be careful Daniel, you have my friends riding your back."

Franklin broke the tension. "Hey! Joseph! It's so AWESOME to see you again buddy! When did we last meet? It was like when you were blasting that moon to pieces right? Totally rad if you know what I mean… heh…"

Sunset smiled calmly as Fluttershy poked her head around the door.

"Oh my," she said as she spotted Daniel. She immediately hid behind Sunset, who stood squarely in the door to protect his wife.

After a while, Daniel sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, "It's just you tried to kill me last time we met."

Sunset nodded. "I know, I am sorry. I was a different person, but I have changed. If you want confirmation, ask any pony in Equestria."

Franklin tried to break the tension again. "Cool! Nice place right?"

Sunset turned to Franklin and winked. "I know right? So, what are you guys doing here?"

Franklin winked back. "Oh, we died, and fate sent us to the land of Equestria to protect it from a great evil! Just kidding, we came here because the arch-demon Malpas had told us the Legion had destroyed this place."

Sunset nodded, "Night Shade told me a bit about that. Operation Astrol, as we know it, was never completed. It seems that Legion lied to the Grand Demon to achieve some other plan that he deemed of greater importance. So much so that he held his life in lower regard."

Daniel settled down as he let the Cutie Mark Crusaders hop off his back. "We really have no other plan of action now."

Suddenly Flaming Star joined the group. He turned the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at the group outside Twilight's library.

"Oh… Well… This is new," he said.

He then spotted Franklin. "Oh my god. Franklin Montgomery… you're not dead… I think my heart just skipped a beat."

There was a pause. Then Flaming Star laughed. "Wow! I can't believe it! You're alive! We're not alone!"

He went up and slapped Franklin on the back. Then he noticed Daniel. There was a deathly pause as Flaming Star recognized who he was looking at.

"Daniel." He said tersely.

"Firstborn." Said Daniel back.

Sunset facehoofed. "Wow, Daniel, you really got to work on making friends more often. Did you not get along with the firstborn either?"

"No, no, he's okay," said Flaming Star, not taking his eyes off Daniel, "it's just we don't see eye to eye sometimes… most of the time."

Daniel sighed. "Look," he said, "I'm not here to stir up hostilities, heaven knows we have enough, we have a major issue coming up, and I need to talk about it with you."

Night Shade spoke up, "Um… hasn't Pinkie Pie prepared a party for me in that library?"

Sunset brightened up. "Oh yeah… that. Come in every pony!"

Night Shade eyed Daniel. "Um… how is he going to fit?"

Daniel winked. "I am not changing my form. I'll hang out here."

Flaming Star, who still was looking at Daniel then said, "Oh, I'll stay out here with him. We can discuss these 'major issues.'"

Sunset rolled his eyes. He and Fluttershy threw the door open and the ponies and Franklin moved on into the house. In a few moments, the festivities commenced with the Pinkie party.

While this was going on, Daniel and Flaming Star sat outside.

"Well, what is it that you need to talk to me about?" said Flaming Star.

Daniel took a deep breath. "Remember the battle of the white planes in the Warriors dimension?"

Flaming Star's eyes darkened. "The creatures from that other multiverse. Why do you speak of them out in the open?"

"They're back," replied Daniel, "my team and I encountered one a week or so back."

"This is grievous news," said Flaming Star, "are you positive?"

"Positive."

Flaming Star was about to say something else when he was joined by Twilight and Spike.

"Hello every pony!" said Twilight brightly, "Why aren't you two inside?"

"I can't fit," said Daniel as he began to shift uncomfortably away from Spike.

"I was here talking to him," added Flaming Star, "Are you going to join the rest?"

Twilight smiled and sat down next to him. "No, I will be fine out here with you two. How about you Spike?"

Spike waved his claws in a general direction. "Yeah, yeah… I'll be fine. Daniel, can you breath fire?"

Daniel grinned awkwardly. "I have no idea. I don't think I should try though."

Flaming Star sat, staring blankly off into the distance as he contemplated the information he had just received. He turned to Twilight, "Are you ready for our journey to the Frozen north?"

Twilight smiled and hugged him. "I'm ready whenever you are."

Abruptly a scream erupted from the house, "DEMONS! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!"

Immediately Daniel's eyes lit up with deadly fire. His ears pricked up and he scanned the area. "Where?" he snarled.

Flaming Star frowned. "That's Miranda. The other dimensional traveler."

Daniel narrowed his eyes. "She doesn't sound very well…"

Flaming Star bit his lip. "She isn't right in her mind right now. Nightmares and the like, you understand."

Daniel's eyes softened. "Could I… could I see her?"

Flaming Star nodded. "Come around the back. You can look through the window."

With that, Daniel went around the library to look on through the window as Twilight and Flaming Star went to comfort Miranda from the inside. The pony was tossing and turning in a feverish frenzy as she muttered about torture and demons.

"Is there anything we can do for her?" said Night Shade, his eyes full of pain for Miranda.

"Nothing that I can think of yet," said Flaming Star, "she's been teetering between sanity for a bit now."

"No... no… no," muttered Miranda, "you will never get anything from me… You will only get my personal information, you hear?! Miranda Arkine. Dimensional Orientation: PD-7. Power tier: 7. 79th generation."

Franklin's face turned deathly white. "What did she just say?"

"Her personal info," said Night Shade, "Miranda Arkine."

Franklin began to tremble. "That's my sister."

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><p><strong>Note: Franklin has a sister?! I am apparently really good at cliffhangers. Oh, by the way, don't forget about reading the "The Ultimatum" chapter, it appears some people have skipped over it, thanks! And thanks for all the feedback! You guys are awesome!<strong>


	32. Chapter 32 - Memories (Part 1)

**Note: I originally thought I was going to have to wait a couple of days so I could restock my doc manager, but then one of my classes was cancelled and I had three hours with nothing to do. Thus, I spent that time writing! Now everything is back on track! Oh by the way, you know why good 'ol Frank has a sister? BECAUSE I CAN HAZ PLOT DEVICES. Thanks for all the feedback guys! Keep them coming! Your are all awesome!**

**Additional note: Just in case anyone was wondering, these are memories explaining a little bit of the past of the Brothers in Arms corps, and the immediate aftermath of Regal Crescent's death.**

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><p><em>Dimension: The Neverending Story<em>

_Planet: Fantastica_

_Specific Location: The ruins of Spook City_

_Time: A millennium after the defeat of the Nothing_

"Hang in there Bastian Junior," muttered Daniel Dragoon as he gripped the mortally wounded man's hand tightly, "I've almost got the dagger out of you."

Bastian Junior Bux gave a gasping grunt of pain as Daniel dragged the dagger out of him. He gave a breathless chuckle as he said, between gasps, "Eh, it's too late for anything, Daniel. I'm gone. See to Hillary Rich… Is she okay?"

"Hillary is dead," said Daniel sadly, "All I have is you now. Stay still, you've lost a lot of blood."

Bastian shook his head and gasped out, "They've got the Neverending Story book. They have it. Demon Nicor had it, but he gave it to the demon of Terrible Trivium before I killed him."

Daniel's eyes narrowed. "What is the Terrible Trivium, the faceless demon of worthlessness, doing here?" he said.

Bastian shook his head. "I don't know. But I know where he's taken it." Reaching up shakily, Bastian handed a bloodied note to Daniel. "It was a part of the plan the Nicor had before I stole it off his body. Terrible Trivium is taking to his home: the Mountains of Ignorance… in the Phantom Tollbooth dimension."

Daniel bit his lip until it bled. The Mountains of Ignorance were a place of lore in demonology. The place had been one of the first massive strongholds of the demons until the great dimensional traveler Milo Juster and the firstborn had brought the whole thing to its knees. It was ruined and abandoned, but many of its residence demons escaped. It seemed that those demons were now returning to bring the massive monument of death and hate to its previous hellish glory.

"Not if I can help it," muttered Daniel to himself. After putting the paper into his pocket, he looked at Bastian. "I will find the Neverending Story book, I will kill the Terrible Trivium, and I will grind the Mountains of Ignorance to dust," he said, "I promise this to you."

Bastian smiled weakly. "Good luck best buddy," he gasped as blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouths. He then gagged, gurgled, and died.

Daniel's head drooped low over the dead body. He had promised to Bastian that he would get it back, and he would, but his team was dead, and the whole thing had ended in disaster.

"But I promised," mumbled Daniel as he slowly got to his feet, "I promised, and heaven knows that I will keep that promise. Rest in peace Hillary Rich. Rest in peace Bastian Junior Bux."

He solemnly buried the two side-by-side, he then incinerated the dismembered figure of the demon Nicor. He then slowly sat down next to the graves of his two friends as he slowly sorted through the possible locations of other friendly travelers. There were precious few now. Suddenly, he got an idea: there was one place where he knew someone might help him; he wasn't the best, but he most certainly was able.

Quickly Daniel opened a portal up and stepped through.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Tangled<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The Snuggly Duckling Inn_

_Time: A year after the death of Gothel_

"You know," said Franklin slowly as he quaffed a whole tankard of beer, "I literally have no idea why any of you morons named this place the Snuggly Duckling. I mean, you guys are literally the refuse of society."

A thug immediately tried to punch Franklin, but Montgomery simply grabbed the fist and forced it down with ease as he finished his beer. He looked at the thug and said, "Honestly, don't try to arm wrestle me, it's stupid."

"Who the hell are you anyway?" said the innkeeper as he refilled Franklin's tankard. Franklin waved a hand in a randomly picked direction as said, "My name isn't important. I'm a lowly traveler actually. Just stopped by here to see what this place had going for it. Nothing really, I am actually quite unimpressed. Do this dimension a favor and change the name of this inn though, it makes me feel like I'm in a Disney Princess movie."

The innkeeper glared at him as he pushed the tankard forward. Franklin grabbed it with his free hand and quaffed it in one gulp again. Despite the amount of alcohol he was consuming, Franklin was in complete control of his faculties. So when another thug tried to smash a chair over his head, he got up, sidestepped it, and punched the thug in the face. That thug flew across the room and crashed into a group of mercenaries playing checkers. The entire room stopped to look at Franklin. He just looked at them calmly. "I will make sure I pay attention to where I throw my idiots next time. My apologies friends."

All of a sudden, the door to the inn flew open and another figure stepped in. Momentarily all attention was diverted to this other imposing figure. It was Daniel in a hooded cloak. He quickly strolled up to Franklin and said, "Do you know who I am?"

Franklin looked at Daniel through the hood. "You are Daniel Dragoon. You were the former right hand man of the firstborn when I was on team Abimael. What do you want? Is the firstborn calling me in? If that is the case, tell him to go screw himself over, I'm done with these heroics, the travelers' time is over."

The inn had returned to its usual banter and Daniel pulled Franklin over to some side seats. "I am not here from the firstborn," said Daniel, "I left him as well."

"God," said Franklin, "has anyone chosen to stay with him?"

Daniel nodded. "Daniel Porthus, Martin Calhoun, and Joseph Torrus."

Franklin choked on his beer. "Torrus? The hotshot? I thought he was running his own team!"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "He WAS. Apparently the prospect of fighting alongside the firstborn appeared too tantalizing for him though."

Franklin snorted as he threw his tankard over his shoulder. "We ALL thought it was too tantalizing once. The firstborn is an egotistic, win-rate-loving, moron. Well, I suppose there is nothing we can do about it now. So, why do you want to talk to me?"

Daniel looked around before whispering, "The multidimensional relic, the Neverending Story book, was stolen from Fantastica a day ago. Me and my team tracked down the mercenary-thief Nicor, but it turned out to be a trap planned by the demon Xaphan. The book was passed onto him and the Terrible Trivium, and my team was killed."

Franklin's eyes narrowed. "The Terrible Trivium? Does this means the Mountain fortress of Ignorance is up again?"

Daniel shook his head. "We have no way of knowing," he replied, "But I promised my team I would get the relic back, and that is what I intend to do. However, I need a team to help me do it."

Franklin drew a hand across his mouth as he sat back. "Nope," he said, "nopenopenopenopenope."

Daniel looked at him with irritation. "Do you want pay? I can pay you in gold-plated Latnium, or magically-enhanced Middle-Earth gems."

Franklin shook his head. "I don't want any form of pay either. It's suicide. Hell, it took Milo AND the firstborn to take down the fortress, and those two are freaking powerhouses. I'm power tier 3, and you're power tier 1. They both were, like, power tier negative infinity."

Daniel looked quietly at Franklin as he said, "I need help. We are dimensional travelers for a reason."

Franklin chuckled as he said, "Oops, here we go again! Another of Daniel Dragoon's famous 'we are here for a reason' spiels. Yes, we know you're a goody-two-shoes, you don't need to consistently confirm it."

Daniel sighed. "Is there any way I can convince you to join me on this?"

Franklin shook his head again decisively, "Nope."

There was a pause, and Daniel was about to get up with a sigh when Franklin said, "Unless…"

Daniel quickly sat down and looked at him curiously.

Franklin was staring off into space, as if contemplating something. Slowly he said, "I will help you, no payment required, if you will help my sister escape from captivity in the LEGO Bionicle dimension. She in the custody of some vicious mercenaries called the Dark Hunters. I'll help you get the relic back, you help me rescue my sister. Deal?"

Daniel thought over the details for a bit. Then he nodded. "Deal."

The two shook hand firmly, stood up, and strolled out of the inn.

"So, what's our next step?" said Franklin as they walked away.

"Well, we need one more for a team. We will need at least one more for our team to be completed," replied Daniel.

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, cause we all know how numerous good, worth dimensional travelers pop out of nowhere like daisies. Seriously now, how are we going to find a traveler who won't just backstab us in the end?"

Daniel frowned. "I have no idea."

"Well, since you have no idea, might I suggest a certain person?" said Franklin.

Daniel looked at Franklin curiously. "Okkaayyyy… Who?"

"Jonathan Mirus, he's a good fighter."

Daniel put his head to one side as he brought up his personal memories of Jonathan Mirus, and cross-referenced it with the traveler database. He then nodded, "Very well. Do you know where he is?"

Franklin nodded. "I have a notion," he said, "I have a notion."

With that, the two quickly walked out of the inn. Franklin opened a portal, and the two stepped through into the Star Wars dimension.

"Mos Eisley spaceport? How quaint," said Daniel, "What year is this? Before or after the battle of Yavin?"

"Before from the amount of Imperial Stormtroops around here," replied Franklin airily, "Do you think we would get in trouble if we blew up the Death Star prematurely?"

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Let's just keep moving. Where your friend?"

"Right this way," said Franklin as he led Daniel through a doorway into a tavern. He quickly led him to a table and they sat down, heads bowed.

Soon a hooded figure joined them. "Is a paradox the paradox if there is no light?" said the shady character.

"No. The Paradox is all about light," replied Franklin. The shady character threw back his hood to reveal Jonathan Mirus. He was rough cut, thirty years old, with a scar running the length of his jaw and flint-locked eyes.

"Franklin," he said. He then turned to Daniel, "Is this the great Daniel Dragoon?"

Daniel nodded his head, "I am Daniel Dragoon."

Jonathan nodded. He looked at Franklin, "Why are you two here?"

Franklin glanced around and leaned in close to whisper, "We have a job for you."

"A job with payment, I hope?" replied Jonathan.

Franklin glanced at Daniel who said, "Latnium or Middle-Earth gems."

Jonathan eyes lit up, and he leaned back in his seat. "I prefer Harry Potter Galleons myself," he said, "But Latnium will do. Do you have fifty bars?"

Daniel looked like he wanted to negotiate the price, but he then nodded, "I will give you fifty bars, no more."

Jonathan returned the nod. "Excellent," he said, "I want to make sure this is a square-cut deal, however. I never know when someone is trying to double-cross me nowadays. Why, last month, in fact-"

"I understand," interrupted Daniel, "We've all fallen on hard times during this era of anarchy. Name the location, I will bring half the pay up front, and you will receive the other half later."

Jonathan grinned voraciously, "But of course. The location will be the Hovito Temple in the Indiana Jones dimension. Let's make it year 2000 A.D. to ensure there are no issues with tribes."

Daniel blinked. "Understood. I will see you in twenty-four local hours."

Jonathan grinned. Then he cloaked himself from their view and left. Daniel gave Franklin a side-long glance. "He seems… untrustworthy."

Franklin snorted. "We are all untrustworthy. Let's get out of this place. Anyplace that doesn't serve Earth Beer or Romulan Ale is not even worth it."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "I'm going to grab my Latnium deposit. You go off back to someplace that has Earth Beer or Romulan Ale and knock yourself out… Literally. I will see you in twenty-four local hours."

Franklin winked, "You do realize one of my talents is my incredibly high metabolism… In other words… I can't get drunk. EVER."

Daniel simply got up and left. Franklin sighed and pulled out his sniper rifle which he began to clean.

Twenty-four hours later, Daniel met up with Franklin at the same tavern.

"You have the gold-pressed Latnium?" asked Franklin as the two walked up and shook hands.

Daniel indicated the hovering crate next to him. "I do. Twenty-five bars. Let's get over to the Indiana Jones dimension and make the transaction."

With that, the Franklin opened a portal to that dimension, and he hopped through. Daniel motioned the crate through and then stepped in himself. He looked around the dense jungle as he jogged up to Franklin.

"This was a clever place to meet, I really hope Jonathan isn't trying to double cross us," muttered Daniel.

"Oh, I doubt he will," replied Franklin, "He's too much of a goody-two-shoes himself to pull anything as astronomically stupid and dishonorable as that."

Daniel nodded and walked ahead, keeping the hovering crate by his side. As they approached the temple, Daniel spotted Jonathan, sitting on the top of the steps of the structure.

"You have the first installment of the payment?" Jonathan called down to them.

"I do!" yelled Daniel back up.

"Let's see it then!"

With that, Daniel threw off the cover of the crate to reveal twenty-five thin gold bars, with the precious liquid Latnium preserved within their gold skin. Daniel demonstrated that the gold bars possessed Latnium within them by picking one up and hurling it up to Jonathan. Jonathan caught it and shook it. He then pulled out a Star Trek tricorder and ran diagnostics on the bar. He then nodded at them, "It's Latnium alright. Thanks. We'll take the rest."

Suddenly, Franklin and Daniel were surrounded by armed mercenaries, with snipers in strategic positions on the top of the temple.

"Cool," said Franklin, "I suppose being a goody-two-shoes is tiring. Does this mean you've turned, Jonathan?"

"Oh, I don't know about that," replied Jonathan, "but I prefer to take as much as I can with as little work as possible."

"You haven't even heard the complete job description!" yelled Daniel.

"Okay, let's hear it then! I am sure we are all dying to hear what you have to say," called Jonathan.

"The demon of Terrible Trivium has taken the relic the Neverending Story book to the Mountain fortress of Ignorance. I need to get it back," said Daniel.

Jonathan laughed out loud. "Well," he yelled back, "this, in fact, makes stealing from you easier on my conscience. I would have never agreed to such a suicide run!"

Daniel blinked. "Soooo… does this mean you will just let me walk away?"

Jonathan shook his head. "Nope. Snipers… kill them!"

Nothing happened. "What the hell is going on?! I said kill them!" Roared Jonathan. He then looked to the top of the temple. The snipers were all unconscious. "What the…"

Daniel made his move. Quickly he whirled and unleashed a massive blast of fire. It was so focused that it melted the weapons of the mercenaries. The molten metal bubbled and flowed over their hands, burning and fusing their flesh. The mercenaries screamed and thrashed in pain. Franklin, at the same time, whirled and pulled out his sniper rifle. He quickly disabled the rest of the mercenaries with shots the knees, shoulders, arms, and legs.

Daniel then looked around quickly. "Where is Jonathan? Did he get away?"

"Are you looking for him?" A voice rang out. Suddenly the unconscious form of Jonathan crashed down in front of him. "I took him out, along with the snipers."

"Who are you?" said Daniel.

"Oh, forgive me, I am being rude."

With that, a figure leapt down from a tree and landed at their feet. It was a boy, who looked to be about six years old.

Franklin began to laugh hysterically. "Oh my god, I was saved by a little kid. I hope to high heaven that this wasn't on video tape or anything; I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Oh this is hilarious!"

Daniel looked at the boy and said, "You're Night Shade. The Paradox prodigy."

The boy looked surprised. "Well… Yeah. I know who you are, you're Daniel Dragoon."

Franklin stopped laughing. "Wait… You are the Paradox prodigy? I thought you were running with Torrus! Oh… that's right, team Torrus was disbanded…"

Night Shade nodded. "Yeah. After it was disbanded, I took it upon myself to track down and apprehend as many dimensional traveler traitors as I could. Jonathan has been my target for a while now. I appreciate your support as a distraction."

Franklin crossed his arms indignantly. "Distraction? Are you kidding me? I was the announcer, producer, and star of this whole shenanigan!"

Daniel ignored Franklin. He felt really guilty about asking, but he couldn't help but say, "Did you hear about my job…?"

Night Shade nodded. "A dangerous endeavor," he said, "but I will do it with you two, free of pay."

Franklin snorted. "Oh, real honorable of you, Daniel. You pretty much coerced a six year old boy into committing suicide with the rest of us. Haven't you only been a traveler for what, three years?"

Night Shade blinked. "Yeah? But I was raised by the Paradox, I would say my skills are considerably more polished then yours, Franklin Montgomery."

Franklin raised his hands in mock surprise, "I would also say your English skills are considerably more polished as well."

Daniel then said, "Stop it, Franklin. Night Shade, do you want to do this? I am not forcing you."

Night Shade nodded. "I could use something a little more difficult than hunting down incompetent traitors. When do we go?"

Daniel looked at Night Shade, then at Franklin, then back at Night Shade. "Let's leave the Latnium here for now, we move at once."

Night Shade nodded, "Then let's go. Don't worry guys, you're on my team now, I've got your backs."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Six days after the death of Regal Crecent._

"It's been several days now," whispered Flaming Star to Princess Celestia as they stood outside Luna's bedroom door, "has she not yet come out?"

Celestia's eyes were full of sadness as she replied, "She has not come out once. She refuses to."

Flaming Star sighed, "She cannot keep this up for long. She needs her strength if she is to raise the moon each night. I certainly don't want to do it."

Celestia sighed, and a single tear fell from her eyes. "You may have to, Flaming Star," she said, "I don't know if my sister will ever recover from what has happened."

Flaming Star bit his lip. "There has to be something we can do. Is there any way we can reach her?"

Celestia sat down on the doorstep of the room as she said, "I do not know. I simply do not know."

Flaming Star sat down next to her, and the two sat in front of the door for quite some time. After a bit, they were joined by Twilight. Her eyes filled with sadness when she saw the faces of her two friends.

"No luck?" she asked as she sat down next to Flaming Star.

Celestia shook her head, "There has been no luck. Luna refuses to even see me."

"It must have been terrible for her to lose her loved one like that," murmered Twilight. Almost automatically Twilight leaned her head against Flaming Star's shoulder as she said that.

Flaming Star looked down at his hoofs. "I should have been ready for Legion. It was my fault. I should have I should have I should have I should have I should have…."

Celestia sighed. "We couldn't know. From what I understand, Legion was a commander-in-chief. They are not supposed to be the ones on the front line without support."

"That's another thing," muttered Flaming Star, "what purpose was he trying to achieve doing that? And now Regal Crescent is dead and Luna is reduced to this…"

He suddenly stood up. "No," he said, "I am not letting some demon get the better of us this way even after death. I will not."

With that, he turned around and trotted through Luna's door, using his powers to disable her magically-enhanced lock. He trotted through the doorway, gave them one quick glance, and then closed the door.

The first thing he heard was sobbing.

"Luna," he said, "Luna are you-"

"Go away!" sobbed Luna, "I did not call for you, nor do I wish to see you, or any other pony!"

Luna broke down into ragged sobs again, but Flaming Star didn't go away. He simply cantered up to her bed and sat down next to Luna.

"I understand how you are feeling… But you cannot let your grief get the better of you."

"You do not understand, do you, Flaming Star? He LOVED me. And I loved him! We should never have been parted in such a way!"

"I know it was terrible, but you cannot let grief consume you like this. You have loved ones outside as well! You've shut them off, and alienated them as well. If one loved one dies, it is the duty of your other loved ones to comfort you and help you through that situation. Think of Celestia…"

"It doesn't matter. Regal Crescent was the one who truly understood me. My sister maybe understood what in meant to be good, and what it meant to forgive, but she will never know what it's like to do evil and then be forgiven. Regal Crescent understood that, he knew what I went through."

"But your sister loves you just as much as he loved you…"

"NO! He understood me in a way no other pony could, therefore he loved my in a way no other pony could!"

There was a pause, and Flaming Star stared off into the distance as he thought about the deaths of his own friends. He recalled the death of his very first friend: Anna Coronado, another human from Earth Prime. She was the first person he had ever gotten along with. They started performing missions together, and Flaming Star could not remember any other time where he had had so much fun and done so much without ever feeling emptiness. Sadly, the friendship was no to last. A hundred years into their time as teammates, a disastrous event took place. They were trapped by demons in a large valley. Flaming Star knew they could retreat, but he couldn't stand the thought of losing to those monstrosities. However, he couldn't perform a nova blast because that would hurt Anna. He was torn between decisions a second too long: a well timed bolt of demonic energy decapitated his friend. Then he went nova, so much so that the entire solar system disintegrated with the blast. He had won, but he simply sat in a cave somewhere in some dimension for the next three years after the event, doing absolutely nothing. He couldn't understand what was had gone over him… He felt like she had been the only one who had understood him, who had tolerated him. Maybe he had lost someone more that a friend…

Flaming Star looked up at Luna's face, buried in her pillow, crying uncontrollably.

"It happened to me once too, you know," he said. He had said it quietly, just above a whisper, but the words reverberated around the room as if they had been sounded from a trumpet.

For a moment, Luna stopped crying. Flaming Star lifted her chin and looked into her eyes.

"I had a friend too," he said, "she was amazing, and we worked together so well, but when it came down to it… I failed her, and she died. Perhaps it is a little too different though… The deaths surrounding the two are too different…"

"No…" interrupted Luna, "keep going. Tell me about her."

Flaming Star sighed. "She was amazing, thoughtful, kind, and smart. I never truly loved her, as in 'love' love, but we were the best of friends. She understood my inferiority complex, as well as my difficult attitude, and she accepted me for it. She understood me like no one else did, and I felt that it connected us. But when it came down to me overcoming my issues to protect her… I failed. And she lost her head, literally."

Flaming Star looked down at his hoofs, feeling, for the first time in over five thousand years, overcome with emotions.

"What was her name?" asked Luna, her tearstained face full of sadness and interest.

"Her name was Anna."

"What did you do after she died?"

"I sat in a bleak cave for three whole years, doing absolutely nothing. Even after I had pulled myself together, I never felt whole. Until…"

"Until?"

"Until I met Twilight."

Flaming Star then looked at Luna and smiled. "You see? Unlike me, you have others who love you. You don't have to go through what I did. Don't sentence yourself to solitary confinement, let your friends comfort you."

"You were fortunate, meeting a soulmate like Twilight Sparkle, but there will never be another like Regal Crescent. His death is… is…"

"Is a gift of life for every other pony in this dimension, Princess Luna. If he had not stopped Legion, we all would be dead. None of us would have thought of that idea with the portal as fast as he, and he carried it out fearlessly, without any constraint. It was too much for Legion to handle, and he saved us all. Don't you understand? He died so that ever other pony could live. If he was with us today, he would want us celebrating another bright new morn, not ignoring the days he had given his life for. He gave us our future; let us not waste it in overused grief. The time for mourning is past, the time for honoring has begun."

Luna sighed. "You are right, Flaming Star. You are right. I will raise the moon tonight in honor for my beloved."

With that, she got out of her bed and stood next to Flaming Star. The two trotted out side-by-side to meet Celestia and Twilight, who were still waiting outside the door.

As soon as Celestia saw Luna, she wrapped her hoofs around her sister and gave her a hug. Tears began to flow down her cheeks.

While this was going on, Twilight hugged Flaming Star. The group spent the next couple of minutes like this, hugging, as the sun slowly set on Canterlot castle.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I had sooooo much fun writing this! Anyways, keep those reviews flowing in!<strong>


	33. Chapter 33 - Memories (Part 2)

**Note: Hey guys? How is it going? Anyways, here is the second and last installment of the "Memories," enjoy! AND DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! As I always say, I love reviews!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: The Phantom Tollbooth<em>

_Planet: The Expanse of the Mind_

_Specific Location: The Mountains of Ignorance_

_Time: 5300 years after the fall of the fortress of Ignorance_

Just outside the foothills that led to the mountains of Ignorance, a portal opened up and three figures stepped out: Daniel, Franklin, and Night Shade.

"Well, it looks what like I thought it would look like," said Franklin as he looked the massive, black-colored, mountains.

"We need to be quick," said Daniel as he started walking towards the monuments of death, "the fortress of Ignorance was massive, so it is possible that the demons have not yet completed its refortification."

Night Shade looked at the place with a calm eye as he said, "This place looks formidable, but we should be okay. Do you know where the Terrible Trivium could be hiding?"

Daniel grinned. "According to the texts of the great Milo Juster, the demons feel safe here. They will most probably be out in the open, minding their own business. However, if Xaphan is there, he has probably got some form of order in the place."

Franklin nodded. "Yeppers. So, I suppose what we should do is teleport ourselves to the highest vantage point and work our way down.

Daniel blinked in acknowledgment. "The highest vantage point in the land is the Castle in the Air. It is an old prison built just above the highest point in the mountains of Ignorance. It is probably in ruins now, but we could start there. Franklin, when we are up there, you will be in charge of spotting anything unusual. That is where we will start."

Franklin pulled out his sniper rifle. "Gotcha," he said, "teleport us there now."

Quickly Daniel opened a portal and they swiftly walked through it. In a moment, they were in the dilapidated ruins of the Castle in the Air. Franklin ran over to a ruined windowsill and set up his sniper rifle. Quickly he began to scope out the land through it.

"Well, you were right," he said, "most of the demons here are just hanging around, doing nothing. However, I can see the fortress of Ignorance. Goddamnit, it's already almost complete. The place is a freaking powerhouse now. Wait… there is the Terrible Trivium. He has the relic. He is walking side-by-side with the demon Xaphan. They are passing through the gates of the fortress of Ignorance. They're in."

Franklin turned to look at Daniel. "Well, we're in trouble. If you want to pull anything, it might as well be sooner than later. They have the relic, and they are safely within the fortress. Need I remind you that it took Milo Juster AND the firstborn to burn the place to the ground?"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know it took them both to take down the fortress, but I have you and Night Shade, and we have teamwork. Milo and the firstborn were powerful, but they are both loners, and it was their sheer power that took down the fortress. We have power and each other."

"Oh, how sweet," snorted Franklin, "I will make sure to mention to the demons how magical friendship is as they rip our innards out after we fail this whole thing."

"We're not going to fail," said Night Shade, "there is too much at stake."

Franklin was about to say something scathing, but then he remembered his sister. His face hardened. "Right," he said, "We might as well get rolling then. What is the plan?"

"We are going to use our distinctive skills to our advantage," replied Daniel. "I am going to need Night Shade to get me in there with his superspeed. When I'm in, I'll smoke them out into the open. Franklin, that is when I will need your sniping skills. Take them out as they run from the fortress. Kill everyone and everything. I will grab the relic and we will leave. Night Shade, when I am in, I will need you to protect me when I start the fire."

The group nodded at each other for a moment.

"Okay," said Franklin clapping his hands, "Let's go do something equivalent to suicide!"

Night Shade grabbed Daniel's arm as he sped up his molecules. "Okay fearless leader," he said to Daniel, "hold on tight."

With that, they blasted out of the Castle in the Air almost at the speed of light. They sizzled across the decimated valleys, rises, and crags of the mountains of Ignorance straight into the fortress of Ignorance just as the massive double doors closed behind Xaphan and the Terrible Trivium.

Night Shade deposited Daniel in the center of the fortress, and blasted away to a safe distance.

Daniel unleashed a firestorm. The sheer power of the storm began to melt the walls, and scorch the ground. Fire, magma, and smoke filled the fortress as the firestorm began to build in intensity.

As this took place, and smoke began to fill the building, Xaphan and the Terrible Trivium were strolling down the hallways.

"Aren't you worried that some dimensional travelers will follow us?" said Xaphan as they walked.

"I am most certainly not, my dear friend," replied the Terrible Trivium, "despite the fact that our demonic energy defenses are not up yet, the travelers do not have the gall to attack us. After all, they do not know that this place even exists, let alone that it is being rebuilt."

"Still," hissed Xaphan, "we do not know if or when they will attack. Our magic and energy defenses should be our top priority right now."

"Oh, then I will make sure that they are our top priority Xaphan," said the Terrible Trivium, "however, there are so many other wonderful, useless, time-consuming things that we could be doing in its stead. So many holes to dig and fill up, so many blocks to stack and knock down, so many-"

"And there you go!" snarled Xaphan, "that was the reason why I was against the Grand Devil's plan to rebuild this place. The guardian demons of the mountain of Ignorance are complete morons; absolutely powerless against their own depravity. You, sir, are a lazy, useless, worthless…"

Xaphan stopped and smelled the air. "That's smoke."

The Terrible Trivium turned his faceless face to the sky. "It's Daniel Dragoon," he said, "he is in the fortress, and he has set the place afire. Perhaps you were right, we should have set up our magical and our physical energy defenses first. But it is too late. We must simply exit the building."

Xaphan looked at the Terrible Trivium in a rage. "SIMPLY EXIT?! The place is burning down! We cannot let a traveler destroy the fortress like this! It took Milo Juster AND the firstborn to take us down last! BOTH OF THEM!"

The Terrible Trivium checked his neatly manicured fingernails calmly. "Of course it did. However, our fortress had been standing for a millennium last, and everything was in place. We've only been rebuilding for a decade, and that is not enough time for us to bring this place back to its former glory. Oh, and please do me a favor and do not speak of the Milo Juster, he tends to bring back unfortunate memories."

"I'LL SHOW YOU UNFORTUNATE!" screamed Xaphan. He conjured up a demonic blade and swung it at the Terrible Trivium. The Terrible Trivium simply gave a slight gesture, and Xaphan's blade dissolved into nothing and Xaphan fell to his knees.

"Do not try to provoke hostilities from me, Xaphan," said the Terrible Trivium calmly, "We demons of Ignorance are quite powerful. Perhaps we are a bit mired in our own iniquities, but our power is untold. All we can do now is retreat. The fortress is a loss, but this in no way will slow us down from returning to build it once more. I can feel the anarchy of this time increasing; soon Daniel Dragoon and anyone else who dares defy us will be dead by their own hands. All we have to do is wait and twiddle our thumbs. Lovely laziness…"

Xaphan glared at the Terrible Trivium and jumped through a jagged portal back to the infernal realm. The Terrible Trivium waited for the portal to close before taking a close look at the Neverending Story book. He slowly placed a smooth, clean hand over its cover, feeling the texture.

"The hands of the Unknowns have no need for this to be in demon hands at this time," muttered the Terrible Trivium calmly as flames and smoke slowly filled the room, "the Paradox has other things to attend to, and this and a newly built fortress of Ignorance cannot be a factor for the infernal real. Perhaps another time, but all that matters now is the new plan. I do apologize for the inconvenience Daniel, your old teammates were not supposed to die then, but Xaphan was quite insistent. Well, at least everything is back on track now."

With that, the Terrible Trivium set down the book carefully. He then simply dissolved into nothing.

Daniel entered the hallway a moment later, white flames surrounding him in a wreath of light. He saw the book and quickly picked it up, surrounding the relic in a protective energy shield. He then strolled out of the fortress.

As he exited the building, a large group of demons tried to apprehend him. However, a third was taken out immediately by Franklin's sniper rifle. Another third was taken out by Night Shade, and the last third was taken out by Daniel. The other demons fled before the inferno of flames and heat. Daniel then opened up a telepathic intercom with the others.

"I have the book," he said, "it looks like the Terrible Trivium and Xaphan fled when they saw the fortress on fire."

"Cool," said Franklin, "but you have an army of demons bearing down on you. Brace for impact!"

Daniel whirled and saw at least a thousand demons rushing him from the valleys and crags of the mountains of Ignorance. Night Shade appeared next to Daniel, and they nodded to each other. They then rushed upon the sea of demons with a yell. Fire, kinetic energy, and bullets filled the air as the three assaulted the army. The battle was over in less than five minutes, with Daniel and his team clearly the victors.

"We are so totally boss right now," said Franklin over the link.

"That was awesome," added Night Shade breathlessly.

Daniel looked around at the mountains of Ignorance. The fortress of Ignorance was burning to the ground, and all demons in sight were dead.

"Let's go now and rescue your sister," said Daniel. He nodded to Night Shade, who grabbed his arm again, and blasted off to the Castle in the Air. In a moment, the team was together again.

"Do you have any place you want to land specifically?" asked Daniel.

Franklin shrugged, "You can land anywhere you want. For me, I am going to go to the center chamber to free my sister. She is trapped in a stasis tube in a gallery."

"Your sister is what now?" asked Night Shade in surprise.

Franklin sighed, looking serious for the first time in a while. "She was in the form of a Bionicle, hunting down a demon that had infiltrated the dimension; however, she fell in love with one of the residence, and became caught up in side adventures. Eventually one of those side adventures led to her being captured by Bionicle bounty hunters. She wasn't killed, thank God, but she was placed in a stasis tube, where she remains, frozen in time, until somebody can rescue her. The time for that rescue is now, it was part of my deal with Daniel."

Daniel nodded. "And now we are going to rescue her," he said, "and we are going to do it quickly and efficiently. According to the traveler database, Bionicle creatures in general have powers akin to traveler powers, so we will have to be careful. Some of the creatures in this bounty hunter group are extremely powerful, so we need to act fast. You and I show up on the beach and assault the fortress from the front with as much firepower as we can muster. As that goes on, Franklin will go to the center and quickly steal back his sister. Easy come easy go. Good?"

Night Shade nodded, though he looked a little nervous.

"Let's go then!" exclaimed Franklin, and they opened a portal.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: LEGO Bionicle<em>

_Planet: Mata Nui Robot_

_Specific Location: Coastline of Odina_

_Time: A week after the Toa Mata awoke_

"We are sooooooo screwed," muttered Franklin from his perch on a craggy mountain on the bleak coastline of the island of Odina, homeland of the mercenary group, the Dark Hunters.

"Why are we sooooooo screwed?" whispered Night Shade.

"There are so many guards, so many guns, and so many traps," snarled Franklin as he continued to look at the base from his sniper rifle.

"Why would that be a problem?" asked Daniel.

"Well," said Franklin, "the mountain fortress of Ignorance was easy because we caught them off guard, but this place is totally ready for anything, even if dimensional travelers are strangers to this realm."

"Is there anything we can do?" asked Night Shade.

Franklin sighed. "We could continue on with the plan," said Franklin, "but that would mean putting you two at risk. I am not going to risk that… not my team."

"We need backup," said Night Shade.

"We don't have backup," replied Daniel.

"You totally have backup," came a voice from behind them.

The three whirled, and they saw possibly the most disappointing, yet elating, sight of the day: the firstborn.

"Greetings Daniel, Franklin, Night Shade," said the firstborn.

Night Shade looked like he was in a dream come true. Daniel, however, just glared at the firstborn.

"What do you want James?" he asked.

"Easy now, Dragoon," said James, "I want to help."

"You mean you want to win something, no matter the cost, right?" said Franklin.

James winked, "You betcha! So, what was your plan before I so rudely interrupted?"

Daniel just blinked. "Why are you really here? I mean… really?"

James rolled his eyes. "I am here to help my fellow travelers retrieve a captured comrade for the good of all dimensional traveler-kind. Good enough?"

"Nope," said Franklin, "I could see irony and sarcasm literally leaking out of your ears."

James conjured up a mirror, and checked his hair and face. He then vaporized it and smiled. "Okay, whatever, fine," he said, "I am here because I want Franklin's sister. What was her name?"

"Miranda," snarled Franklin, "her name is Miranda."

"Ah yes, Miranda," said James, "Anyway, I want her to be on my team. Joseph Torrus left, so I need someone to replace him."

Daniel ground his teeth, and looked like he wanted to strangle James, but Franklin quietly pulled him to one side.

"Look, I don't care what happens, but I want my sister safe and sound," he said earnestly, "I don't like the firstborn, but he is powerful, and he will keep her safe."

Daniel sighed and then looked at James, "Okay, we will let you help. Franklin is going to simply teleport in, grab Miranda's stasis tube, and teleport out. No one will be able to catch him. As for us, we need to create a distraction for at least a minute. Unfortunately, with the firepower these bounty hunters have, that will be one long minute, and our lives will be in peril every other millisecond of it."

"Yeah, peril, gotcha, whatever. I'm going to be creating a good, large, distraction in ten seconds," said James, charging up his fists with pure power, "better get ready guys."

Ten seconds later, Daniel, Night Shade, and the firstborn attacked the front gate of the Dark Hunter's fortress. The fortress literally burst into chaos. Immediately bounty hunters off all kinds, armed with all kinds of powers and weapons poured down on James, Daniel, and Night Shade, but no matter their powers, the combined might of the three was too great. The minute of the distraction crawled by, but suddenly James snapped a finger. A massive blast of light and a rippling shockwave of electricity shocked and blinded all oncoming attackers for a moment. He then grabbed Daniel and Night Shade and teleported them out of there. The surroundings melted away as the teleportation took place, and next thing they knew, they were back on the one mountain, with Franklin waiting for them. He was grinning, and there was a large stasis tube with an unconscious Bionicle suspended in time within it.

"I have her," he said, "I have my sister. Let's get the hell out of here."

With that, the firstborn opened a portal to a safe house in the Twokinds dimension. Already, the mountain was under attack by more bounty hunters, but with James holding the high ground, he easily fended off attacks. As soon as Franklin had entered the portal, carrying the stasis tube, James released on massive blast of kinetic energy, bringing down the whole mountain. As the thing began to crumble, James hopped through the portal.

"That… was… awesome," said Night Shade.

Daniel just nodded his head.

Franklin slowly began to unlock the tube as James exited the portal.

"Careful, Franklin," said James, his voice genuinely filled with concern, "Stasis chambers are nasty business. You need to expose her to air slowly, otherwise you risk brain damage."

Franklin eased off the lid of the tube, and, with a hissing noise, air slowly flowed in. At first, the figure within it did not do anything, however, suddenly, it began to shimmer as it formed to take on the shape of a female figure; a human, about eighteen years of age. Slowly still, Franklin took off the lid and pulled the girl out. She sat, blinking in the sun.

"Norik?" she muttered, "Where are you? Where am I?"

Franklin slowly kneeled down and took her face between his hands. "Hey sis," he said, "It's me, Franklin."

"Franklin?" she said, "What… what is going on?"

"You're safe. You were captured by Bionicle bounty hunters, but we rescued you. Do you remember anything?"

Miranda nodded her head slowly. "I was helping Norik… then… then I was captured and brought to a fortress somewhere… I was forced into a stasis tube… and then you pulled me out."

Franklin smiled and gave her a hug, which she tentatively returned. James then strolled over and looked her in the eyes as he helped her up.

"I am Abimael 'James' Sethson, the firstborn," he said, "I have chosen you, due to your merits in battle, to become one of my team members."

Miranda, whose eyes had been clouded with confusion the second she had been pulled from stasis, smiled. "You're Abimael? My, it is a pleasure to meet you. Wait… you want ME to be on your team?"

The firstborn winked. "I sure do."

Miranda looked a little unsure. "What about Norik?"

James cocked his head onto one side. "They one who you loved is long gone, Miranda," he said quietly, "It is time to move onto other things."

He then turned to Daniel. "I'll take that," he said as he took the Neverending Story book from Daniel, "That belongs with Bastian Senior Bux. I assume you haven't told him of the death of his son yet?"

Daniel shook his head, sadness and anger bubbling inside of him. Finally he said, "I haven't. I would appreciate it if you would do that for me. Firstborn… thank you."

James winked at him. He then turned to Miranda, "Well, sweetheart," he said roguishly, "shall we be off?"

With that, he opened a portal and entered it with the Neverending Story book and Miranda. The portal closed and Franklin, Daniel, and Night Shade were all alone in a forest.

"He never asked me if I wanted to be on his team" said Night Shade, a little downcast.

Daniel smiled at him and turned to Franklin. "Well, all is well now. I suppose you are free to go on your way."

Franklin nodded, but he didn't move an inch. After a long pause, he said, "You know… I've been thinking… we could make a great team."

That was just what Daniel had been hoping he would say. He grinned, "I'll say we would."

He then turned to Night Shade. "Would you like to be part of it?"

Night Shade smiled. "You've been my team since the moment I saw you guys," he said.

"Well, it looks like we're brothers in arms then," chuckled Franklin.

Daniel's eyes lit up. "Brothers in Arms… I like that name."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Six days after the death of Regal Crescent_

Sunset trotted around Ponyville worriedly as he glanced at the sky. There were a large amount of clouds in the sky, something Rainbow Dash should have handled hours ago.

Soon he bumped into Rarity. "Oh," he said, "Rarity, it's nice to see you!"

"Same, darling," said Rarity, who most certainly looked flustered, "I really don't know what I am going to do though."

Sunset cocked his head to one side. "Do about what?"

"These clouds! They are blocking out the sunlight and messing up my color scheme setup. I don't understand, where is Rainbow Dash?"

Sunset nodded and said, "I was thinking the same thing. She should have fixed this problem quite a while ago."

Suddenly the two were joined with a very worried looking Applejack. "Hey y'all," she said, her faced furrowed with a frown. "Any of you a seen Rainbow recently?"

"No," said Rarity and Sunset in unison.

"Well that's just dandy. Where in tarnation is she? With these clouds, there ain't no sunlight! Without sunlight, there ain't no apples! Without apples there ain't no Sweet Apple acres!" Exclaimed Applejack.

"No Sweet Apple acres and no illustrious color designs," added Rarity, "this is absolutely catastrophic! Some pony be a dear and get me a feinting couch."

No one moved. Soon they were joined by Pinkie Pie.

"Hey everpony! How are you all doin' on the wooonndderrfulll day?!" She exclaimed with a bounce.

Sunset looked at Pinkie Pie with a forced grin. "Oh, we're just dandy. Thanks Pinkie Pie. I don't suppose you've seen Rainbow Dash anywhere recently?"

"Nope!" said Pinkie Pie, "I haven't seen her since last a few minutes ago! That doesn't count as 'recently' right?"

Sunset rolled his eyes. "Oh… So, humor me here, let's say that the word 'recently' somehow DID encompass a few minutes ago. Let's try this again now. I don't suppose you've seen Rainbow Dash anywhere recently?"

Pinkie Pie gave him a huge wink. "Rrriiiggghhhtttt… I sure have! Recently, as in a few minutes ago, I saw her sitting in that large raincloud over the new town gazebo staring at here hoofs! Nothing out of the ordinary! I've gotta go now! See you all later!"

Humming to herself, Pinkie Pie then bounced away. Sunset turned his head to look at Rarity and Applejack.

"I'm going to talk to Rainbow Dash," he said, "You two might want to carry out the rest of your business. If all goes well, the sky will be clear within the hour."

Rarity gave Sunset a hug. "Oh please be quick, Sunset Shadow," she said dramatically, "I don't know how much longer my color schemes can take this dull light!"

Applejack rolled her eyes at Rarity. "Your color schemes? What about my apples? Last time I did some checkin' it was them apples that were alive, not your color schemes!"

Rarity placed a defensive hoof on her chest. "Are you suggesting that my beautiful color schemes are inanimate? Heavens! They have souls and deserve to be treated with kindness!"

Sunset snorted. "You two can do that too, if you want. Anyway, I am going to see to Rainbow Dash."

With that, he spread his wings and flew off to the large raincloud in the center of Ponyville town square. Rainbow Dash ignored him as he settled down on the cloud next to her.

"Hey Rainbow," said Sunset calmly, "how are you?"

"Huh? Oh… hi Sunset. Didn't see you there," mumbled Rainbow, still looking at her hoofs.

Sunset threw a hoof around her shoulders. "Hey, what's the matter? I've never seen Rainbow Dash, champion of the skies, so down like this before!"

Rainbow Dash sighed. "Legion… Regal Crescent."

Immediately Sunset realized what she meant. "You mean their deaths."

Rainbow looked up at Sunset, and he could see her tears brimming in her eyes. "It was terrible… Blood everywhere. Regal Crescent gasping for air."

Suddenly Rainbow broke down crying like a foal. She buried her face in Sunset as she continued to sob.

"Blood… everywhere. So much. Legion cut in half, his organs spread across the ground. Regal Crescent spitting up blood as he struggled to stay alive. I… I can't take it…"

Her body began to shake even more as her sobs increased in intensity.

Sunset simply hugged her tightly as if she was a little foal who had twisted a hoof.

"I understand. Here in Equestria, I am sure there is never much seen violence. Sure, there have been a few broken bones and twisted hoofs here and there, but never something like a creature getting its body cut in half, or a pony getting impaled on a sword. It's all terrible."

Rainbow, who still had her muzzle pressed into Sunset shook her head. "Why? Why did things have to be this way?" she mumbled.

Sunset sighed as he stared off into space. He too began to think of all the whys and whats and how-comes that had plagued him since the first betrayal many years ago.

"Where there is evil," he said slowly, "there is violence. But that isn't it. Where there is evil, there is also good. We are that good. Sadly, being good is not as awesome as many make it to seem, like your Daring-Do books. Being a hero isn't glorious, or awesome, or even the tiniest bit heroic, it is simply standing up to the evil, no matter the cost, and doing it again and again and again and again. That is the cost for being a 'good guy.' However, as dark as it may seem, we must find strength within ourselves and our friends to keep us going. We cannot, I mean we CANNOT let evil become stronger than us no matter the situation. But that is what friends are for, to help us carry on when we ourselves cannot."

He held Rainbow Dash at limb's length and looked her in her tear-stained face. "We are that good," he said, "we are those heroes, and we will continue to shine a light to those weaker than us, no matter the cost. Evil will never triumph as long as we have ponies like you, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash took in a shaking breath and Sunset wiped the tears off her face. She gave him a little smile. Sunset nodded his head gravely. "You are a hero," he said to her solemnly, "perhaps greater than even Flaming Star or me. You truly understand the cost of lives, which will make you the most merciful, and thus the best, of us all."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I had quite a bit of fun writing these last two chapters, I should do it more often! Keep that feedback rolling in! By the way, is it just me, or are the Brothers in Arms corps the coolest team EVER?!<strong>


	34. Chapter 34 - Rarity Takes Bray

**Note: Okay, so I've spent quite a bit of time on the OC guys, so now it's time for the spotlight to fall on some other ponies: Rarity, Discord, and Pinkie Pie! I can feel the excitement radiating off you guys! Am I right? Eh, anyways, I had a question: do I really spell that bad? Last time I checked, things seemed fairly okay... Well, I suppose I will have to keep double-checking stuff!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Don Keyxote, the capitol of Bray_

_Time: A couple of days after the Summit meeting, 11 hours before after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Rarity was practically drooling as she stared out the window as the Ponyville train passed through the "historical" area of Bray's Capitol: Don Keyxote.

"Oh my, come and look at this, Discord! Isn't that classical era archway just DIVINE?" exclaimed Rarity as she continued to stare out the window.

Discord, who was filing his nails with Pinikie Pie's pet, Gummy, glanced up. "Oh, I'm sure it is simply amazing Rarity," he said sarcastically, "However, I am content where I am at the moment."

Pinkie Pie too looked out the window. "Wow!" she exclaimed, "Look at all those colors! Are they having a party?"

"No, Pinkie Pie," said Rarity, "this is their regular adornment! This place is fabulous!"

Soon, however, the train passed through the area and continued onto the center of the capitol, where it pulled up at a large, grand train station. Rarity, adorned in an elegant, large, flowing dress and stylish sunglasses (despite the fact that the day was rather overcast), stepped out of the passenger car and looked around with a wondering eye. "Look out, Bray, here comes Rarity," she exclaimed dramatically.

Discord flashed into existence next to her, dressed in a suit and tie, complete with a spotless bowler hat. "Oh yes, I am sure it will have all eyes on you, my dear," he said with a crooked smile.

Pinkie simply hopped out of the train and looked around, "Ooooohh… Big. Heya Rarity! Where's our rooms?"

Rarity waved a hoof in a randomly picked direction, "Oh, they're at the Grand Hotel de la Mule over there, adjacent to the station. Come dears! Let us go sightseeing."

For once, Discord spoke a little reason, "Should we not get settled in first, hmmm, Rarity? You will need to be properly dressed, and excellently manicured if you want to be, er, 'presentable' to the Bray capitol senate."

Rarity looked a little flustered as her thoughts were torn between sightseeing and getting ready. Finally she sighed, "You are right, Discord. Let us go to our rooms."

She called over a hotel attendant, and they loaded the luggage onto the trolley. They went over to the hotel as a group, where Rarity checked them in at the front desk.

"Here for a senate speaking, eh, young lady?" said the donkey at the front counter, looking over her monocle.

Rarity gave her a winning smile. "Oh, I most certainly am, thank you."

Rarity, Discord, Pinkie Pie, and the hotel attendant then went to the elevator, and rose to the top floor, where they quickly moved into their two rooms at the end of one of the halls. Rarity tipped the attendant generously, and they all settled in. Discord in one room, and Pinkie Pie and Rarity in the other.

Discord was quite pleased with the arrangements. "Oh my, Rarity," he said with a mischevious smile, "you have Pinkie Pie all to yourself. Won't that be fun?"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "I came prepared Discord. Ear mufflers and the like."

Discord continued to grin. "Since when did earplugs stop the Pinkie?"

Rarity turned around elegantly. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Discord. I am off to get ready. My first senate hearing is tomorrow! Ta-ta!

Discord conjured up a clock and checked it. "You need a whole twenty-four hours to get make-up on?" he said as he looked closely at the clock, despite the fact that all the numbers on its face had been replaced with letters, and the hands were running backwards.

"No, I am talking about getting ready for my beauty sleep! All illustrious mares need them!"

It was Discord's turn to roll his eyes. "Well, I must say you take excellent care of yourself, Rarity. Make sure you don't give yourself too much of a thorough scrubbing though, I hear overuse of soap cases organic molecules to drift apart. You would dissolve into nothing."

Rarity ignored the jab and went into her room and slammed it shut and locked it. Then Discord noticed that Pinkie Pie was standing next to him. "Woopsie-daisy!" said Pinkie, "I forgot to ask Rarity for a room key! This means I can't get in, aw, too bad. Hey Discordy! Could I borrow YOUR room to set up my welcome-to-Bray party for us?"

Discord's mouth dropped open. For the first time in a while, he was speechless.

The very next day, Rarity stepped out of her room to order breakfast. She took a deep breath of the air and sighed, feeling quite refreshed. She took a step forward and almost tripped over Discord. He was in a small tent set up outside of their adjacent hotel rooms.

"Discord!" she said indignantly, "Whatever are you doing here?"

Discord yawned, stretched, and snapped his fingers. The tent and sleeping bag he had flashed out of existence. He looked at Rarity as he said, "Well, after you so rudely closed the door in my face, I found Pinkie Pie had been locked out. She was quite insistent on having a room for a party, so I let her… um… borrow mine. Unfortunately, her party was a little too feministic for my taste, so I opted to sleep out here."

Rairty blushed. "Ooooh, sorry about that, I forgot about her key. Is she in there now?"

Discord nodded. "I do believe so. However, I would appreciate it if you would take your apology a step further by ordering us all breakfast… hmmmm?"

Rarity sighed. "Very well. I will be back in just a moment. Ta-ta!"

Discord had a fixed grin on his face as he waved to her. However, the moment she entered the elevator, he dropped the paw and really grinned.

"I wonder if there is any good shampoo in here," he muttered as he sidled into Rarity's room.

Several minutes later, Rarity had returned with the receipt to the order she had made. "They really just need to get direct telephones here," she muttered, "perhaps a little too 'classical era' this time."

She opened the door to her room and stopped in her tracks. Discord was admiring himself in a mirror.

"Discord!" she exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, "what are you doing with my things?"

"Oh, just seeing what all this jabber was about with these cosmetics," said Discord still staring at himself in the looking-glass, "I say, I do look dashing don't I? I wonder if this could woo Rainbow Dash…"

Rarity stomped a hoof. "Out of my room, Discord, NOW."

Discord winked at her. "In a moment. I need to finish my nails! Where is Gummy?"

Rarity trotted over, picked up Gummy where he sat in a corner, and tossed him to Discord.

"You have Gummy, now please vacate the premises! Breakfast is coming and I don't want to look shabby for it!"

"Shabby? Whatever do you mean, dear Rarity? Hotel-room breakfasts are for those who are shabby-looking! For those who don't want to get out of bed!"

"Stop looking for excuses Discord! I need my curling iron, WHICH YOU ARE USING AS A FOOT WARMER."

"Oh, this thing? My, my, I was wondering what it did. Quite cozy if you ask me. Tell you what, I'll leave if you give me the key to your room so that I can give it to Pinkie Pie. Then I can have my own, spacious room again, and you can go back to getting all cozy with that wonderful pink party pony."

Rarity bit her lip as she thought over the decision. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she didn't want Pinkie in her room. Finally she sighed, "Very well, Discord. Here is what I am willing to do: if Pinkie gets your room, I will let you share my room and my cosmetics. But if you break or dishevel anything…"

Discord winked at her. "Perish the very thought my dear! So, when in this breakfast coming? You have a speech for the whole of Equestria coming up in less than five hours!"

The moment the statement left Discord's mouth, a rap sounded at the door, and a breakfast trolley came in.

"Breakfast for three," said the attendant. Once again Rarity tipped the mule generously, and he left them without a word. Discord floated lazily to his former room and rapped on the door.

"Who's there?" said Pinkie Pie.

"It's Discord, our breakfast is here. You might want to halt your momentary attempts to inadvertently burn this place to the ground and join us."

"Okie Dokie Lokie!"

With that, the three gathered together and ate breakfast.

"Well, I have to say, this is excellent food," said Discord as he popped a strawberry tart into his mouth. "Quite exquisite, the taste… is divine."

Rarity nodded. "Oh yes," she said, "they certainly know their culinary arts."

"No cupcakes though," said Pinkie, though she didn't sound bothered in the least as she ate a biscuit.

Pinkie eventually went to get ready in her room, and Discord threw himself upon on of the two beds in Rarity's room. He conjured up a television, and began to watch a show called "The Daily Chaos Watch" as Rarity took to the bathroom to prepare herself. That process took literally three hours… literally.

Pinkie Pie and Discord were sitting together on the bed eating popcorn watching a ponyfied version of "The Emperor's New Groove " when Rarity stepped into the room.

"Gaze upon me!" she said dramatically, "am I not a sight?"

Discord glanced up. "I could have done that in three minutes," he said casually as he went back to watching the movie.

Rarity rolled her eyes. "Well, luckily you're not the target market," she muttered. "I'm am going now to the front hotel room. A convoy should be coming shortly to pick me up to take me to the senate chamber, if my itinerary is not mistaken. Discord, I understand that you are absolutely 'wowed' for some remote reason by this movie, but I would appreciate it if you took a little time out of your day to watch my back. You're here for a reason… REMEMBER?"

Discord, with his eyes glued to the screen nodded his head, "Oh yes, I most certainly remember. Fret not, Rarity."

Rarity sighed and trotted out of the room. As she left, she said, "Oh, and Pinkie Pie? Be a dear and not destroy anything by accident."

With that, she left the room, took to the elevator, and entered the grand front hall of the Grand Hotel de la Mule. She was met by a donkey that was dressed in black, and had sunglasses on.

"ID," he said. Rarity flourished her Sun and Moon Sister approved VIP badge. The mule looked it over and nodded to his companion.

"This is the VIP, take her to the senate."

The two led her to an elegant limousine, and Rarity was off to the grand building of the capitol in no time. The procession was huge, and Rarity stepped out of the vehicle with a flourish. Elegantly she trotted up the steps to meet prime senator Pontius Donkius. She smiled winningly at him, and he bowed. "Miss Rarity," he said, "you grace us with your presence. The senate is waiting for you."

The two then, accompanied by a troop of special security guards, trotted into the grand senate chamber. In a few minutes the discussions of war began.

"I do hope you are all aware of what is going on outside your borders, correct?" started Rarity immediately.

Pontius cocked his head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"I mean our relations with the Equus-Irrum alliance," explained Rarity.

Pontius nodded. "Oh, we are aware of your situation somewhat. News has come in and out of our land."

"Wonderful. I hope I am not too bold in asking what your stance is on this situation?" said Rarity.

Another donkey, the secondary prime senator, Martique Muleen, then said, "We are somewhat objective as a collective as of now, Miss Rarity."

Pontius nodded, "We are somewhat objective about this whole thing."

Rarity nodded. "I understand that. However, what Princess Celestia is most worried about right now is your reaction if the alliance was to ask you to allow them to send military hardware and soldier through your borders to assault Equestria's northern mountains."

Pontius stroked his chin with a hoof. "That is an intriguing question, Miss Rarity," he said calmly, "the alliance has in no way presented hostilities to ourselves directly."

Rarity's mind sped up a couple of revolutions as she realized what they were saying. She sighed and said, "But do you now realize that you would be extremely vulnerable to attack if you let weapons pass through your realm?"

"I agree," said Martique, "we would be open to attack. And they would already have troops well within our borders."

Pontius shook his head. "Nevertheless, the alliance does not seem interested in Bray. Equestria is their prize, and I fear that any creature opposing them will simply be stepped on."

Martique snorted. "Forgive me, prime senator, but you make our illustrious nation sound like it is something to trifle over. That is not the case."

Pontius blinked. "Perhaps not, but what do you suggest we do?"

Martique looked at his front hoofs for a long moment. After a while, he looked up at the quietly awaiting senate. "We will do nothing, as of yet, I suggest. We should simply wait until the alliance themselves confront us with a question."

Pontius rapped his high desk with a hoof. "I agree. Senate dismissed. Martique, I wish to see you in my office now. Miss Rarity, I appreciate your time."

The senate began to file out. Rarity was completely at a loss for words. Had she really failed so miserably to sway the Bray senate? Eyes downcast, she began to slowly leave the room. She then took a quick detour to make a trip to the ladies' lavatory. However, as she was moving down one of the silent, grand hallways, a hoof grabbed her roughly. She tried to scream, but another hoof clamped over her mouth. Her unseen attacker dragged her away to a small room and threw her in. A little dazed, Rarity got up and wobbled. Before her were Pontius and Martique.

"What is the meaning of this?!" she exclaimed.

"I deeply apologize for the way we got you here," said Pontius, "but we needed to discuss something with you in total privacy."

"That is still no excuse for handling a lady like this," retorted Rarity, "I am from Equestria! Why I'll-"

"We want to help you against the alliance," interrupted Martique. Immediately Rarity stopped ranting and looked at him curiously.

"Eh?" she said, a little unlady-like.

"We knew we needed to act fast against the alliance," said Pontius, "but Bray is mired in its own bureaucratic mud. We knew we couldn't get an immediate, and total, government approval for what we were planning, so we decided the operation would be only known by me, Martique, and you."

Rarity blinked, still a little at a loss. "Oh… okay… Well… What now?"

"This is the plan," explained Martique, "we will allow the alliance to send trains of weapons across our border via our train tracks, and make it seem like we are on their side. However, what they don't know is that we will have mined our own tracks with high-yield explosives. When they are well within our territory, we will destroy the tracks and derail their equipment. They will lose billions of bits worth of equipment, and they will be unable to continue across our territory."

Rarity worked to force her excitement down. "That is an excellent plan, senators. A wonderful plan."

Pontius nodded his head. "I thank you, Miss Rarity. However, there is one thing we ask of you."

Rarity cocked her head to one side. "What is it?"

"Well," said Martique, "we will need you to send a pony from Equestria to set off the device. We will get photo evidence of it, to prove that you had sent a strike team into our land without our detection. We will also claim that we were in a non-agression pact with you, and are in no way offended by your attack. This way we will both have stopped any further attacks from the alliance, and Bray will continue to stay neutral."

Rarity gave them a dazzling smile. "It is wonderful. So, when will this take place?"

Martique smiled back. "As soon as we get word military hardware is being sent across our borders via a train."

Rarity nodded. "I will get word to Princess Celestia via a private courier of the plan, it will work flawlessly. We should have the message to Canterlot within the hour."

Pontius returned the nod. "Let us hope so."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Two days after the Summit meeting_

Princess Celestia turned away from watching her personal courier disappear over the horizon. She then looked at her sister Luna. "Our rejection letter has been sent," she said, "we are now at war."

Luna sighed. "This situation is grievous indeed," she replied, "how are our preparations faring?"

Celestia looked off towards the Freezelock pass in the Frozen north as she said, "Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle are soon to be at the Freezelock pass, setting up tack emplacements. Soon that place will be secure. We've began to also mobilize our foreign-placed troops to congregate on our border of Bray."

Luna nodded. "Very well. When will we hear from Twilight Sparkle's friend, Rarity?"

Celestia turned back to look at her sister as she said, "I do not know. Hopefully soon though, we do not have much time."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: So, recently an awesome reader of mine hit me with a hailstorm of delightful little things I like to call reviews. His feedback was very thoughtful, and they gave me insight into a couple choice chapters. Thanks to that, I will be rewriting a few of my older chapters so they are more intriguing and better structured. I will give you guys more info as I finish my work on them. Thanks!<strong>


	35. Chapter 35 - Occurrences

**Note: Just a quick warning, this chapter is a bit cluttered. I am using this time to catch you guys on every character. After this chapter is finished, I will begin devoting specific chapters to specific groups characters. For example, one will be about Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord; another will be about Rainbow Dash; and another will be about Daniel, Night Shade, and Franklin... and so on and so forth. Have fun! And don't forget that R&R stuff!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: 2 hours after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Flaming Star looked at Franklin. "She's your sister… I forgot about that…"

Franklin glared at Flaming Star, "Why am I not surprised? I thought she was dead!"

Sunset snorted as he and Fluttershy tried to calm Miranda down. "Oh yeah, I think everyone else thought that everyone else was dead. Now that we got that sorted out, we have a badly hurt pony that we're trying to rehabilitate here, so if you all could shut up and go away, that would be awesome."

Franklin slowly kneeled down by Miranda's bed and grasped one of her flailing hoofs. He then began to whisper something in her ear. Immediately Miranda calmed down and went back to sleeping soundly.

Sunset looked at Franklin. "You know," he said, "for a goofball and a deadshot sniper… that was pretty awesome."

Franklin smiled. "Yeah, I was always good at comforting her. Use to do it all the time during thunderstorms."

Flaming Star's eyes softened. "You two were close, huh?"

Franklin nodded. For the first time in a while, he didn't have a funny comeback, or a flamboyant remarks to make. He clasped his sister's hoof in his human hands. "We were the best of friends. We did everything together. Then the Vietnam War started in my dimension. I was spirited off thanks to the selective service, and I fought for two years until I was wounded and my legs were amputated. Even after I came back, disfigured, Miranda stayed close to me and took care of me. A few months later, the Paradox showed up and took me away. He gave me my legs back, and gave me incredible powers. I served with him for two years, then Miranda joined our ranks… then she sort of drifted away and I lost contact…"

Franklin's eyes were full of sadness as he looked over his sister. During her frenzy, Miranda had rolled onto her back, exposing the scar where the demons had cut her open like an animal for dissection. He sighed. "How is her mind?"

"Not well, I'm afraid," said Twilight sadly, "the torture she has undergone was too great. I'm afraid that…"

Franklin ignored her. He leaned in close and began to whisper things into his sister's ear. From what he could pick up, Flaming Star realized that he was whispering their adventures and shenanigans together from years gone by. Suddenly, Miranda smiled calmly and settled down into a peaceful sleep. Franklin then stood up and looked down at her. "She'll be fine," he said, "she just needs me."

Suddenly Spike, who had convinced Daniel to let him sit on his head as a perch to watch from the window, belched out a blast of green flames, revealing a letter from Princess Celestia addressed to Flaming Star.

Twilight levitated it to him, who opened it up using magic and scanned it quickly. His eyes hardened. "The alliance has formally declared war on us," he said, "Also, our tank carriers have reached the Freezelock, and they need us there immediately."

He turned to Twilight, "are you ready to go?"

Twilight nodded and Spike hopped down from Daniel's head onto Twilight's back. Flaming Star took her hoof in his, and they shimmered away as they teleported to the tank battalions in the north.

Franklin looked at Sunset in confusion. "War? What?"

Sunset sighed, and he sat down next to Miranda's bed. Fluttershy then settled down next to him.

"Well," he said, "there was an assassination attempt on this country's royalty. We caught one of the perpetrators, and he identified two other countries as the ones who had paid them to attack us. Those two nations called themselves the alliance. We tried to talk peace with them, but they simply sent us a ridiculous ultimatum that we could never fufill. Just recently we sent back our refusal to their ultimatum… and now they've declared war."

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire," muttered Franklin.

Daniel's eyes light up with fire the moment the word "war" had dissolved into the air. He looked at Sunset with interest. "Is there anything we could do?" he asked.

Sunset shook his head, "as of yet… no. We should be fine. One of Fluttershy and Twilight's friends, Rarity, is talking to one of our adjacent nations about peace. If all goes well, things should turn out fine, with no need for further bloodshed."

"If all goes well… I hate those 'if' statements," said Franklin.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Freezelock Pass in the Frozen north_

_Time: 5 hours after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Deep within the Frozen north, Flaming Star trotted out of his magically-enhanced tent to oversee the scene below: large groups of tanks, akin to M4 Shermans and T54E1s, rolled around to set up at specific positions. He picked up a radio device and spoke into it.

"Group 28," he said, "move half a klik to the west, firing elevation is not nearly sharp enough yet."

Flaming Star was then joined by Twilight Sparkle and Spike. Twilight was levitating a letter in front of her. "The alliance received the refusal," said Twilight sadly, "and they have declared war. Already there are talks going on between Bray and them."

Flaming Star lifted her chin and smiled at her. "We have Rarity there though," he said, "and we got there first. No doubt we are in the favorable position as of yet, and that gives us reason for hope."

Twilight smiled and nodded. Flaming Star turned back to look at the tank positions. As he did this, he said, "The tanks are all almost in formation. When they are, we will be in an excellent position to retaliate against the alliance. The alliance knows that we cannot blow our tracks, for fear of cutting our ally supplies, so they will be sending battle trains and armored vehicles to clear the pass. However, they don't know that the pass has a high elevation grade in the pass in our favor. As they climb it, our tanks and Self-Propelled guns will be able to fire down on them. They will either have to retreat and retaliate, or simply take it and try not to explode."

Twilight smiled. "It sounds complicated."

Flaming Star grinned, "Says the one who reads all the books. Ironically enough, you see group 5? I got their formation from one of your books of ancient warfare."

Twilight gave Flaming Star a wink and looked at the scene unfolding below them. A few minutes later, all motion ceased, and a voice crackled from Flaming Star's radio.

"Commander Flaming Star? We are all in position. Over and out."

Flaming Star nodded quickly as he surveyed the icy blue skies. "Well, we're good, and there has been no notice of the alliances movements. All is good."

Suddenly Spike doubled over, and then belched out a parchment from Princess Celestia in a plume of brilliant green fire.

Twilight levitated it in front of them and opened it up. Flaming Star quickly read it. It contained all the details from the train derailing plan Rarity had discussed with Pontius and Martique.

"Well, this is good news," said Flaming Star, "I suppose these tanks won't even need to see combat, a joyful surprise for most I'm sure."

Twilight read over the letter again. As she did so, she said, "Yes… Princess Celestia wants you to oversee the demolition plan though…"

Flaming Star looked at her. "Is that a problem?" he asked.

Twilight blushed as she said, "Well… I was hoping you would let me oversee that operation."

Flaming Star raised an eyebrow. "Why would you want to do that?"

Twilight's blushing increased as she said, "You've had this operation, so I was hoping that I could do something useful too. I mean, I haven't done a single useful thing since this whole issue started!"

Flaming Star wrapped a hoof over her back and gave her a squeeze. "Sure you've been helpful!" he exclaimed, "You patched me up when I took shrapnel in the side, and you've been helping me plan out all the positions over the last couple of days."

Twilight sighed, "But I haven't done anything really amazing yet! You, Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna have been the ones who have been doing all the important work. I've… I've just been your assistant."

"And what is wrong with being an assistant?!" exclaimed Spike indignantly.

"Nothing," said Flaming Star decisively. He sighed and looked Twilight in the eyes. "Are you sure you want to lead this operation?" he said slowly.

She nodded her head vigorously. "I do," she said, "I most certainly do."

Flaming Star sighed again. "Very well. I will let Princess Celestia know that you were insistent that you lead this operation. You will accompanied, however, by the best guards that Equestria has to offer."

Flaming Star paused as he read the details of the plan again. He looked up and then continued. "This is what is going to happen," he said, "You will meet on top of the Yolk pass, which is in the center of Bray territory. There is a train track that runs through the gorge that you will be overlooking. As the military trains run through, you will set off the explosives as the prime senator Pontius and senator Martique photograph you in the act. You will then return to use posthaste… no stopping, no nothing. You fly straight back here to the Freezelock camp. Spike and I will be awaiting you here."

Twilight, who had been listening with bright eyes nodded. "I got it," she said, "when do I start?"

Flaming Star quickly glanced at the paper once more as he said, "Right now. You will simply camp near the Yolk pass and await further instructions from prime senator Pontius, who will be monitoring the movements of the alliance's supply trains. They are, in fact, awaiting you even as we speak."

Twilight smiled and nodded. She then gave Spike a hug and Flaming Star a kiss. She then spread her wings and flapped off in the direction of Bray. Spike looked up in worry as Twilight became naught but a tiny spot in the horizon. He then said, "I really hope she'll be okay."

Flaming Star nodded to a group of three Pegasus guards clad in golden armor. They then took off after the Princess. "With those guards, she should be fine. If the war trains of the alliance are running according to Pontius's calculations, Twilight will be back in a little less then forty-two hours."

"But that is, like, forrreeevvveerrr," sighed Spike, flopping onto his back. Flaming Star levitated the baby dragon into the air and deposited him onto his back.

"No kiddo," he said, "eight thousand years is forrreeevvveeerrr. This is no time at all… I hope."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Yolk pass in Bray_

_Time: 8 hours after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Martique greeted Twilight warmly as she alighted next to him.

"Welcome to Bray, your majesty," he said, "I apologize that there is no procession to greet you, but this plan has been held in the utmost secrecy. In fact, if no information was leaked out, you, the Princesses of Eqeustria, Pontius, Rarity, Flaming Star, and myself should be the only beings in this world to know of this plan. I have two tents set up over there. We will simply camp here until… what is that?!"

Suddenly, Twilight was surrounded by three golden clad Pegasus guards. They looked at Martique suscipiously.

"Don't worry about them," said Twilight, "they are my guards. Flaming Star insisted that they accompany me. Stand down, soldiers."

The Pegasus guards stepped aside. Martique composed himself once more and he nodded curtly. "Well," he said after clearing his throat, "I suppose all we can do now is wait."

And wait they did… for two hours. Twilight was watching the sun slowly set in west when, abruptly, a voice crackled from Martique's radio. "The trains are being sent through," the voice said, "they will be within the Yolk pass in thirty minutes. We will give you a five minute warning, they you're on your own."

Martique leapt up from where he sat, reading a book, and looked at Twilight. "It is almost time," he said.

Twilight blinked in acknowledgment. She was nervous, but a little excited at the same time. It seemed like forever, but the thirty minutes ticked by. Suddenly the radio jumped to life again as the same voice said, "They're entering the pass, five minutes until it passes your location. Good luck."

Twilight looked over the edge of the Yolk pass into the gorge that held the train tracks. She quickly scribbled a note that said "The train about to enter pass. I am going to disable it. All is well." She used magic to teleport it off to Princess Celestia and she resumed her lookout over the gorge. Soon she could see a plume of smoke from a massive armored train in the distance. She turned around to say something to Martique, but stopped when she noticed that he was staring at something. She turned to see what it was, it was Corona Oscura, the leader of Irrum. He grinned at them. "Why, hello there," he said. Immediately the Pegasus guards drew out pistols and swords, but the pony simply waved them down. Gurgling, the guards dropped dead. Corona Oscura winked at Martique and Twilight. "Oh dear, you ponies are rather fragile, aren't you?"

Twilight released a massive bolt of magic at him, but this too he waved down effortlessly. Twilight blinked in surprise. "You're not actually Corona Oscura, are you?"

The pony smiled. "Observant little pony, aren't you? No, I'm not a pony. I am something entirely different. In fact, I'm from another multiverse entirely. But don't try to wrap your little head around it, all you need to understand is that my leader wants to meet you, and you are going to come without resistance."

Twilight released a flash of blinding magic. She then leapt towards the button that triggered the explosives and hit it. Nothing happened.

"You really think we would ever let you risk our plans? The derailment of that supply train is not part of the course we have set out. You can thank your Bray friends for that deception."

Twilight attempted to rush Corona Oscura, but he simply blinked at her. Suddenly she felt very tired. She then teetered over and her mind spiraled into darkness.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: 8 hours after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Rainbow Dash arrived at Twilight's Library, where the Brothers in Arms corps, Sunset, Fluttershy, and CMC were.

"Hey guys!" she said, "where is every pony? Um… what's with the dragon. And what is that?"

Franklin, who Rainbow was pointing to, said, "Oh, I'm a human and a dimensional traveler. I refuse to shape shift into the form of a pony. As for the dragon, he's another dimensional traveler who got it good and was made to look like a dragon. Unfair right?"

Rainbow blinked. "Rrriiiggghhhttt… Anyway, I heard Flaming Star was looking for me, is that true? Where is he?"

"That's right," said Sunset. He pulled out a scroll and levitated it to Rainbow Dash, "he handed this to me earlier today."

Rainbow opened it up and read it. Her eyes widened. "Both he and Princess Celestia agreed that I become commander of the Cloudsdale airforce! I am to report to Canterlot as soon as possible! Wow!"

Sunset smiled. "A dream for you I'm sure. You better go off now, the sun is setting."

Franklin looked at Sunset, "are you sure there isn't anything I can do yet?"

Sunset shook his head. "Not yet," he said, "we have to wait until we hear back from Twilight and Flaming Star about our situation in the north."

Franklin sighed as he sat down to the bed of his sister, still clasping her hoof. "Well," he said, "I suppose we just wait then. You don't mind if I stay here tonight, do you?"

Fluttershy smiled, "I'm sure Twilight wouldn't mind."

Franklin grinned. "Sweet, I will chill out here then. It's almost dark now; I suggest everyone goes home."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Not me," she said, "I'm going straight off to the Freezelock pass so I can talk to Flaming Star about this letter. This is so awesome!"

Rainbow spread her wings and took off into the darkness.

With that, the CMC went to their homes, Sunset and Fluttershy went to their home, and Daniel settled down outside. Night Shade then hopped onto Twilight's bed and went to sleep. Franklin, however, just sat next to the bed of his sister, waiting for the sun to rise once more.


	36. Chapter 36 - Disaster

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Freezelock pass in the Frozen north_

_Time: 32 hours after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Flaming Star with Spike near his tent, overlooking the Freezelock pass. They had been standing there for twenty-four hours. Spike had fallen asleep on Flaming Star's back as they waited for Twilight to return. Flaming Star sighed. He understood that they were working off of the alliance's train schedule, but he really had expected them to be more prompt in sending military hardware against them. He couldn't understand why they were being so slow. But perhaps he was being impatient; in truth, it pained him to be away from Twilight for so long.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash rocketed out of the sky and landed next to Flaming Star, startling Spike into wakefulness.

"Wha? Who? Where?" he yelled as he woke up, teetered on Flaming Star's back, and fell off.

"Hey Flaming Star!" said Rainbow Dash, "how are you?"

"Not good I'm afraid," sighed Flaming Star as he continued to glance at the sky, "I am worried about Twilight. She insisted that she go off to oversee a very important operation… she has yet to return."

Rainbow winked at him as she patted his shoulder with a hoof. "She'll be fine, you'll see," she said, "I've known Twilight for a good, long time, and she never leaves her pals hangin'."

Flaming Star grimaced, "I certainly hope that is the case. So, what brings you here?"

"Oh yeah," said Rainbow as she pulled out her letter from him, "Do you REALLY think I'm a worthy candidate to be commander of the Cloudsdale army?"

Flaming Star smiled and nodded, "Of course I do! In fact, Sunset was the one who personally recommended you. Why, do you think you're not up to it?"

"Oh, I know I'm up to it, I'm just unsure I SHOULD do it though."

"Why?"

"Well… From what I know now… I don't take losses very well. I know it's embarrassing, but I really can't take the sight of blood."

Flaming Star's eyes gentled. "I understand," he said, "war and violence are not pretty things. This isn't a game. However, Sunset has placed his trust in you, and I think it was well placed. You are really the pony for the job."

"But I don't know anything about commanding!" exclaimed Rainbow.

"Perhaps you do, perhaps you don't, but that doesn't matter. You're not going to do it alone: Commander Hurricane XII, descendant of the Commander Hurricane who helped found Equestria, will be co-commanding with you, and mentoring you every step of the way."

"What? Wow! I get to work with Commander Hurricane?! THE Commander Hurricane?!

"You certainly do. I've struck a deal, and she has agreed to help teach you about what it means to be a leader as you two control the Cloudsdale airforce."

Rainbow Dash smiled, almost dreamily. "This is awesome…"

Flaming Star winked, and was about to reply to that when his eye caught smoke on the horizon. His heart froze. The war train from the alliance was coming… Twilight had failed.

He turned to look at it as it came barreling along the Freezelock pass towards the tank emplacements. It wasn't the sight of the massive armored vehicle streaking across the train tracks that truly worried him, it was the implication that Twilight had somehow failed in her task that the train represented.

"Twilight… failed… How is this possible?" he said, his minding quadrupling in its revolutions as he desperately tried to comprehend a legitimate excuse for why his fillyfriend failed her task.

"Failed? What? Twilight?" said Rainbow, completely at a loss.

Flaming Star pulled himself back into the present. "It doesn't matter now," he said, "we will have to worry about Twilight in a moment. What we need to do at this very moment is prepare to repel this train. It cannot get into Equestria!"

Flaming Star snatched up a radio and spoke into it. "Prepare to repel the train! Fire at will in thirty-four seconds!"

Rainbow spread her wings so that she could fly in closer, but Flaming Star grabbed one of her hoofs. "Stay with me, Rainbow," he said, not taking his eyes off the oncoming train, "this could get ugly."

"Do we have anything to worry about?" asked Rainbow Dash as she landed on the ground again and folded up her wings.

"No… I don't think so…" muttered Flaming Star, almost inaudibly as he squinted at the train.

The train slowed a tad as tanks fired at it. Most of the shots missed or hit the armored sides at an oblique angle, causing a bounce. The train then rotated massive turrets towards the tanks and took aim. At first, Flaming Star wasn't in the bit least worried. The tanks were safe within the nooks and crannies of the pass, keeping them safe from any form or Armor Piercing Composite Rigid shells, or even High Explosive shells. Then he noticed something usual… They weren't regular cannon turrets. They were Heavy Turbo Laser cannons regularly seen on Galactic Empire Star Destroyers in the Star Wars dimension.

"My… God…" whispered Flaming Star, his heart turning to ice. The cannons fired, and all hell broke loose. The alcoves that the tanks had used for cover simply exploded, annihilating the said cover and the tanks using it. In literally seconds, the cannons had decimated one… then two… then three tank emplacements. Hoofs shaking, Flaming Star seized a radio and yelled into it.

"Every tank retreat! I repeat… EVERY TANK RETREAT! GET OUT OF THE PASS!"

"Um… Flaming Star?" said Rainbow Dash, almost in a whimper.

Flaming Star looked at Rainbow, she was pointing at the train. He followed the direction of her pointing hoof and saw that one of the cannons was pointing straight at them.

"Well…" was all he managed to say before the thing shot them and blew up the entire perch.

The ledge crumbled and collapsed, barreling down the side of the hill in a massive landslide of rock and rubble. It crashed to the ground kicking up colossal clouds of smoke. Buried beneath this labyrinthian pile of massive stones were Rainbow Dash, Flaming Star, and Spike. The train rolled away in the wake of the retreating tank emplacements as it carried on towards Ponyville.

The pile of stones from the destroyed ledge suddenly shifted, and Flaming Star crawled out. He was relatively unhurt, thanks to his immense strength. Gritting his teeth, he managed to drag out a bloodied front hoof. He pointed it at the tracks a kilometer ahead of the train.

"I'm sorry Equestria," he whispered, "They will be no supplies coming this way again… but I have no choice."

With that, he unleashed a massive blast of explosive energy. The bolt sizzled through the air and hit the tracks just as the train was passing over it. The explosive blast derailed the train, causing it to tumble over, and the tracks themselves flew high in the air like a ballet of twisted metal and railroad ties. The explosion then caused the Freezelock pass to tremble… then collapse. A massive hail of stones and rocks roared down to block the passageway entirely in an explosion of stones that most certainly triggered tremors throughout the land. The train, that had been derailed, slowly skidded to a stop. Suddenly the doors to several of the train cars opened and alliance troopers and light tank vehicles akin to M2 Bradleys rolled out into the land of Equestria.

Darkness began to slowly eat away at Flaming Star's vision as he began to pass out. Grinding his teeth, he dragged himself from the pile of rubble. He rolled limply down the stack of stones and came to a rest at the bottom.

"Rainbow Dash?" he yelled, gasping for breath in the dust-choked air, "Spike?"

He tried to get up, but simply collapsed to the ground and passed out.

It was the sunlight from a rising sun playing across his face that awoke him. His eyes snapped open and he slowly got to all fours. His body was one throbbing mass of pain, but he quickly collected his faculties as he glanced around. In the distance, the massive armies that had been stored in the war train from the alliance gathered in large groups, all preparing for word from the alliance. Flaming Star swore as he turned to look at the pile. Somewhere underneath that pile was Rainbow Dash and Spike, dead or alive he did not know.

Raising a trembling hoof, Flaming Star called upon his vast reserves of power to reduce the gravity around the stones. Slowly, one-by-one, the slabs of rocks lifted into the air. In a couple of minutes, he had cleared the area to reveal two small, disheveled forms at the bottom of the pile: Rainbow Dash and Spike.

Eyes wide with fear, Flaming Star limped as fast as he could towards the two. Stumbling, he reached them in a cloud of dust. Quickly he kneeled down and rolled first Rainbow Dash and then Spike over. He placed a hoof over Rainbow Dash's neck as he felt for a pulse.

He sighed with relief as he felt it, ever so faintly. He then turned to Spike and searched for a pulse as well. It too was present.

"You two are one of the toughest groups I have even worked with," he muttered to himself. He was personally surprised that any pony had survived that rockslide. With his conscience at rest with respects to the welfare of his two friends, Flaming Star's mind turned to Twilight. What had happened?

He gave a shuddering sigh. There were so many possibilities, so many things that could have gone wrong. Had she been captured? Had she simply not managed to detonate the Yolk pass in time? Had her plan simply been sabotaged? He couldn't comprehend all the ways. However, he was then pulled back into the present as Rainbow Dash groaned and shifted in the dust.

Eyes brightening, Flaming Star quickly limped over.

"Hey, Rainbow, are you okay?" he said into her ear.

"Just five more minutes…" she muttered.

Flaming Star lifted her head with a hoof and said, a little louder, "I need you to wake up."

"Go away…" mumbled Rainbow.

Flaming Star blinked. After a pause, he took a deep breath and shouted, "RAINBOW DASH! THE WONDERBOLTS ARE OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR! THEY WANT TO TALK WITH YOU!"

Rainbow Dash's eyes shot open and she looked around in a frenzy. "Wonderbolts?! Where?!"

Then she saw her surroundings and remember what had happened. She slowly shut her eyes again and forced out a single word. "Ow."

Flaming Star helped her sit up. "Yes, I know. Ow. We need to get Spike up, we can't dawdle here any longer, we need to take action."

Rainbow Dash groaned again. "Action? I feel like I was run over by a stampede."

"Well, you aren't exactly wrong. It really just depends on whether you were thinking about a buffalo stampede, a cow stampede, or a rock stampede."

Rainbow blinked. "This isn't funny, Flaming Star," she said, "What are we going to do?"

Flaming Star's eyes hardened. "We need to fight back. Obviously some creature foreign to this dimension is supplying the alliance with weapons. Knowing Sunset, I don't think he ever gave out plans or innovations pertaining to Heavy Turbo Laser cannons. Someone supplied the alliance, and they did it without anypony ever knowing."

"Demons?" asked Rainbow Dash as she wiped dust off her face.

Flaming Star bit his lip. "I don't know. Maybe."

As Rainbow Dash continued to wipe the dust off her body, Flaming Star went off to Spike and shook him.

"Eh? What?" mumbled Spike as his eyes opened a little, "Twilight?"

"No, sorry, it's Flaming Star," replied Flaming Star as he helped Spike to his feet. Spike shook his head and said, "What's going on?"

"Well, where should I start?" said Flaming Sat with a sigh, "Twilight somehow failed her task in blowing up the Yolk pass in Bray, the train barrled to the Freezelock pass where it met our tanks. Somehow the train was armed with advanced technology from another dimension and blasted our troops into oblivion. It then proceeded to blow our overseeing ledge into dust as well. I managed to destroy the tracks and Freezelock pass then, but they managed to get part way through and successfully unload all their hardware and troops."

Spike rubbed his head. "Wait," he said, "could you go back to the part about you wondering where you should start? I blacked out for a moment."

"Twilight… failed something?" asked Rainbow Dash incredulously. In most situations, she would have thought something like this funny, but not this time.

"She was supposed to stop that war train before it even reached the Freezelock pass," replied Flaming Star, "she didn't do so."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" exclaimed Rainbow, "Twilight never fails anything! What happened to her?"

Flaming Star sighed. "I have no idea."

All of a sudden, Spike, who had been looking at the sky, pointed up and said, "Look!"

Rainbow and Flaming Star looked at where Spike was pointing and saw a hot air balloon slowly descending on their position. The group stepped back as it slowly came to a landing. Charging up his hoofs with lacerating plasma, Flaming Star slowly moved up to it.

"Who is in there?" he said sharply, "get out and show your hoofs!"

A mule climbed out and sat down. He raised his front hoofs high as he said, "Don't fear, I am a friend."

Flaming Star pulled the energy back into his body and said, "Who are you?"

"I am the Bray senator Martique Muleen."

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you want?"

"I have precious information pertaining to why Twilight failed to destroy the Yolk pass." He said.

Flaming Star's eyes widened a tad bit, though the rest of his face did not register anything. "Very well," he said coldly, "what is it?"

"We were betrayed!" exclaimed Martique, "Pontius, the prime senator of Bray, double-crossed us! Twilight and I went to destroy the pass, but when the time came down to it, we were apprehended by Irrum soldiers! I managed to escape by stealing a hot air balloon that I had tied down near the pass, but Twilight, who had tried to resist earlier, had been knocked out and carried away. I knew that with Pontius obviously siding with the alliance, I could not return home, so I came here to carry the news to you in Equestria! Did you manage to stop the alliance war train?"

"Does it look like we did?" said Rainbow Dash harshly.

Martique looked around at the decimated Freezelock. "Um… yes?"

Flaming Star nodded to the armies of the alliance in the distance. "You mean no."

Martique looked where Flaming Star was looking and saw the enemies. He sighed, "There is nothing we can do now. Bray has sided with the alliance."

"Pontius, the prime senator betrayed Twilight?" said Flaming Star, "In that case, I think it is time for me to pull a trick of my own."

"Like what?" asked Spike.

Flaming Star grinned, "I can use my powers to teleport into Bray. I will apprehend Pontius with ease, and then force out of him the location of where Twilight is being held. I will then rescue her. A piece of cake really, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner."

He then turned his back on them and opened a portal. What he saw cause his stomach to turn to ice. Usually a portal was a thin ring of rippling energy, with a clear view of the other end of the portal. What he saw when he opened a portal was a solid oval of energy. He closed it and then tried to teleport there. He shimmered, and then simply rematerialized again. He tried again. And again. And again. He then tried to teleport to Canterlot, that failed as well.

"Um… what happened?" asked Rainbow after a pause.

Flaming Star blinked, almost convinced he was just having a really bad dream.

"They've… they've blocked Bray off…" he said breathlessly, "I cannot enter any place in that land, or Irrum, or Equus, or anyplace."

"How is that possible?" said Rainbow, who began to feel very anxious.

"It's not really," said Flaming Star, "that technology was only in its prototype stages during the traveler-demon war, and after the war ended, the technology was abandoned completely. This should NOT be possible!"

"It looks very possible to me," muttered Martique.

Flaming Star sighed and turned to the group.

"We need to get to Canterlot," he said, "and warn the Princesses of what is happening. We need to get ready for what is to come. Something very powerful and evil is helping the alliance, and we have no way as of yet to stop it."

"Then let's go!" said Rainbow Dash, "We Equestria ponies always find a way to overcome evil! That's something Sunset taught me. To the hot air balloon!"

"Let's just hope that Sunset is still right," sighed Flaming Star.


	37. Chapter 37 - Outlaws

**Note: One or two of you asked me about why there were cars and guns in the MLP dimension right now. The reason they exist is because of Sunset Shadow. He introduced quite a few inventions, such as combustion engines (thus most cars), electricity (thus cellphones), and staple guns (everyone loves staple guns). Unfortunately, given the nature of some beings, these technologies were reverse-engineered and built into weapons. Thus, tanks and guns. Anyway, that was just a quick note. On to some awesomeness with Rarity, Discord, and Pinkie Pie! Don't forget to give me reviews! Lot's of them! I LOVE REVIEWS!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Hotel de la Mule in Don Keyxote, capitol of Bray_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Rarity woke bright and early. Stepping distastefully around Discord, who was snoring loudly on his bed, she trotted to the window and opened the curtains wide to let the lovely sunlight stream in. It was a bright day, and birds were chirping cheerfully in the sky. Rarity breathed deep the crisp, clean air as she surveyed the grand train station below her. Her breath caught in her throat and her pupils shrunk to a tenth of their regular size as she noticed something.

There was a massive convoy of track-riding tank carriers with the Equus-Irrum alliance insignia plastered across their sides. She then noticed that the hotel had been surrounded by the Bray police force and a couple of alliance Humvees with mounted machine guns. Rarity quickly slammed the window shut and closed the curtains. She leaned against the window as if something was trying to push its way in as she teetered between the edge of hyperventilating and feinting. Suddenly Discord snorted, shifted, and opened his eyes a tad bit. His eyes opened a little more when he saw Rarity in her flustered state.

"Had a nightmare, eh Rarity?" he muttered, more to himself than any pony else.

"Discord! Come and look through the window!" whispered Rarity harshly as sweat began to trickle from her forehead.

Discord slowly rolled out of bed and floated to the window. He peeked through. His eyes widened. "I'll say… I will say… This is quite a bit of a pickle. Didn't those two Bray senators say that they were on your side though?"

Rarity nodded vigorously. "They did!" she replied, "We are after the Yolk pass! These things shouldn't be here! Equestria soldiers were supposed to have blown the tracks hours ago!"

Rarity started to hyperventilate, so Discord conjured up a paper bag and handed it to her. She began to breathe in and out with it as she calmed herself down. Discord eyed the scene with a mildly interested air.

"Well," he said, "I suppose those police forces surrounding the building are for us. I don't think they would inadvertently let potential hostages get away so easily. I mean, you are pretty much an ambassador for Equestria and could fetch a hefty price from Equestria."

As this statement floated away into the air, a knock came at the door.

"Room service!" said a voice. Discord winked, "That'll be the police here to apprehend us. They really have to try harder next time. Rarity, did you notice that there was a large laundry chute inside the closet over there?"

Rarity cocked her head to one side. "Well, yes… Wait… Oh no, I am NOT going in there. You can't make me!"

Discord rolled his eyes, picked up Rarity, covered her mouth with his lion's paw, and carried her to the chute in the closet. He opened it and tossed her down it. She slid away screaming, but the walls were too thick and the sounds didn't reverberate outside the room. Discord grinned. "I've been wanting to do that since I saw that chute," he chuckled. The knock at the door came again, though it was a little louder this time, and Discord knew that there were several armed guards along with the door knocker outside.

"I said room service! Are you in there?"

Discord fluttered his eyelashes for no particular reason and said, in a Rarity-like, high-pitched voice, "Oh darling, please be a dear and wait a moment. I need to finish putting on my mascara!"

Discord then attempted to teleport into Pinkie Pie's room. The same thing that blocked Flaming Star at the Freezelock stopped Discord. The unusual and mysterious technology had effectively disabled all forms of instantaneous traveling in Bray, Irrum, Equus, and everywhere else. At first Discord was a little put out, and was wondering what the hell could be happening, but a rap came again, with such force, that the door buckled a little. Discord then remembered what he had to do. He quickly opened the window to his room, climbed out elegantly, opened the window to Pinkie Pie's room, adjacent to his, and climbed in.

The room was decked out in streamers, balloons, and fliers, all which were pink.

"Heya Discord!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, "you here for a PARTY?!"

Discord rolled his eyes, covered Pinkie Pie's mouth, picked her up, and tossed her down her laundry chute in the closet. He then himself dove down it. The slide was steep and fast, but it only lasted a minute before the two landed in a large pile of fluffy laundry. Discord shook his head to clear it and climbed out. Rarity was sitting in an adjacent pile, glaring at him.

"Oh dear, somepony has got a frowny-face!" chuckled Discord as he straightened up.

"Don't EVER do that to me again! Do you hear me?!" exclaimed Rarity.

Discord placed his eagle's claw appendage over his heart and said, "Of course, dear Rarity. Never again! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. There, are you satisfied?"

Rarity turned pointedly around. Discord dropped his teasing demeanor and then said, "Rarity, we have a problem."

Rarity slowly turned back around and said, "What do you mean?"

Discord noticed that Pinkie Pie was still in the pile of laundry, so he moved over and sat on it, trapping her beneath him. He smiled contentedly before continuing. "Well," he said, "Somepony has blocked my teleportation powers. This means not flashing in and out of existence, no teleporting to other places…"

"Well, that's good!" said Rarity, "That means no more jumpscares! You wouldn't believe how frustrating it is when you do those!"

Discord blinked. "We can't leave," he stated flatly.

Rarity's pupils shrunk. "Oh…" She fainted.

Discord sighed as Pinkie Pie exclaimed, "Um… I can't get up. Where is everypony?! Oooohhh… a pillow!"

Discord began, for the first time in his life, to consider his options. He was stuck here with two liabilities that he had promised the most powerful beings in Equestria that he would protect. Their hotel was also surrounded by a police force and army soldiers bent on capturing or killing them. He couldn't teleport, or run, which means he was stuck with the most distasteful third option: fight. Sighing, he got up and let Pinkie Pie get out of the laundry pile. He extended his lions paw and concentrated hard. It had been over two thousand years since he had tried to conjure anything other than silly distractions or funny pranks. Sweat began to trickle from his brow as he tried earnestly to conjure up fire. A small flame appeared in the center of his lion's paw, it slowly grew until it was a fist-sized fireball. He then morphed the fireball into a lava ball which he froze into an ice block. He then transformed the ice block into a mass of dark matter, which he then changed into a ball of lightning. He then snuffed out the lightning and smiled a sad smile. He was a prankster, the so-called "god of chaos" in this world; he wasn't a fighter, or a murderer. However, he had made a promise, and he intended to keep it, no matter how contrary what he was about to do was to his usual nature.

He went over to Rarity and shook her. "Wakey-wakey!" he said, "This is not a time for beauty sleep, Rarity!"

Rarity's eyes snapped open. "This wasn't a beauty sleep, Discord!" she exclaimed indignantly, "this was called dramatic fainting. Two VERY different things!"

Discord rolled his eyes, "Oh well, we can discuss the science of that later. What we need to do now is get out of this hotel. We are going to get to the ground level, where I am going to provide cover. We will then run and grab one of those delightful alliance Humvees. We then begin an awesome police chase around the city aimlessly!"

Rarity blinked. "Aimlessly?" she said, still a little lost for words.

Discord sighed. "Yes, well, that is as far as I have gotten, but we don't have much time. By now the guards have searched our rooms and are now searching the rest of the building. We need to act now! Let's go!"

Discord opened the door to the staircase and dramatically struck a pose. Rarity exited the laundry room with Pinkie Pie. Discord followed, closing the door on his way out. He then took his place at the head of the group as they cautiously climbed the staircase. It had not yet been searched, so everything was quiet. Soon they reached the ground-floor level door, and Discord eased it open. They were in a small hallway that fed in the center hallway of the Hotel de la Mule. He could make out Bray police and alliance soldiers galloping around, checking every nook and cranny. He sighed, this was the big moment.

He kicked open the door and shouted dramatically, "Gaze upon me, foul creatures! Behold the god of chaos in all his brilliance! Beware!"

The guards and soldiers looked at him… then started to shoot him. Discord threw up an energy shield that protected him and he rushed them.

"I will hold them off! You two head for the door and grab a vehicle of some sort! Make sure it has wheels and an engine, by the way. Seatbelts would be preferable." He yelled as he dropped the shield and hurled a fireball off in a random direction. He couldn't have hit water if he had fallen out of a boat.

Rarity nodded, her eyes wide with fear as she grabbed Pinkie Pie (who seemed oblivious to everything) and ran towards the door. Discord quickly cleared their path with a seismic blast that knocked the soldiers blocking the door aside. He hurled another large rolling fireball that caused the soldiers to scatter and then ran after Rarity. He opened the door, grabbed his two friends, and jumped behind a pillar as the Humvee machine guns opened up on them. He then quickly turned and hurled a bolt of explosive energy at the grand double doors of the hotel, bringing the whole thing down. No one was exiting that way now.

"I say, whoever's idea it was to make guns in this dimension was soooo stupid," muttered Discord as shrapnel and bullets flew around them.

Rarity peeked around the pillar, but then withdrew her head quickly as a hail of bullets punched through the air where her head had been moments before. She glanced at Discord, "Which vehicle should we take?" she yelled over the clamor.

Discord peeked around the corner. "Oh, I would say that large, heavily armored and guarded S.W.A.T. prisoner-transport truck."

Rarity peeked around the corner as well and exclaimed, "Are you mad? Why don't we just grab that one car thingy, um, Humvee, over there? It's unguarded! Whatever gave you the idea to go for that other one?!"

Discord stroked his chin, "Nothing really, my dear Rarity, just the fact that Pinkie Pie is, as of now, hopping towards it."

It was true, Pinkie Pie was hopping towards it blissfully as all the soldiers and Humvees shot at her. Remarkably, her Pinkie sense kept her from being hit. "Stop that!" she exclaimed irately, "I just want Gummy to see it up close!"

Rarity fainted. Discord sighed and tossed her over his shoulder. He then conjured up an energy shield that he levitated it front of him. He then rushed the soldiers. As they shot at him, he snapped the fingers of his free appendage and suddenly all the guards were dressed in pink tutus. They all stopped shooting for a moment to gaze indignantly down at their new garbs. This was all the distraction Discord needed. He grabbed Pinkie Pie, who was poking the vehicle with Gummy's tail, and hopped in. Discord tossed his two friends into the passenger seat and turned the key, which some idiot had left in the ignition. He then floored the gas pedal and rocketed out of the parking lot of the Hotel de la Mule. Immediately other vehicles started to chase them.

Rarity's eyes snapped open. She then realized Discord was driving a vehicle. "Have you ever driven before?" She yelled.

Discord shook his head. "Of course not! These weird contraptions weren't even in existence until Sunset Shadow showed up! Hang on!"

Rarity covered her eyes, and turned a shade of green. Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was enjoying the ride immensely. Suddenly there was a shout from the built-in jail compartment in the back of the van. Pinkie turned around.

"Oooh! Hello! Are you here for a ride as well? Isn't it fun?!" She exclaimed.

Discord turned his head to look at who Pinkie was speaking to. It was the prime senator, Pontius Donkius.

"Oh! Hello prime senator! Fancy meeting you here!" said Discord airily, "Aren't supposed to be off doing, oh I don't know, other things pertaining to betraying our trust?"

Pontius looked at him through the bars of the compartment as he said, "I don't know what you are talking about! Martique Muleen betrayed me! And now Bray is totally under the control of the alliance! They arrested me for conspiracies against the new alliance-backed senate!"

"Well that would explain the high security positioned around the vehicle when we grabbed it," commented Discord, who didn't seemed in the least bothered by the fact that RPG mounted Humvees had joined the chase.

"Listen, we need to get out of here!" said Pontius harshly, "I don't know what is going on, but somehow some unnatural creature is aiding the alliance! It has given them new technology and powers! No one can be trusted! In fact-"

Suddenly the vehicle skidded and rolled over as an RPG hit the back left wheel. The truck then flipped and tumbled down a deep precipice that was bordering the road that Discord had been driving down and then exploded into flames as it smashed against the ground far below.

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><p><strong>Note: I think Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord could be an awesome team... If Rarity could stop the dramatic fainting!<strong>


	38. Chapter 38 - The Tasks

**Note: Okay! I've made changes to chapters 6 and 10. My personal suggestion is that you guys reread them for fun's sake when you are done with reading this chapter. Chapter 10 is, in my opinion, pretty awesome, with the battle between Sunset Shadow and Abbadon now hitting on a near planetary scale (yes, as in a planet getting pretty much destroyed). I would really appreciate it if you guys would, after rereading those updated chapters, spend a little time giving me some feedback on them. Thanks!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Franklin groaned and opened his eyes. He had a cramp in his neck from leaning against his sister's bed, but he didn't mind it too much. After a bout of stretching, he looked at Night Shade who was curled up on Twilight's bed sleeping soundly. Franklin smiled. Night Shade was no doubt a powerful and skilled fighter, with tactical and combat skills that outshone many others, but underneath that he was still just an eleven year old boy. The house shook a little bit as Daniel, still in his dragon form, awakened and straightened up. He poked his head through the bedroom window and grinned at Franklin.

"You really look creepy as a dragon, you know that?" said Franklin grumpily.

Daniel rolled his eyes and snorted a blast of hot air. "Honestly. This form is the coolest ever. I can literally feel fire building in my chest whenever I breathe. I can sense the heat changes in beings around me, and I can draw geothermal energy from the earth itself. This form is literally my element."

Franklin blinked. "You see this face?" he said, "This is my 'not caring' face."

Daniel was about to retort when Night Shade gave a huge yawn and sat up. He looked around blearily.

"Hey team," he mumbled, "What's up?"

Franklin winked at him, "Nothing yet kiddo, just Daniel's head. Don't stand up or you'll end up ramming his jaw. Not that it wouldn't be funny, though."

Daniel shook his head as he pulled back a little bit so that Night Shade could straighten up. "Do our morning always have to be this way?" he said, "I mean, literally, we've had arguments every morning for the past four years."

Franklin grinned, "It is part of our daily routine. Now that that's through, I can mark it off on my itinerary."

With that, Franklin turned his head to look at Miranda. She was still sleeping soundly. He put an ear near her face. Her breathing was calm and steady. He then looked at Daniel who was now trying to get his head out of the window with the help of Night Shade.

"When you're done with that, meet me downstairs, let's see what we can do about breakfast," laughed Franklin.

Just as Daniel got his head out, the front door downstairs flew open and Sunset galloped in, his eyes full of fear.

Franklin leapt over the stair's banister and landed on the ground quickly. He ran up to Sunset and said, "What's the matter?"

Sunset took a deep breath. He then said, "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Flaming Star are in Ponyville. Princess Twilight attempted to stop the alliance at Yolk pass but was captured. Then the war trains continued on to the Freezelock pass where Flaming Star was waiting with his tank emplacements. The trains were armed with Star Wars-grade Heavy Turbo Laser cannons. They decimated our tank battalions. Flaming Star managed to derail the thing and close the pass afterwards, but the alliance has a large invasion force in Equestria now…"

Franklin grimaced. "This isn't good," he interjected, "The alliance guys are the bad guys, correct?"

"Well, considering they used Heavy Turbo Laser cannons against the firstborn, I would assume they are bad guys," said Night Shade as he trotted downstairs.

"That's another thing," said Franklin, "How the hell did some weird pony group get a hold of weapons such as that? It's not like those things grow on trees… right?"

Sunset simply shook his head. "No," he sighed, "But that isn't the worst of it. After he heard Twilight was captured, Flaming Star tried to teleport into the nation of Bray, which is now amalgamated with the alliance. He found that his portal traveling and teleportation was blocked in those areas. In fact, he found that he's been stripped of all our teleportation powers. I've tried as well, they've all been inhibited."

Franklin's face drained of color. "What?" Both he and Night Shade tried to open a portal, than teleport. Both were blocked.

Sunset nodded. "The traveler-blocking technology we were developing during the demon-traveler war has been completed by somebody or something, and now it is being used against us."

Daniel then stuck his head through the front door. "I understand that this is grievous news and all, with that technology finally being developed," he said calmly, "But I would appreciate it if you guys took the conversation outside so I can listen better."

Sunset, Franklin, and Night Shade quickly went outside and sat down on the front step.

"Well," said Daniel promptly, "I understand that we can no longer use instantaneous traveling methods to attack our enemies, but that doesn't make those lands inaccessible. We just have to enter them on foot, or in the air."

"That's easy for you to say, Mr. Dragon," snorted Franklin, who had regained his composure, "but I like my portal traveling! It saves sooooo much time!"

The small group was suddenly joined by Celestia, Luna, and Flaming Star.

"The human is Franklin, the black Pegasus is Night Shade, and the dragon is Daniel. They are the dimensional travelers I was talking to you about," said Flaming Star.

Celestia bowed her head as she said, "It is an honor to meet you three."

Franklin got up and gave her a flourishing bow, something he had gotten quite good at. "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, your highness."

The group then all sat down in a circle in front of Twilight's house. It was a remarkably odd sight for any passersby.

"What is our position with the alliance in our lands, Flaming Star?" asked Celestia as soon as everyone was settled.

"The Freezelock pass is down, so there will be no supplies for any pony going in or out," said Flaming Star, "this means that the alliance troops will not be getting fresh soldiers any time soon. However, they are all heavily armed. There are even Infantry Fighting Vehicles amongst them."

"Have they done anything?" asked Luna.

"Nothing yet, it seems that they are regrouping, my derailment of their train must have disturbed their plans somewhat. I've sent Rainbow Dash to meet with Commander Hurricane in Cloudsdale. The two will have a scout network up in no time. We will hear about the alliance movements regularly soon. Now I have a question of my own: has Martique said anything more about the situation in Bray?"

Celestia sighed and bowed her head. "He has said a little more. It seems that Pontius had sent him away alone with Twilight, which made them very easy targets. He figures that while he was working out the details of the plot, Pontius sent someone ahead of him to disable the explosives to ensure that Twilight couldn't set them off. Now he thinks that Bray is probably completely under the control of the alliance thanks to Pontius back-stabbing him."

"Does this mean Rarity is any kind of trouble?" asked Sunset anxiously.

Celestia nodded sadly as she replied, "I asked him about it. Martique said that they are probably hostages now, awaiting an alliance verdict."

Sunset groaned and buried his face in his hoofs. Flaming Star ground his teeth. "First Twilight, now Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord. It's almost as if we've been played from the beginning, the Harmony bearers cannot function without each other!"

"That's right!" exclaimed Franklin, "this place has the harmony tree unit! Wow, this IS a special place!"

Daniel nodded, "I forgot about that. I suppose you guys don't get demon invasions very often then."

Sunset waved a hoof off in a general direction, "Yeah, yeah, just Xaphan, Legion, and Abbadon over the past few years. What we need to do now is make sure that all the other Harmony bearers stay safe in Ponyville. We can't risk them trying to launch impromptu rescues missions for Twilight or the others."

"Says the guy whose wife and child are safe and sound," said Flaming Star angrily, "Last time I checked, it was MY fillyfriend who was in danger. I'm not resting until I've rescued her."

Sunset sighed deep and long. "If that's what you are set on doing, then do it," he said, "but we have no idea where she is, and with our teleportation abilities rendered useless, we cannot just search places randomly without repercussions."

"We'll help you," said Franklin suddenly, "I know that we've never really gotten along with you, firstborn, but you helped us when my sister was in trouble. We owe you."

Daniel nodded. "I agree with Franklin," He said, "We will help you search for her. Do you have a starting place?"

Flaming Star looked at them and said, "We'll split up. I'm going to go with Spike to infiltrate Irrum, Corona Oscura seemed the most dangerous of the two alliance leaders. You guys go to Bray and see if there is any sign of what happened to her in the Yolk pass, which is a couple of kilometers west of the Bray capitol, Don Keyxote. Bray is just north of the Frozen north of Equestria."

Daniel nodded and he spread his wings wide. "We'll leave at once," he stated. There was a pause as Franklin and Night Shade looked at him. Daniel then snorted out a blast of flame and said, "FINE. You two, get on my back. We're going to Bray."

Celestia got up. "You all go and do as you said you will," she said, "We will continue to discuss our situation with Hor Sey, Saddle Arabia, and the Crystal Empire."

"Be careful," added Luna. With that, the two Princesses left the group to go to talk to Mayor Mare. Sunset got up as well. "I'm making breakfast at my house," he said, "if anyone of you wants to come to my house and eat, you will be welcome."

"Oooohhh… is there any BACON?" asked Franklin with elation.

Sunset glared at him. "NO Franklin. You are living in a dimension of vegetarians, so get over it."

Franklin rolled his eyes. "I'm hating this place more and more," he muttered. He then hopped onto Daniels back with Night Shade.

Daniel gave Sunset and Flaming Star a quick nod before spreading his wings and taking to the air with powerful flaps of his wings. Soon he began to sail off to the Frozen north.

Sunset gave Flaming Star a side-long glance. "Spike is already at my place," he said, "do you wish to join be for breakfast?"

Flaming Star nodded his head, "I suppose I will. I'm really sorry for my briskness lately, but it eats me up that the one pony who really loves me is in mortal danger that I cannot stop."

Sunset smiled sadly. "I understand," he replied, "I don't know how I would react if my Fluttershy was captured, or Starlight Amber. It's been several years since I went into a killing frenzy, but something like that could trigger it."

Flaming Star gave a shaking sigh as he said, "I'm on the edge of one of my own really. But I suppose there is nothing I can do about it… yet. Let's go."

With that, the two ponies cantered off to Sunset's house for breakfast.

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Somewhere over the Unicorn Range_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Soooooo… what's the plan?" said Franklin as he rode Daniel.

"The plan is that if you kick me in the side one more time, I'm going to do a barrel roll and send you two spiraling to your deaths," replied Daniel in a strained voice, "This is so humiliating."

"Hey, you're taking one for the team," pointed out Franklin as he shifted into a position that would keep him from further aggravating Daniel with his feet.

"Still… I don't really like it."

Franklin sighed, "Whatever. Here is the real plan that I thought up in six and a half seconds, we're going to fly over Bray and figure out which is the capitol building, which will no doubt contain alliance representatives. We will sail in and scare the hell out of a bunch of mules and pones and stuff. We will then force them all to give us Flaming Star's fillyfriend… what was her name again?"

"Twilight," replied Night Shade, "her name is Twilight."

"Yeah, Twilight," said Franklin, "anyway, this plan doesn't need much depth because we're playing with amateurs here; they have no idea who we're dealing with. Heck, I probably have more power in one finger than they have in their entire army!"

"Be careful there, Franklin," said Daniel, "someone is supplying them with technology that is foreign even to dimensional travelers. The signs of a powerful adversary have been pretty huge so far. Heavy Turbo Laser cannons, instantaneous travel inhibitors, etcetera. We will need a better plan than 'fly in randomly.'"

"Okay Mr. Optimistically Pessimistic," snorted Franklin, "What is your plan?"

"I don't know as of yet, I am still parsing it out," replied Daniel.

"Well parse it out faster, we don't have much time before we enter Bray territory," said Franklin.

"Then stop jabbering and let Daniel think," interrupted Night Shade.

Franklin rolled his eyes but kept quiet. It stayed like this for quite some time.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset and Fluttershy's house_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"You want me to do what?" said Spike as he ate with Flaming Star, Sunset, Fluttershy, and Starlight Amber.

"You want him to do what?" added Fluttershy as she fed her foal with a spoon.

"I want you to come with me as I infiltrate Irrum territory," said Flaming Star, "You've been Twilight's faithful companion for a really long time, and I think you should be with me as we work to recover her."

Spike thought about it for a moment, then his eyes hardened. "You're right," he said, "I will help you. She needs me."

"She does, and I need you as well," said Flaming Star, "Remember: I don't choose my teammates lightly, I've chosen you specifically for a reason."

"Oh dear, all this talk about infiltrating sounds scary," murmured Fluttershy.

"And distasteful," added Sunset, "But don't worry dear, we're safe here."

"That's another thing," said Flaming Star, with a little iron in his tone, "Why have you done nothing?"

Sunset looked at Flaming Star and said, "I am NOT killing any being ever again. What we are dealing with here is war, and I want no part in it. There has been no draft, or selective service, so I have every right to keep my hoofs clean of this all."

Flaming Star stared Sunset in the eyes, "But is it the honorable thing?"

"Don't speak of honor to me, firstborn," said Sunset, "there is no honor in war, even when there is an obvious 'good guy' and 'bad guy' side. I will help, of course, I owe it to Twilight and to Equestria, but it will not be with a weapon in my hand or conjured fire around my fist."

"You mean hoofs," corrected Flaming Star.

Sunset glared at him, "You know what I mean. I will help, but it will be as a planner, and a consultant. In fact, I'm going to meet with Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, and Cadence in a couple of days to discuss war matters."

Flaming Star sighed. "I'm sorry," he said, "As I said, I'm a little on edge. In fact, Spike, we should get ready to go."

"Go?! I haven't had ninths yet!" exclaimed Spike. However, he caught Flaming Star's no-nonsense eye and sighed, "Okay… fine."

"We'll be gone for a while," said Flaming Star as he got up, "I don't know how things will go, but this is goodbye for a time."

Sunset smiled and shook Flaming Star's hoof. He then gave Spike a hug. Fluttershy followed up by hugging them both.

"Say bye-bye to Flaming Star and Spike, Starlight!" said Fluttershy as Flaming Star and Spike left the house.

Starlight Amber waved.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Does anyone want to see more of the Cutie Mark Crusaders or any of the Mane 6? Just wondering. Anyway, don't forget the R&amp;R stuff! Give me feedback! Thanks!<strong>


	39. Chapter 39 - Lies and Truths

_Dimension: Unknown_

_Planet: Unknown_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

Twilight opened her eyes groggily. At first she didn't even try to move, waiting for her vision to focus and the ringing in her head to stop. The moment it did, she tried to move, but found that she was stuck. She was strapped to a white metal table, belly-up, spread-eagled with her hoofs and wings clamped down. She tried to use her magic to free herself, but her horn was encased in some leather-like harness that prevented her from using it. She gave up trying to escape and sighed. She then noticed that two strange looking creatures, armed with powerful-looking blasters, standing at the other end of the room. Their faces were hideous, chalk white with large red eyes, and they were looking straight at her.

"H-hello?" she said nervously. One of the creatures turned to the other and said, "the My Little Pony native is awake, send word to him."

The other nodded and quickly exited the room. The other creature strolled up and pointed a blaster gun straight at her stomach. Twilight froze. The two were like this for a couple of minutes. Soon the one who had run off entered. He was followed by one of the most intimidating, yet wondrous of beings Twilight had ever seen. He was twelve feet tall, bipedal, covered in full, white-colored, body armor. His face was encased in a masked helmet. The face-plate had a visor shaped like a rising four-pronged star that was glowing gold. Bands of gold and red colors ran from his shoulder-plates down his powerful arms, around his wrists, to the back of his hands. He truly was a sight.

This being looked at the two creatures and signaled them out. Bowing low, the two creatures complied and scurried from the room. The door shut automatically behind them. The being then turned to Twilight. There was a pause as the two stared at each other. Then he strolled towards her and began to take the clamps and harness off.

"I apologize for this," said the being, "I did not mean for them to handle you so roughly. You should not have been in a posture like this in the first place. I am so sorry."

He then helped her to the ground. She continued to gaze at the being in wonder.

"Are you… the Paradox?" she said in awe.

The being chuckled, "Some call me that, others call me the Unknown, and others call me Artakha. However, when I appear to most, I look like this…"

With that, the Paradox shimmered and burst into an explosion of pure light. His radiance filled the entire room, and Twilight fell to the ground. After a moment, the Paradox transformed back into his original form. He smiled and lifted Twilight's chin. "Tell me about yourself, Twilight."

Twilight blinked. "There's not much to talk about. I'm just a regular pony."

"Oh, but you are much more than that, dearest," the Paradox said calmly, "You are a wonder. You have friends, dreams, aspiration, and they are all pure. In fact, you are the harmony bearer of magic, something incredibly important in the My Little Pony dimension. Your worth is untold."

Twilight blushed, but said, "I really think I'm no better than the next pony."

"Perhaps you do," replied the Paradox, "but there are certain attributes given that perhaps make one 'pony' better than the other. You are a special case, Twilight."

Twilight looked at the Paradox and said, "I don't understand. What's going on? Why did you capture me?"

The Paradox looked at her. Then he sighed, "There is a plan… It must be done. I only need you here for a while, Twilight. You're friends are all safe. Equestria is safe."

Twilight shook her head. "No, it's not," she said, "Equetria is in the grips of war because I failed in a single task."

Overcome by emotions, Twilight sat down, looked at her hoofs and began to weep. She then looked up and said, "Why? Why have you captured me? Why did you stop me?"

"Why do you believe I stopped you, little one?" asked the Paradox, who got down on his knees.

"Well, I was captured by Corona Oscura who wasn't Corona Oscura, and then brought here!" she said.

"Ah, Corona Oscura. You are right, that is not him, it is simply a guise taken on by one of my elite servants."

"Then you… then you're the one who instigated the war against us then!" exclaimed Twilight, who shot up and began to scramble away. "How COULD you?" she said, feeling anger bubble in her chest, "You're the Paradox! You gave Flaming Star his powers! You gave Sunset Shadow his powers! You gave ALL those dimensional travelers powers so that they could spread peace, and here you are, conjuring up war in my homeland as if it was a game!"

The Paradox simply stayed where he was, kneeling down. Slowly his head drooped and he sighed again. After a long pause, he stood up and extended a hand, palms-up. Suddenly a holographic projection popped from his palm. It floated into the air and expanded until it filled the entire room.

"Do you know what Reavers are, dearest?" he said.

Twilight shook her head, still torn between anger, wonder, and sadness.

"These are Reavers."

Abruptly the holographic interface was full of images of humans, who had their faces bloodied, mutilated, twisted, killing and eating other humans. They burned down homes, dragged women and children out onto the streets so that they could skin their prey alive. Twilight gave out a wretched cry of horror and she buried her face in her hoofs, trying simultaneously to block out the sounds and the images. With a slight gesture, the Paradox stopped the images and closed them.

"They exist in the Firefly/Serentiy dimension. They are abominations and they live only to kill. Do you know what a Reaver would do to you, little one?"

Trembling, Twilight shook her head meekly.

The Paradox shook his head sadly. "It would break your limbs. Then it would rape you for hours and hours and hours. Finally, it would skin you and cut off your limbs, forcing you so inch through the dust as your blood flowed into the ground. Finally they would eat you… while you were still conscious. Lower abdomen up."

Twilight covered her ears. After a bit more trembling, she tentatively removed her hoofs and looked at the Paradox. "Why have you shown me these things?"

As if she wasn't even there, the Paradox stared off into the distance and said, more to himself than anyone else, "They are not it, though. In the Warhammer 40K dimension there are the Dark Elders, who feed off your nightmares. In the Star Wars dimension there are the Anzati who eat your brains while you are conscious, and consume your mental essence. In the Star Trek dimension there are the Borg, who will force you to become nothing less than a mindless servant, forced to die at a word without a second thought. In the World of Starcraft dimension, there are the Zerg, blood-thirsty masses living only to consume and murder. In the Earth Prime… Well, in Earth Prime there are humans. Masses of self-righteous monstrosities who cause millions of deaths every sun-cycle."

Twilight, her eyes wide, stared at the Paradox. "What?"

The Paradox turned his head to look at her. "I have been trying for eons to cure the multiverse of a cancer I thought was the most prevalent: demons. However, after those eons of my Brotherhood and I trying to crush them, we realized that they were not the only cancer to be eating away at us. We discovered that each multiverse had some twisted aspect, some monstrous form that manifests itself. No dimension was exempt, all had and still has a exponentially growing cancer. All have diseases so deep that we deem it all impossible to uproot."

"But what about us?" said Twilight in a small voice, "What about Ponyville, and Canterlot?"

"Dearest," chuckled the Paradox, "You universe is not the only My Little Pony dimension. There are others; other timelines where other things occurred. Do you realize, in one of these, Pinkie Pie murders and eats you and your other friends?"

Twilight's pupils shrunk. "W-w-what?"

Paradox nodded his head. "My Brotherhood has been studying the multiverse since the beginning of eternity. We have watched every nook and cranny, and have collected every possible piece of data imaginable. We have made an equation for the fate of the multiverse, and we have made a verdict: the multiverse is evil. There is no way that good will ever prevail."

Twilight shook her head vigorously. "You can't possibly think that! Why would you have given the dimensional travelers powers and told them to spread peace if you knew that they could not win?"

"Simple, I just did. I knew they could not win. I knew there would be an era of anarchy. But it is all part of the plan. You see, we've been collecting the data and processing the equation for eternity, but we only reached our conclusion eight-thousand years ago."

"Eight thousand… does this mean your 'verdict' came when you made Flaming Star a traveler?"

"Indeed. He most certainly is part of our solution, though it might not be in the way he thinks I meant."

"What…? But… what about my homeland? Why have you waged war against it using the Equus-Irrum alliance?"

"The Harmony units are more important than you know, little one. Right now, they are in the wrong hoofs. For our plan to continue, it must be passed on to one who really knows our plans, and understands them."

"You don't need to do this! Just talk to Princess Celestia! She's wise! She'll know what to do!"

"You princess has kept certain truths from you, dearest. I approached her just before Dathan Enosson, or Regal Crescent, planted the tree of harmony. I asked her to perform certain tasks when the time came, she refused. I warned her, but she ignored my reasoning. However, she was so disturbed by our meeting that she has not told a soul about it, even her beloved sister, about it. You see? Ever pony has their faults, and where there are faults, there is the cancer that I have tried so hard to clean."

"But… but…"

"I must go, Twilight. I will return. You will be here for a bit, but do not fret, if all goes well, you will not be harmed. The time is almost here. The plan is in its final stages."

The Paradox then left and the automatic door slammed shut behind him. Twilight thought over the things that the Paradox had said, and sat in a corner fretting for her friends.

Paradox strolled by the guards. As he did so, he said, "I have given her the required information, ensure that she does not escape until I say so."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset and Fluttershy's House_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Sunset woke up. The first thing he saw as he opened his eyes was his lovely wife Fluttershy. He smiled and kissed her on the forehead. He slowly sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and looked around. In the corner was Starlight Amber's crib. The little foal was sleeping peacefully. He sighed contentedly and stretched. Quietly he trotted downstairs and out the door. He cantered through the still-sleeping Ponyville as he made his way to Twilight's house. Knocking on the door, he called quietly, "Applejack? Thanks for watching over Miranda, I'll take the wheel now."

The door opened and a sleepy-eyed Applejack trotted out to greet him.

"Mornin' Sunset! How ya' doin'?"

"I'm doing fine, Applejack. How was your night?"

"A little less than dandy. Miranda is awake now, but I can't tell if she's crazy or normal. Talkin' weird if ya' know what I mean. Weird though, she ain't wailed about a single demon for the last couple o' days."

Sunset's ears pricked up in interest He nodded and said, "Well, you better get back to Sweet Apple Acres for some real sleep. I'll watch over her now."

Applejack smiled and slowly cantered out. Sunset entered the Library and trotted up the stairs to where Miranda was. Miranda was wide awake, and staring out the window. As Sunset entered, she turned her bright eyes to him and said, "Oh! Hello! Who are you?"

Sunset smiled, "I'm Sunset. I'm a friend."

Miranda nodded. "Hello Sunset. It's a wonderful day, isn't it?"

Sunset trotted over to sit next to her. "It is a wonderful day. How was your night? Did you sleep well?"

Miranda gave him a huge smile. "It most certainly was. There were demons at first, but the Light Man scared them away."

Sunset blinked. "The Light Man?"

Miranda nodded. "Oh yes, he's visited my mind for a while now. Scares away the demons. He tells me stuff too. All sorts of stuff."

Sunset nodded slowly. "Stuff. Like... what, for example?"

Miranda cocked her head on one side and she looked off into the distance. "Numbers mostly. Square root of negative one. Two cubed. The sum sign of an equation. The ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Sometimes he tells me things about Light Men like him."

Sunset was a little worried. Either something extremely interesting was happening here, or Miranda had finally gone completely insane.

"What is the Light Man like?" he said, trying to sound interested and not totally worried.

Miranda sighed dreamily. "He looks like a shaft of light. A human, swathed in golden rays."

"The Paradox?" said Sunset, now genuinely interested.

Miranda turned her bright eyes to gaze upon Sunset curiously. "Who is the Paradox?"

"The one who gave you your powers. The dimensional travelers true leader. The embodiment of good."

Miranda thought about what Sunset had said for a moment. Then she said, "I know of him. My Light Man says he's a liar."

Sunset now honestly thought Miranda was crazy. "What? Soooooo... Your Light Man is not the Paradox, and claims that our leader is a liar?"

Miranda nodded. "He tells me that the other Light Man will kill us. He has a plan. The new plan. 'He means well,' Light Man told me, 'But he is doing it all wrong. We are not all under his rule.' He says lots of other things. But mostly numbers. He's talking to me right now. Hello Light Man!"

Sunset began to inch away. Miranda looked at Sunset. "The Light Man tells me to tell you not to go away."

Sunset sighed. He decided that as long as Miranda was not violent, he could tolerate her. Perhaps he could even talk reason to her.

"He says hello," said Miranda, whose eyes had become glazed over, "He says he wants to say something."

"Tell the Light Man to leave you alone," said Sunset warily, "Tell him that this is your mind, and he has no right to tell you what to do."

Miranda giggled. "The Light Man is laughing," she said, "he says he knows you think I'm crazy. 'She may be a little kooky,' he says, 'But she, as of yet, is the best means of communication. The portals are being monitored.'"

Sunset shook his head. "I don't understand... What are you talking about?" he asked.

Miranda blinked. "He says he knows you doubt. But not for long. He says started your Facebook account in 2008 A.D. Earth Prime years. He says your first picture you posted on it was you holding a Peanuts comic and waving at the camera. He says that you called Abimael an idiot twelve times in total. He says you're afraid that you will accidentally burn your haycakes during the cookoff next week... He also says you were a really awesome FreeFall Tournamet player, but he could get more kills in his sleep."

Sunset was totally confused now. Either this Light Man was really real and was toying with him, or Miranda was psychic and was being rude. What Miranda was saying was true, including the FreeFall Tournament part.

"Tell the Light Man to tell me his real name," said Sunset slowly, trying to keep calm.

Miranda paused. She then said, "He says he can't. But he wants to tell you something."

Sunset nodded. "I am willing to hear it."

"Oh... They're numbers. 27 45 23.2878... Oh, also there is more: -103 21 31.75"

Despite the fact that Miranda had pretty much mumbled the numbers, those integers burned themselves into Sunset's mind. Suddenly Miranda shook her head and looked around.

"I... feel... fine..." she said, as if she could hardly believe it, "No more demons, and no more nightmares. They're just... gone... Along with that bright light..."

Sunset eyed Miranda, who looked at him and smiled. It was obvious she was totally unaware of what had just transpired. Nevertheless, her eyes were clear, and her pupils were not dilating. She was sane. Whatever thing that had invaded her mind and given him those numbers had cleared her mind of the horrors she had endured... and made her normal again.

"Where is everyone?" said Miranda after an enormous pause.

Sunset sighed, his mind still fluttering with unanswered questions. He smiled a little and then said, "Oh, they're out and about, doing interesting stuff and the like. You know."

Miranda winked. "Where are those adorable little foals I met when I fell out of that tree? I want to see them again!"

Sunset smiled. "Their names are Sweetie Bell, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo. They're the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"What's a cutie mark?"

"It's on your flank."

"Oh! That's pretty, isn't it?"

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT NOTE: Hey guys! Okay, I want to say that I need ONE MORE dimensional traveler. <strong>If anyone wants to pitch me an idea for one, please feel free to do so now. <strong>Either via review or by PM, send me a name, age, sex, species (human, pony, etc.), physical features, personality, preferred powers, combat orientation (do they fight aggressively, passively, etc.), backstory (if you have a lengthy one, please PM it to me) and whether or not you want them to stay in pony form and adopt a pony name if they go to the MLP dimension. Oh, and to the Brothers in Arms guys: you three can feel free to send me more ideas too if you want another one of your OCs to show up. Thanks!<strong>****


	40. Chapter 40 - Search and Rescue

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Cloudsdale airforce base_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Commander Hurricane raised an eyebrow as Rainbow Dash came zooming in to land next to her.

"Heya Commander! It is an HONOR to meet you!" said Rainbow enthusiastically.

Hurricane blinked her eyes slowly. She nodded her head. "It is almost good to see you as well."

Rainbow looked at her in confusion. "Almost?"

Hurricane turned around and began to trot off to a large Cloudsdale building. "Almost. You were thirty seconds late."

"Thirty seconds? Why, is that bad?"

"Why is it bad? Well, let's see, in thirty seconds I could have killed a minimum of two ponies. Also, in thirty seconds I could have destroyed the Tree of Harmony. Thirty seconds is a long time, Miss Dash, and since you are Equestria's self-proclaimed champion of the air, I expect to see more."

Rainbow gaped. Quickly she regained her composure and she saluted stoutly. "Yes sir! I mean ma'am! I mean yes ma'am!"

Hurricane sighed. "Follow me. In here are the maps of Equestria and the surrounding lands. With the Freezelock pass down, we're going to be needed for a lot more than just air reconnaissance now."

Rainbow saluted again and quickly galloped into the building behind Commander Hurricane.

"So, what experience have you had in combat?" said Hurricane briskly as she spread out a map of Equestria on a large cloud table.

"Um... none really. I helped defend Equestria against ten demons once, but that was just terrible."

Hurricane glanced at Rainbow and said, "Demons huh? I've heard rumors and seen the tapes. They seem like a powerful lot. How many did you kill?"

Rainbow shook her head vigorously. "I didn't kill any! I knocked one out while he was fighting Princess Celestia though."

Hurricane rolled her eyes. "No kill count no honor kid. Anyways, we need to begin to finish up the air grids of Equestria. According to Commander Flaming Star, the area her derailed the Equus-Irrum alliance train was about two kilometers south of the Freezelock pass. Given standard idleness relocation spread calculations, that would put the alliance army to about here."

Hurricane placed a large red pin on an area just north of the Galloping Gorge. Rainbow nodded, trying to look wise.

"We will send scouts out in a large perimeter to watch for their movements," continued Hurricane, "We will repeat this process once every two hours to ensure we get a good trajectory of where they're initially heading. Quiz time rookie, where might they go for?"

Rainbow looked at the map. "Vanhoover or Canterlot. Vanhoover because it's closest, or Canterlot because that is the capitol."

Hurricane nodded. "Nice kid. I think it will be Vanhoover. If they take it, they will have a sea port where they will be able to sail in extra supplies from Equus."

Rainbow looked at Hurricane, "Soooo... when will we be starting these scouting runs?"

Hurricane glanced at a large clock on the nearby wall. "In a minute."

"A minute?! I better get going then!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. She was about to bolt out the door when Commander Hurricane said, "Slow down there kid. Where do you think you're going?"

"Well... to fly with the rest! That's what we do right? We're leaders!" explained Rainbow as she continued to inch towards the door.

Hurricane shook her head. "No can do, kid. You're right, we're leaders. But if we die like idiot heroes, do you know that what makes us? Idiotic and DEAD heroes. Sure the history books will remember us, but it will also note that we died because we were stupid. So stupid in fact that we lost the war and caused the entire land of Equestria to go down in flames. All because we thought we were the action-movie kind of leaders."

Rainbow blinked. "Waitwaitwaitwait... So you're saying we're not to be heroes? Sunset said..."

"I know what Sunset said, he said the same to me," interrupted Hurricane with a roll of her eyes, "But I don't give a half-a-bit about what he says. Sure he's the 'Star-swirled the Bearded' of our time, but he doesn't truly know what it means to command."

Rainbow's eyes hardened. "He knows more about it than you do!" she exclaimed indignantly, "He understands the costs, but knows that we must do it because otherwise evil will triumph."

Hurricane laughed. "Oh no, not another good-versus-evil spiel. You don't know how many of those I've encountered over the years. There is no good and there is no evil. There are only winners and losers. You win, you're the good guy. If you lose, you're the bad guy. It's as simple as that! So, in order to win, we must choose not to be morons and play-act the hero. Got it?"

Rainbow could hardly believe that self-righteous, moronic pony she was talking to was the descendent of the great Commander Hurricane. She shook her head, trying to clear it of all the things Hurricane had said. She sighed.

"I don't know... I just don't know," she muttered.

Hurricane sighed as well. "Well, you'll know soon enough. When the time comes, you'll see that I'm right."

With that, the two pretty much stood on opposite sides of the room, pretending to do something important and yet not doing anything particularly useful at al. This went on for about two hours. Then, finally, a Pegasus scout cantered into the building and went straight Commander Hurricane. He handed her a package containing photographs and specs from the scouts spotting the movements of the alliance troopers. Commander Hurricane opened up the package and checked the initial report page. After a moment, she nodded to herself and trotted over to the cloud table where Rainbow Dash was, looking at her expectantly. Hurricane tossed the package and the pictures out onto the table over the map of Equestria.

"You see these?" she said, pointing to each of the pictures, "Do you recognize the areas?"

"That looks like the Unicorn Range…" muttered Rainbow Dash. She snatched up the initial report page and read it quickly. The first thing that caught her eye was the title: "Short encounter between Smoke Mountain. Alliance troops relocating around the range."

Rainbow Dash looked up at Hurricane, her eyes wide. "They're going to attack Ponyville!" she exclaimed.

Hurricane rolled her eyes as she took back the report page. "No, no, no, no. They only want the possibility of a Ponyville attack to be a front. Ponyville is not nearly important enough to pose any sort of foothold for a cut-off invading army."

"Not important enough?! Us Harmony bearers live there!"

"DID live there. Last time I checked, Princess Twilight Sparkle was in the custody of the enemy. They know that, and they know that we need all of you together to harness the power of the elements of Harmony. Thus, you, your friends, and the town is useless. This is a front."

"What?! My friends and I aren't useless!"

"Okay. You and your friends are not seen as a threat to them. They will not risk a chance of an ambush, getting boxed in, or losing valuable time over attacking a small town. No, they are obviously using it as a distraction so we will relocate valuable soldiers to protect the town while they really launch an attack against Las Pegasus."

"Huh? Las Pegasus? Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? Like Vanhoover, it is a port town. The alliance army really needs a port town so Equus can ship in supplies. Since they're obviously not going to Vanhoover, and they are not stupid enough to attack Canterlot, they're using a clever distract-and-disrupt tactic so they can seize Las Pegasus."

"Um… okay… What are we going to do?"

"I was going to ask the same thing of you, kid."

"Oh. Wellllllllll… I suppose what I would do is send a couple of squadrons of troops to Ponyville to make it look like we are falling for their distraction. While we do that, we will really post the rest of the entire army at and around Las Pegasus. They will think their distraction is working and will continue to Las Pegasus to invade it. While they're doing that, we will ambush them."

"Nice, I like it. I'll admit it, kid, you have the brains. This is what I'm going to do: I'll order the Pegasus airforce to send raids against the alliance to slow them down. While they're doing that, I'll send a squadron to Ponyville. They will make it look like the place is fully prepared for an invasion. I will then send whatever tanks we have left and the rest of the army to the hills before Las Pegasus and tell them to lay low. The alliance army will march straight through to Las Pegasus, thinking their distraction worked. Then… we'll pounce on them and wipe them out. The invasion will have been stopped cold in its tracks."

"Awesome…"

"I know… Awesome. Anyway, what are we waiting around for? Let's get moving!"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The outskirts of Don Keyxote_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

A large group of alliance troopers and Bray police donkeys gathered around the edge of the precipice, looking down at the flaming wreak that was the stolen S.W.A.T. prisoner-transfer van.

"No pony is coming out of there," said one soldier.

"I agree. It's totaled. Let's get a move-on and report back to headquarters to tell them that the threat has been elimanted, but we've lost the hostages Pontius and Rarity," said another.

"They are not important to the plan in the long run," said a captain next to the two soldiers, "Let us go."

The soldiers and the police donkeys got into their vehicles and drove away. There was a long moment of silence in the gorge. Suddenly, the flaming vehicle at the bottom flew into the air and landed a distance away from it original position. Discord, with him and his friends surrounded by a protective energy shield, had tossed it aside as if it had been a plastic toy. He straightened up and dusted himself off.

"Well," he said, "That was a minor inconvenience."

Rarity exclaimed, "A MINOR inconvenience?! You have no idea how traumatized I've been. I've fainted more times in the last couple of hours than I have in my entire life!"

Discord conjured up a long list with a red pen. He put on glasses and checked it.

"This is your 'fainting' record. Let's see, Miss Rarity… Hmmmm… nope. No, you have certainly fainted more times in your life than in the past couple of hours. I apologize."

Discord grinned at her as he vaporized the pen, paper, and glasses. Rarity just rolled her eyes. "Well, fine," she said, "It doesn't matter. What matters now is how we're going to get out of Bray!"

"I would be more worried about getting out of the gorge first," sighed Pontius, sizing up the extensive stone walls of the gorge.

"Discord! You could make us balloons! We could float up!" exclaimed Pinkie with an excited bounce.

Rarity nodded. "Yes, Discord, you have the power. Get us up there!"

Discord nodded. "Righto. One totally inconspicuous hot air balloon coming right up!"

He snapped his fingers and conjured up a bright red dirigible. He then quickly put on a sea captain's hat and conjured up a swagger stick.

"Welcome aboard!" he said dramatically, "Every pony onto the 'Discord Airship!'"

Rarity sighed and muttered something unintelligible.

Discord continued to grin. "Don't pout, my dear. I made sure there was an overabundance of sequins in your seat on the ship. No Breezies for them to blind today."

With that, everyone boarded the airship. It lifted into the air and floated out of the gorge. It began to drift over the road where they were shot up by RPGs. Coincidentally; they were immediately shot by an RPG once again. The airship exploded into flames and spiraled to the ground. It skipped and bounced, but did not fall into the gorge. It just lay in the middle of the road in a flaming heap.

The captain who had been looking over the gorge at the decimated S.W.A.T. prisoner-transport truck earlier stepped around large boulder with a RPG balanced on his shoulder. He grinned.

The airship suddenly disappeared with a flash. Discord got up and brushed himself off. He then quickly threw up a large energy shield as he helped up Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Pontius. He turned to the captain and said, "I say, my dear fellow, you must really look where you point those things. Some pony could have gotten hurt."

The captain dropped the RPG with a grin. "That was the intent."

Discord sighed dramatically. "It always is. So, here is how things are going down, I'm Discord, god of chaos. I am also one of the most powerful dimensional travelers that was, is, and probably will always be. You are an alliance pony with an RPG. I win. You will now step away from that RPGS and run home squealing for your mother like a good pony, and we will proceed with flying in the sky with diamonds like normal. ¿Entiendes?"

The captain shook his head. "Oh, so you're Discord. Let me point out why I think I would win."

Suddenly he shimmered and transformed into one of those hideous power-adapting, shape-shifting creatures. Discord blinked, he had not seen such creature before.

"Oooooh, creepy!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie.

Discord sighed and dropped the shield. He then put up his fists. "Get behind me, you three," he said slowly, "This isn't going to be fun."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The outskirts of Don Keyxote, elevation 2150 meters_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Soooooooo… Are we there yet?" said Franklin.

"You say that one more time and I'm going to perform and Inversion and send you two spiraling to your deaths," replied Daniel.

"You know what's interesting?' said Franklin, ignoring Daniel's threat, "Whenever I get you annoyed, you threaten me by saying you'll send me spiraling to my death. The interesting part, though, is that you change the trick that you will use as the way to kill me each time. How many have we cycled through now? Barrel roll, Loop-the-loop, Torque loop, Stall turn, Inversion…"

"What interests me is how he always says 'you two,'" interjected Night Shade, "Last time I checked, Franklin were the one being an idiot and a nuisance, not me."

"Quiet you two," said Daniel sharply as eyes began to scour the ground below, "I sense something."

Franklin flipped out his sniper rifle and began to scope the ground below. "I don't know, we flew over Don Keyxote and didn't notice anything different other than the alliance strolling around. I don't see why this would be any different… Wait… There!"

Franklin pointed to their left and said, "I see explosions. However, the shockwave effect is slightly different… they're from dimensional travelers!"

Daniel preformed a sharp curve and headed directly for the area that Franklin was pointing at. In a moment they were circling a scene of chaos. Discord was battling one of those strange creatures from another multiverse one-on-one. Discord was powerful, but he was so out of practice with lethal combat that he was obviously on the losing side of the scuffle.

"Do we know any of these?" said Daniel as he continued to circle the battle high in the air.

Franklin shrugged. "I am not sure. However, the one weird one fighting that other-multiverse freak has a file in the traveler database. He's a dimensional traveler. His name is Discordius. Power tier 1."

Night Shade nodded as he squinted at the being hiding behind Discord. "The white pony is Rarity, I think," he said, "I think we have every right to go in there and beat the tobacco juice out of the assumed bad guy now, Daniel."

Daniel nodded slowly. "I agree… Okay. Here we go, this is the plan: Night Shade, get down there using your superspeed and immediately engage the hostile. I will keep Franklin airborne for a moment while he tries to disable the enemy. We're shooting for him to be wounded and disabled, but not dead. Got it?"

Night Shade nodded. He then leapt off Daniel's back. He rocketed towards the ground and smashed into the enemy's back at freefall velocity. The creature flew straight over Discord's head and tumbled into the gorge. Discord blinked and looked at Night Shade.

"Raining ponies… a page out of my own book I would have to say," said Discord with a crooked grin. Night Shade nodded.

"Greetings Discordius, I am Night Shade. A 79th generation dimensional traveler."

Discord nodded at Night Shade. "Charmed," he said, "I suppose you know the other dimensional travelers are here? You are in cahoots with them, I hope?"

Night Shade winked and then nodded his head at the sky. "We sure are. The dragon and human up there are my other dimensional traveler teammates, Daniel and Franklin. Do you think we'll be able to take this guy alive?"

Discord frowned. "Hmmm," he mused, "I THINK so…"

Suddenly the creature exploded from the gorge with a howl. He hovered above the ground and released a hail of fire bolts at Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Pontius. Quickly Discord drew up a massive block of stone from the ground that blocked the attack. Immediately afterward, he threw the block. The creature dodged it and flipped in the air. He then hurled a hail of ice-sharp icicles. They were blasted into fine dust by Night Shade who quickly followed up by rocketing towards the creature. Unfortunately the creature simply punched Night Shade in the face as he attempted to swerve out of the way. Night Shade spiraled away, but was caught by Discord. The creature raised a fist to call down a lightning strike but, instead, he just let out a shriek as a bullet from Franklin's sniper rifle clipped off his hand. Clutching the ruined hand with his other, the creature unleashed twin beams of heat energy from his eyes. Discord threw up an energy shield but grimaced as the energy beams ate away at the protection. Night Shade flew up around the shield and yelled, "Hey! Over here!"

The creature began to focus his heat vision on Night Shade, who began to perform tricks in the sky. Discord sidled around until he was facing the creature's back and hurled a blast of kinetic energy. It smashed into his back and set him flying into stone wall. As the creature did so, a sniper bullet took out his other hand. Gurgling, the creature slid to the ground. Discord strolled up to him and snapped his fingers. A flowery straitjacket appeared around him. The creature snarled and got up. He flicked his head. Then large boulders erupted from the ground around him and blasted towards Discord and Night Shade. Suddenly, though, a massive swathe of flames from Daniel vaporized the boulders as the dragon swooped in. Franklin flipped off Daniel's back and smashed the butt of his sniper rifle on the creatures head, knocking him cold.

Daniel landed and looked around, no pony other than the present group had witnessed the battle. Discord snorted. "Well, those things don't give up too easily. I suppose it's all over with now though."

He turned to Rairty, who was staring wide-eyed at Daniel. "Looks like we get to ride a dragon now though… romantic, don't you think?"

Daniel snorted out a blast of flame and heat. "Nope, you guys are going to have to conjure something else up, I'm not letting you guys touch my back."

Discord threw up his upper appendages in mock indignation. "My, my, what a touchy dragon. Do all dragons have naturally soured dispositions?"

"That's what I said too!" laughed Franklin, "Grumpy right?"

"I'll say!" continued Discord, "What a face. I'm sure you could curdle milk with it. Or make it spontaneously combust."

Daniel sighed. "Okay, I get it; I'm not overly fond of this situation. But nevertheless we have it pretty good now. I see you have captured the traitor Pontius, that is good."

Pontius gawked. "W-what?! Me?! I'm not a traitor!"

Night Shade stared suspiciously at him, "We have one mule, with the name of Martique, who says otherwise, mister."

Discord frowned. "Oh dear, it seems that we have reached an impasse then. Pontius insists he's not a traitor, and Martique insists he is. How should we solve this situation?"

Daniel cocked his head on one side as he thought for a moment. Finally he said, "We will bring them both before Celestia and Flaming Star with this issue. Celestia is wise, she will be able to parse out the truth. As for Flaming Star, he has the stare-of-the-souls ability, that should help us bring out the truth as well."

Pontius nodded, looking relieved. "I agree, we should do just that. Let's go now."

Daniel blinked, Pontius looked happy with their decision which implicated that he was telling the truth. But if he was… well, then Princess Celestia had been housing a traitor and a spy within the courts of Canterlot. He shook his head; he had no time to worry about that just yet.

"Discordius," he said, "Make an aireborn vehicle, preferably something fast. When you've finished that, we'll take to the sky as a group and head back Canterlot. Unfortunately the alliance was setting up anti-air weapons when we passed over Don Keyxote earlier, so we will have to take a longer, more indirect route. Nevertheless, as long as Rainbow Dash and Commander Hurricane can slow the alliance's army, we should be good for now with respects to the amount of time we have. Let's move it!"

Discord bowed elegantly to Daniel. "Your wish is my command, young sir," he drawled. He quickly conjured up a large airplane that looked like a cross between a four-seated Piper Cherokee airplane and a large metal Pegasus.

"You seat still has sequins on it, Rairty," said Discord pompously as he helped her into the plane.

"Sequins? You mean those ridiculous thingies designed to make a person go blind?" said Franklin as he got onto Daniel's back.

"They are NOT ridiculous!" said Rarity irately, "They are ALL the rage right now!"

"Sure they are, my dear Rarity," chuckled Discord, "Whatever you say. Now, please keep your head and hooves inside the vehicle at all times and try not to pass out when I try a couple of barrel rolls for fun. Thank you and have a nice day!"

There was a pause... Finally Franklin broke the silence. "Who gets to carry the weird monster thingy? he said.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: OC dimensional traveler ideas are still open! Anyway, I had a serious question: do you guys want to see more of the original MLP characters, or more dimensional travelers? I have thought over the ideas you guys have given me for dimensional travelers and I have realized that there is sooooo much potential in them all. The travelers and their history are incredibly intriguing, and I wanted to know if you guys thought if it is worth it to create more "Recollections" chapters talking about them all. If so, how deep did you want me to go? Should I just start a new story specifically for them? I would appreciate some feedback on this, thanks!<strong>


	41. Chapter 41 - Evacuation

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Cutie Mark Crusader's clubhouse_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"I don't know, I don't really think we should still be thinking of ways to get Flaming Star to propose to Twilight," said Scootaloo as the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Button Mash sat together in the clubhouse.

"Why do you think that?" said Button Mash, who was literally paying no attention whatsoever to the conversation thanks to the handheld video game he was playing.

"Well," replied Sweetie Bell, though she knew very well her friend wasn't paying attention, "What Scootaloo is thinking is that with all this weird stuff going on, we should be worrying about other stuff. We don't even know where Twilight is right now!"

"That's true, I really wish there was some way we could help out with all these problems," sighed Apple Bloom, "Maybe we could even get cutie marks in helpin' ponies in wartime!"

"Or we could just sit here and play video games!" exclaimed Button Mash, "We could get our cutie marks in that!"

"I don't think it works like that, Button Mash," sighed Scootaloo, "Or you would have gotten your cutie mark in that a loooooong time ago."

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sure Scootaloo," mumbled Button Mash, "Repeat what you just said in a sec please, I just need to finish the obligatory underwater area in The Legend of Zebrda, Ocarina of Time."

Sweetie Bell facehoofed. "We've got to do something! Rarity is trapped in Bray, Twilight's missing, every other pony seems scared of their own shadow, and no one is telling us ANYTHING! We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders! We have got to do something to figure out what's going on!"

"HOW?" exclaimed Scootaloo, "We have NO idea how we're going to do that! None of the grown-ups will tell us anything!"

"I might, if you could help me up please."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders (with the exception of Button Mash) turned to see Miranda trying to scramble up into the club house.

"Miranda!" The CMC exclaimed. They helped her up and hugged her tightly.

"Yer okay!" said Apple Bloom, "We were really worried about you! Flaming Star said you had gone crazy or somethin'!"

"I did, little ones," said Miranda, "But I am better now."

"Who you talking to? Woah…" trailed off Button Mash as he looked up and saw the scar-covered pony.

"Hello sweetie! I'm Miranda! What's your name?" said Miranda happily.

Button's game beeped, alerting him that his character had just died, but he paid no attention. He stared with wide eyes at Miranda. "I-I-I'm Button Mash."

Miranda seized him in a hug. "Why hello Button Mash! It's nice to meet you! So, you four want to know a little about what is going on?"

Sweetie Bell bounced a little in excitement. "We do! Do you know anything about what's going on?"

Miranda nodded. "I think so. It's the strangest thing… While I was insane, I would go through these bouts where a bright light would fill the far corners of my mind. When that happened, I became aware of all sorts of things going on everywhere."

"Ooooohhh… is that like a skill? When do we get it?" said Button Mash, who seemed excited about something other than milkshakes and video games for once.

Miranda winked at him. "I don't think it's a skill. It's more like a discoverable perk."

Button Mash's eyes widened even more and Miranda smiled at him. "I was young once too, you know."

She then turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "So, this is what I think is going on… I'm not sure how accurate it is, since I got my information from a man made of light, and since I can remember bits and pieces of what has gone on over the past few days.

"A… man of what?" stuttered Scootaloo.

Miranda grinned at her. "Don't worry; I think it's all trustworthy information. So, this is what is happening: There is a group that is trying to destroy the multiverse because they think it is comprised of only evil beings. To achieve this, they are using shape-shifting agents to infiltrate positions of power on this planet. They are using these agents to sway the nations so that they can take over Equestria and displace this country's ponies of control. According to the Light Man, Twilight has been captured and brought to a prison far, far away. Also, Rarity is safe, but they will be trapped in Bray for a little while longer. Sadly, though, pretty much all of what I just said is just part of their plan. We've all been playing into their hooves. The group is so close to achieving their goal, and so far everypony has been hoodwinked effectively."

"Wow…" breathed Apple Bloom, "This IS big. Do ya know how they are goin' to achieve success?"

Miranda nodded. "Of course! They are going to use… the… tree… of… Harmony… Oh no."

Miranda quickly got up and said, "We have to go. I had totally forgotten about that part! The invading army is going to go straight for the tree of Harmony!"

"What?!" gaped Sweetie Bell, "But… I thought no pony knew of where it was! I don't even really know where it is!"

"They know," said Miranda gravely, "They know, and they've convinced every other pony that they don't know. We have to move. We have to stop them!"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders! Let's roll out!" said Scootaloo dramatically as she grabbed Button Mash and dragged him away from his Game Colt device.

"What? Where? Who? Where are we going?" exclaimed Button Mash indignantly as he was bundled out of the clubhouse.

"We're going to find Sunset Shadow!" replied Miranda, "He'll know what to do!"

"Oh, er, right!" said Button Mash, "To Sunset's place! He'll know what to do! About… something…"

The five leapt down and galloped off to Ponyville.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's house_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Hmmm… 27 45 23.2878 and -103 21 31.75… What do these numbers mean?" sighed Sunset as he sat, head in hoofs, at a mahogany table in his house.

"I don't know, Sunset, but maybe we should just slow down for a minute and enjoy the sunlight," said Fluttershy soothingly.

Sunset smiled as he levitated Starlight Amber in the air and bounced her gently up and down. "I suppose you're right, Fluttershy," he murmured, "Perhaps I'm taking this too fast. I guess I should get my mind back onto the important stuff. What were those again?"

Fluttershy flapped over with a piece of paper and placed it in front of him. She then kissed him on the cheek.

"Don't worry dear; I made a to-do sheet while you were worrying about those numbers."

Sunset smiled at her gratefully. "I would be lost without you Fluttershy. I mean literally lost."

Fluttershy blushed, "Oh thank you."

Sunset gently levitated Starlight Amber to Fluttershy as he looked at the list.

"Hmmmm," he mused, "It seems that I need to get ready for a meeting with Princess Celestia. Ah, that's right, this one is to be held in Fillydelphia. Where is that again? Darn it, I'm forgetting stuff already? I'm only 22 years old!"

Sighing with exasperation, he pulled out a map from a nearby bookshelf using magic and spread it on the table.

"Ah, here it is," he said to himself, "It's here, longitude… er, latitude… Here."

Suddenly he blinked as a figurative light bulb went off in his head. "27 45 23.2878 and -103 21 31.75… They're longitude and latitude! Fluttershy! I got it!"

Fluttershy pressed her ears against her skull. "Um… yay?"

Sunset smiled gently. "Sorry sweetie, I can still get riled up once and a while."

He then turned to look at the map. He located the place where the numbers indicated, it was nothing more than a hill range in Equus. Why had this mysterious "Light Man" given him numbers to a hill range? What was there? Did they even have time to spend by looking around there? Could they even manage to?

He sighed; it didn't seem really worth it. How could he even go there? He had no time. Once again another idea hit him: Flaming Star was in Irrum. Even now he was scouring the land with Spike for signs of Twilight. All Sunset needed to do was send the information pertaining to this mysterious location and send him to check it out!

Sunset nodded decisively. All he needed to do now was figure out how to send the message. Just recently he was alerted by Celestia via a messenger that magical letter-sending too had been disabled by the same mysterious technology that had rendered portal traveling and teleportation useless. He needed a courier. A Pegasus who was brave, stout, and fast. Ditzy Doo? Possibly…

Sunset turned at a sound. It was a rapid knocking at his door. It was loud and sounded like the knocker was in quite a hurry.

"Oh my," said Fluttershy quietly.

Sunset quickly got up and cantered to the door. He opened it and saw Miranda, Button Mash, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders at the door.

"Erm... Can I help you?" stuttered Sunset, who was a little at a loss for words.

"They're coming for the tree of Harmony, Sunset!" exclaimed Miranda.

"Wait, what? Who is coming for the tree of Harmony?" said Sunset, who still looked a little surprised.

"The alliance!" interjected Sweetie Bell.

"What? Impossible. From the reports I have received from Cloudsdale headquarters, the alliance troopers are heading for Las Pegasus. We have nothing to worry about. Whatever gave you the idea that they were going to attack the Everfree forest?"

"The man made of light, Sunset." replied Miranda, her face straight.

Sunset nodded slowly. "I… see… That reminds me, I realized the numbers you gave me were longitude and latitude to a dell in Equus. Do you know why the numbers point there?"

Now it was Miranda's turn to look a little confused. "What numbers?"

"The ones you gave me yesterday!"

"Oh… I'm sorry, I don't remember giving you numbers… My mind wasn't right then, and I only remember a little of what has happened over the past couple of days." Miranda bowed her head, and it looked like she was going to cry.

"And that leads us back to the original point!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell dramatically, trying to break the mood, "The alliance is coming for the tree of Harmony! We've been HOOFWINKED!"

"I think you mean hoodwinked, Sweetie Bell," said Apple Bloom, "Hoofwinked ain't a word."

"Well neither is 'aint't,'" exclaimed Sweetie Bell indignantly.

"They're right, Sunset," said Miranda seriously, "We have to do something. Everything so far has gone according to the plan of 'the group.' They've spilt us up, and rendered the Harmony bearers useless. Ponyville and the tree of Harmony are unprotected. We're at a disadvantage and have played right into their hands… or hoofs."

"Who is 'the group' you keep talking about?" asked Sunset. Already, however, his mind had begun to turn. It seemed that Miranda was right. Everything so far seemed to be playing out as if it was part of a play, a master game.

"I don't know, I'm sorry," sighed Miranda, "The Light Man didn't tell me that much. I do know that all of Equestria, and possibly the whole dimension and the whole multiverse are in trouble. We have to do something… and fast."

Sunset reached a conclusion: Miranda may have been considered legally insane a couple of days ago, but this Light Man seemed real enough to her, and the mysterious entity seemed to know enough about Sunset as well. Perhaps it was time to open his heart up and find it within himself to trust openly once more.

He nodded, "Okay, I understand. We have to take this to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. But before that, I need to find Ditzy Doo, she has a very important task I need her to carry out. Fluttershy? Do you want to come with us?"

Fluttershy looked at her hoofs as she thought for a moment. She then blushed and peeked between her pink mane. After a pause, she said, "Yes. I want to go too. But what about Starlight?"

"She's coming too. We're all going. We might as well," said Sunset with determination, "Let's go."

The group trotted out of the house and went straight into Ponyville.

"Diamond Tiara," said Sunset Shadow to the pink filly, "Have you seen Ditzy Doo anywhere?"

"Oh, Sunset, I don't know, somewhere near town hall I suppose. I don't keep track of her. Why?" replied Diamond Tiara airily.

"It is not of importance right now. Thank you," said Sunset briskly.

The group continued off to town hall. Ditzy Doo was eating a muffin just outside a pastry shop next to the hall. Sunset glanced back at the others and said, "Wait here, I'll just be a moment."

Quickly he cantered up to Ditzy Doo and handed her a letter.

"Ditzy Doo," he said very seriously, "I need you to do something for me."

"Anything Sunset!" exclaimed Ditzy Doo, "Whatcha need?"

"I need you to carry a letter behind enemy lines for me."

Ditzy Doo paused, her hoof with the muffin hovering half-way to her mouth. "Eh? What?"

"I need you to bring a letter to Flaming Star in Irrum."

Ditzy Doo looked a little confused. Then she said, "Oh… I see. Um… Do I have to?"

Sunset nodded his head, "It is imperative that he receives this letter, and you are the only pony I can think of right now who is brave, stout, and fast enough for the job."

Ditzy Doo blinked. After a moment, her nodded decisively. "I am on it Sunset!" she exclaimed, "Do you know where he is?"

Sunset frowned. "No, I don't. You are going to have to search around, but you must do it with the utmost inconspicuousness and care. Do you understand?"

Ditzy Doo saluted. "I do Sunset! As soon as I finish my muffin, I'm off!"

She then noticed that when she had saluted, her hoof had knocked the muffin into the air. The thing landed in a puddle. She looked at it and there was a moment of silence. She then looked back at Sunset.

"Oh, er," she mumbled, "I guess I'll do it right now!"

She picked up the letter, put it in her mail pouch, spread her wings, and began to flap off in the direction of the Frozen north. Sunset bit his lip as he watched her fly away.

"I really hope all goes well," he said. He then trotted back to the rest of the group and said, "That's over and done with now. Now we need to go to Mayor Mare's office and explain the situation. We need to get as many ponies evacuated as possible. If all goes well, you guys can begin evacuations while I approach the Sun and Moon sisters in Fillydelphia and explain what is going on. Perhaps we can allocate more troops to protect the tree of Harmony."

Sweetie Bell smiled. "You can count on us! Let's go!"

They quickly totted into town hall and went into Mayor Mare's office.

"Hello Sunset!" she said cheerfully, "What brings you here?"

"This pony's name is Miranda," said Sunset indicating the scar-covered pony, "She has something to say to you."

Miranda cantered to the front of the group and said, "I believe that Ponyville is in danger of being attacked by the invading army."

Mayor Mare blinked. She quickly ruffled through some papers and pulled one out.

"This is the report sent to the Princesses from Cloudsdale headquarters," she explained as she scanned it, "From what Rainbow Dash and Commander Hurricane said, it seems that Ponyville is only SUPPOSED to seem to be in danger. They said that the army is really just using it as a distraction so that they can lay siege to Las Pegasus unopposed."

"It's a lie," said Miranda flatly, "I do not think all is well within the command hierarchy of Equestria's army."

"Are you saying Commander Hurricane is a liar?" said Mayor Mare skeptically, eying Miranda.

Miranda shook her head. "I am not saying nor implying that, Mayor Mare," she said curtly, her bright eyes darkened with seriousness, "I believe that there are impostors within our ranks that have taken the guise of true officers. We are being fooled."

"I believe she speaks the truth, Mayor Mare," said Sunset.

Mayor Mare looked a little flustered. "Why has no one told me of this?" she mumbled as she rapidly shifter through some more papers.

"It's because no one else has seen it coming. Miranda has had some… inside help with this situation, so she wasn't fooled like the rest of us. We need to trust her," replied Sunset earnestly.

Mayor Mare bit her lip as she looked at the report from Cloudsdale back to Miranda and her friends and then back to the report again. There was a pause. Finally she sighed. "I trust you Sunset," she said, "We will begin evacuations immediately. We will be sending everypony off via train to Dodge Junction or Appleloosa. Going to those places should keep us safe while the army deals with the enemy."

Miranda looked very worried. "Mayor," she said slowly, "We can't ask for help from the Equestria army."

"Why not?" squeaked Mayor Mare, her eyes growing wide.

"We cannot let ANYPONY know what we know," replied Miranda seriously, "There are a lot of impostors within our ranks, and we cannot risk alerting them of our plans. We cannot let them know that we are aware of what is transpiring."

Mayor Mare shook her head. "I cannot let you do this then," she said, "Who will protect Ponyville?"

"I will," said Miranda, "I am a dimensional traveler, power tier 2. I believe can protect this place successfully."

Mayor Mare looked at Miranda and sighed. "This is a matter of trust then really… I'll choose to trust you. Please protect our town."

"With my life," said Miranda solemnly, "We need to begin evacuations immediately."

"It will be done quietly," said Mayor Mare.

Miranda bowed her head. "Thank you Mayor Mare," she said, "For trusting me."

Mayor Mare nodded briskly. "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, or Flaming Star would have done the same."

Miranda turned to Sunset, "This is under control. You should go off to meet with the Princesses to discuss the matters that you have set out. Remember, this is a covert operation, it is best that no pony outside this town really understands what is going on. Oh, one more thing, Sunset: can you get word of what is going on here to the Brothers in Arms corps somehow?"

Sunset sighed. "I have no idea," he replied, "Why?"

"I don't think I can protect the town on my own," she answered, "And I have a contingency plan that requires them. Oh, and don't forget to tell Franklin that I love him. He kept a small part of me sane during the dark times over the past few days."

"I'll see what I can do," said Sunset as he turned around and trotted out of town hall.

He trotted out to town square and looked around until he found the Pegasus he was looking for. It was a dark grey Pegasus with yellow hair: Lightning Dasher.

"Lightning!" called Sunset as he trotted over to the grey Pegasus, "Hey, Lightning!"

Lightning Dasher turned to look at Sunset. "Heeeyyyy… Sunset! What's up?"

"I have a very important task for you," replied Sunset, who levitated a letter that he had quickly written for Miranda, "I need you to take this to the Frozen north."

"Cool," said Lightning, "Who am I looking for?"

"A large red dragon. His name is Daniel," said Sunset.

"A… uh… dragon?" stuttered Lightning with hesitation in his voice.

"Yes, a dragon. Don't worry, he is a dimensional traveler like me, he won't hurt you. He should be somewhere between the southern border of Bray and the Frozen north, so I want you to look for him in the skies. Can you do that?"

Lightning Dasher nodded, took the letter in his mouth, and took to the sky. As he flapped off, Mayor Mare trotted up behind Sunset and said, "Who is that you're sending off? I thought we were not going to tell any pony of the plans!"

"Oh, that's Lightning Dasher, he's taking a letter to the dragon, the human, and that black pony who went off to save Rarity. They're dimensional travelers like me, so they should be able to help against the invading army when they come."

"Ah," said Mayor Mare, "Okay then. Well, I should be going now. I will be making the evacuation announcement in one hour."

Sunset nodded and trotted off to where Miranda, Fluttershy, and Starlight Amber sat under a tree.

"Awwww… She's so beautiful!" exclaimed Miranda as she played with Starlight Amber, "You two have a wonderful little foal here. You are sooooo blessed."

"I know," said Fluttershy happily, "Thank you."

"Hello you two!" said Sunset cheerfully, "All is in order. The letter is sent off, and the evacuation will begin in exactly one hour. Where are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"

"Oh, they left with their little friend Button Mash to play. They headed north. Isn't Button Mash soooo cute?" said Miranda, turning her sparkling eyes towards Sunset.

"Sure, Miranda, anything you say!" Sunset said as he settled down next to Fluttershy, "I suppose we can just enjoy the sunlight here while we wait for things to take place."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Mayor Mare's office_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Mayor Mare closed the door to her office.

"Phasetroopers! Attend me!" she snarled.

Two of those chalk-white creatures from the other multiverse uncloaked from their position beside the door.

"You need us for something, Elite?" asked one of the Phasetroopers.

The Mayor Mare imposter nodded, and shifted into her original form.

"Yes," she said, "Joseph Torrus has sent off a dark grey Pegasus with yellow hair to fetch the Brothers in Arms corps. It is good that we are evacuating Ponyville, thus reducing chances of uprisings and riots, but I do not think our technology could cope with dimensional traveler Miranda, her brother, and his two friends. We need to keep it down to her. Kill the Pegasus courier with a rocket propelled singularity grenade. That should ensure he dies, the letter is stopped, and no one ever notices. Hurry! Even as we speak he is crossing the northern part of Ponyville!"

The two Phasetroopers nodded and cloaked again and left the building.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Hey guys, I just wanted to let you all know that I am going to have to slow down now. I don't think I can keep up with a chapter a day anymore, and I need some time to restock my doc manager. The pause should only be about two days long. Thanks! And don't forget the R&amp;R stuff!<strong>


	42. Chapter 42 - Changing Tides

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Just north of Ponyville_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Why are we here again?" sighed Sweetie Bell, "I literally have no idea what we're doing!"

"We're scouting of course!" exclaimed Scootaloo, "We need to see how far the bad guys are from our home!"

"Er, maybe we should go back," said Apple Bloom, "We don't wanna miss the evacuation."

"Yeah, besides, it's kinda creepy here… heh…" added Button Mash.

"What do you mean creepy?" said Scootaloo indignantly, "It was your idea to scout in the first place, Button Mash!"

"I meant it in a metaphorical sense!" answered Button Mash defensively, "I mean… really? I didn't think we would go this far! Um… what does metaphorical mean anyway?"

Apple Bloom sighed, "I suppose since we haven't gone that far, we could just turn around."

"Turn around? Huh? What are we even doing?" yelled Sweetie Bell. Everypony just continued their argument.

"No, we're too far! Let's keep going!" said Scootaloo.

"Define 'far,'" snorted Button Mash, "I want to get home to my video game!"

"Which one?" asked Apple Bloom.

"QUIET!" yelled Sweetie Bell, louder than before. Everyone stopped arguing and looked at her.

"Listen! I hear something," she whispered.

Everypony stopped talking and listened. It was a flapping noise. It got a little louder as a Pegasus passed overhead.

"Look!" said Scootaloo, "It's Lightning Dasher! He's totally cool!"

Suddenly a flaming object shrieked overhead and smashed into Lightning Dasher. The thing exploded with a weird pop. Rippling ribbons of dark blue and black energy encased the grey Pegasus faster than the eye could move. Then they blinked out of existence in less than a second. Both the energy ribbons and the Pegasus were gone. All that was left of the pony was the letter, which slowly floated to the ground in front of the group.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Button Mash just stared, their pupils a tenth of their regular size. Abruptly both Sweetie Bell and Button Mash whimpered and fainted.

"Did… did he just… die?!" said Scootaloo slowly.

"I… I… dunno…" whimpered Apple Bloom, "I ain't seen nothin' like that before! He just disappeared!"

"He was definitely shot," said Scootaloo, trying desperately to keep from freaking out. She slowly picked up the letter and opened it.

"It's a message to Night Shade and those other two guys!" she exclaimed, "Lightning Dasher was carrying a letter to them!"

"And he was stopped by somepony bad," said Apple Bloom gravely, "This ain't good. We gotta take this to them!"

"But where are they? We don't know!" said Scootaloo.

"My sis said somethin' about them goin' to Bray to rescue Rarity, I think," said Apple Bloom.

"Bray?! That's wwwaaayyyyy up north!"

"We have no choice Scootaloo! We gotta take this to them! Otherwise Miranda will be all alone protecting Ponyville!"

Scootaloo bit her lip. Then her eyes hardened. "You're right," she said with determination, "We need to take this to them. We have my scooter and my wagon; I can take us to the north!"

Button Mash then groaned and got up. "Wha… what happened?" he mumbled, "I blacked out for a moment."

"We're going to take this letter to the Frozen north!" exclaimed Scootaloo dramatically as she held up the letter.

"What?!" gaped Button Mash, "Do we get a montage? Because if we don't, there is noooooo way we can get there in, like… well, in like forever!"

"We gotta though!" said Apple Bloom, "No other pony has the time!"

Button Mash sighed as he helped Sweetie Bell up, who had just awakened as well. "Well… I guess…"

"Right then!" said Scootaloo, "Let's get GOING!"

"To the scooter and wagon!" said Apple Bloom.

"This is crazy," muttered Button Mash as he got into the wagon with Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom. They put on their goggles and held on tight as Scootaloo revved up her little wings. Soon they were skidding off at a good pace towards the Unicorn Range.

* * *

><p><em>Planet: Equestria Earth<em>

_Specific Location: Somewhere in the land of Irrum_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"This is stupid," grumbled Spike as he threw himself onto a bed in room in a small inn, "I mean, you're a dimensional traveler! You can create money out of thin air! Why aren't we living in 5-star luxury suites?!"

"Because," replied Flaming Star patiently, "We cannot risk being identified as upper class ponies. We do that, and the press will become involved, et cetera, and we'll be discovered. We want to stay inconspicuous."

"What's the use?" sighed Spike as he flopped his head back onto a pillow, "We've crisscrossed Irrum now for two days! We haven't found anything!"

"We haven't covered all of Irrum yet, though," said Flaming Star, "We should be done searching this area for bases or high-security prisons soon, however. If Twilight isn't in any of those, we'll move on to searching Equus."

"This is really boring, you know that right?" Spike continued to grumble.

Flaming Star rolled his eyes and sighed. "Nice to know, faithful companion. I will make sure to point out to Twilight when I rescue her that her extremely competent assistant voted to leave her in the hoofs of our nation's enemy. I wonder if you could get a pink slip…"

"Yeah, yeah, you made your point," snorted Spike.

Flaming Star climbed onto his bed and flopped down as well. "We need to get some rest, Spike," he said, "There is a large army base just east to us, and we are going to be infiltrating it at midnight."

"Oh, man! ANOTHER? Isn't this our third?"

"Fourth, actually, and so far there has been no luck in finding Twilight. Perhaps we have a bad approach."

"Well, I guess we better get that sleep you were talking about, the sun is gone."

The two then closed their eyes and drifted off to sleep. Both of their dreams were blank and peaceful, and the hours ticked peacefully by… until…

Flaming Star's eyes snapped open. He glanced at the clock on the bed-side table. It read 11:59. He had set the clock for 12:45, what had caused him to wake up? Then he remembered: a faint explosion. Suddenly another faint explosion resounded through the air; then another, and then another. Flaming Star quickly got up and cantered to the room's east-facing window. He peeked through it. At first he couldn't see anything through the ink-black night, but then an explosion light up the sky. It was anti-air fire. Flaming Star blinked. Anti-air? What were they shooting at?

In an instant, the air abruptly lit up as all the anti-air weaponry on the base turned their cannons to the sky. Soon the sound of exploding shells was deafening, and it startled Spike into wakefulness.

"Wha? What's going on?!" he yelled at Flaming Star over the din.

"I don't know!" called Flaming Star back, "It seems that the Irrum army base is trying really hard, with no success, to shoot somepony down!"

Massive spotlights then turned on in the base and began to scour the sky with huge beams of harsh light. Once and a while a beam would pass over a little flying figure as it ducked and dodged the explosions. Suddenly a spotlight managed to linger on the figure for more than a fraction of a second before it dove to avoid flak shot. Flaming Star then recognized who was flying, and his jaw pretty much dropped to the floor.

"What's going on?" exclaimed Spike, still trying hard to be heard over the noise of flak fire, "Who is that?"

"It's Ditzy Doo!" yelled Flaming Star. He then threw open the window and jumped out.

Spike, who hadn't quite heard anything that Flaming Star had said, just stood there, blinking at the open window. "Was it something I said?" he muttered to himself.

Flaming Star gritted his teeth as his brain desperately grappled for solutions for how to help his friend out of her predicament. If he tried anything big, that would risk exposing who he was, and that would not end well.

He was still trying figure out a way when the latest explosion knocked Ditzy Doo straight from the air. She went spiraling towards the ground in a cloud of black smoke. Flaming Star bit his lip.

"To hell with being covert," he sighed.

He rushed the army base's massive walls and leapt straight over them in a mighty bound. The second he landed he unleashed a massive tidal wave of water. The thing swept through the base, upturning tanks and small buildings. The flak fire stopped as their gunners were blasted away by the oncoming water. As confusion burst from the base, Flaming Star glanced up at Ditzy Doo, calculated her crashing trajectory, and ran to the spot. Immediately guards tried to apprehend him, but choice blasts of kinetic energy knocked them unconscious. Ditzy Doo came shrieking to the ground, but she was caught gently by Flaming Star. "You're safe now," he said as he placed her onto his back.

Tanks akin to M24 Chaffees rushed out to engage him, but Flaming Star simply slammed a hoof against the ground, causing seismic energy to blast the tanks into the air.

"Look out behind you!" yelled Ditzy Doo as she looked behind him. One of the tanks was rushing him, attempting to run him down. Flaming Star whirled, and as he did so, he conjured up a long whip of plasma. The searing hot matter slashed through the tank, slicing it in two. The halves' momentum pushed them forward still, but they split apart just as they were about to hit Flaming Star and slid on by, smashing harmlessly against one of the other upturned tanks.

Soon Infantry Fighting Vehicles were whizzing around the corner to engage him, but just as they rounded the buildings, Flaming Star spread his wings and blasted off into the night, leaving nothing but a dozen decimated tanks and a few unconscious guards.

"Ditzy Doo! What in the name of Earth Prime are you doing here?!" exclaimed Flaming Shadow as he flew away.

"Oh, I had a letter for you! Sunset said it was most urgent that you get it! I couldn't let a couple of explosions stop me!" replied Ditzy Doo happily.

Flaming Star rolled his eyes, "Apparently. I don't think we're being followed, so I suppose it would be best if we return to Spike at the inn. How is your wing?"

Ditzy Doo looked at the wing that had been scorched by flak fire. "It's fine," she replied, "It was really just the shockwave that caused me to lose my sense of direction."

In a few moments they were back to the inn, climbing through the window.

"By Celestia! Ditzy Doo! What are you doing here?!" exclaimed Spike as Flaming Star climbed through the window.

"I'm here to give Flaming Star this letter!" exclaimed Ditzy Doo cheerfully. She pulled the letter out of her pouch with her mouth and gave it to Flaming Star. He opened it up using magic and read it.

He looked at it for a long time.

"Um… Is everything okay?" asked Spike, feeling nervous.

"I think so…" said Flaming Star slowly, "It seems that Miranda got some sort of premonition or something and gave Sunset coordinates to… something. It's in the land of Equus; he wants us to check it out."

"Brilliant!" exclaimed Spike, happy to do something for once, "Let's go right now!"

Flaming Star looked outside the window. He could see the spotlights still sweeping the sky, and he could hear shouts as soldiers began to mobilize within the base. He nodded decisively.

"You're right," he said, "It is probably best if we get a move-on. We're not too far from the Equus border really, and I can cloak us from view as we pass the border guards. We should be able to get to this location, wherever it is, without much opposition. Spike, do you have a map?"

Spike pulled a map out of a suitcase with a flourish. He handed to Flaming Star and said, "One map. Check!"

"Well done, I knew it was a good idea to bring you along, my mostly proficient assistant," said Flaming Star with a wink. He then levitated the map over to a small table and opened it. He quickly traced a hoof over to where the coordinates had been pointing to. He blinked.

"That's a hill," said Spike, as if it was in no way obvious.

"A green hill," added Ditzy Doo, who sounded quite proud of her observation.

"Okay. Great. Let's go check out a… um… hill?" said Flaming Star slowly.

"Yep! Let's go!" exclaimed Spike dramatically. There was a moment of silence, and in that silence, they could hear yelling down the hall, and the sounds of doors being kicked down: soldiers had begun to search the building.

"Oh, that's the signal for us to get the hell out," said Flaming Star. Using magic, he quickly picked up Spike and the suitcase and placed him on his back. He then glanced at Ditzy Doo.

"Can you walk?" he asked.

She nodded and got off his back to make room for Spike. The group then quickly jumped out the window as the sounds of doors being blasted down and screaming grew louder and louder.

"So, what's the plan?" said Spike as they galloped off into the night.

"We go to this hill and camp on it," said Flaming Star, "If nothing happens within thirty seconds, I demolish it using explosive energy. If nothing happens again within thirty seconds, we send an angry letter to Sunset and then continue our search for Twilight."

"Okie dokie!" exclaimed Ditzy Doo.

"Are we just going to keep running on hoof?" said Spike, "I understand that you advocate strongly for running workouts and all, but don't you think it would be better if we got a vehicle or something?"

"My idea exactly," said Flaming Star. Suddenly he swerved and dove into a bush, taking Ditzy Doo, Spike, and the luggage with him. A tank appeared around the bend and began to drive by them. As it did so, Flaming Star hurled a small bolt of explosive energy. It blasted in front of the armored vehicle with the magnitude of a large cherry bomb. The tank stopped and the driver and gunner got out to inspect the blast. As they did so, two hard bolts of shadow energy knocked them head-over-hoofs. Quickly the group in the bushes rushed out and grabbed the tank. Pulling a hard U-turn, they rumbled off in the direction of the Equus border.

"Wow… that was surprisingly easy," said Ditzy Doo as she settled down in the gunner's seat, "What does this control do?"

"That fires off a 105 mm shell at supersonic speeds, Ditzy Doo," said Flaming Star briskly, "Please don't touch it."

The tank rumbled off towards the direction of the Equus border without so much as a hitch for the rest of the way, though, from the sound of the radio chatter the group was listening in on, the area they had just left was now crawling with soldiers in an attempt to find whoever was responsible for trashing twelve tanks with ease.

In a couple of hours, the group and their tank were just around the corner from the border crossing.

"It is armed, no doubt," said Spike as he peeked his head through the commander's hatch.

"Probably," confirmed Flaming Star, "But I should be able to cloak us from view. Just give me a moment."

Flaming Star quickly scrambled out of the tank and began to trot around it, looking it up and down. After a moment of contemplation, Flaming Star began to project walls of photon-rephasing energy, and retro-reflecting material around the armored vehicle. In a couple of minutes the whole thing was invisible to the naked eye. Nodding with satisfaction, Flaming Star got into the tank once more.

They rounded the corner and passed right between two guard posts.

"Hey, did you just hear something?" said one of the guards as the tank passed unseen right between them.

"Yeah, it was my voice telling you to shut up," replied the other.

"Moron."

The tank continued passed a couple more guard posts, but amazingly none of the others really took any notice. Soon they were in Equus territory.

"Alright Spike," said Flaming Star, "You get to be navigator. Lead us to this fabled green hill of destiny."

"Righto, Flaming Star!" exclaimed Spike with enthusiasm, "take the first right… no left… no, your other left! I mean right! Oh, I'm holding it upside-down… Take the first left!"

"This is going to be one long ride," muttered Flaming Star, as the tank skidded, barely managing to take the left without smashing through several tall pine trees.

A couple of hours and a couple of collisions later, the tank began to approach the area that they were told to go.

"Keep driving for 200 Smoots and then look to your left. You have reached your destination," said Spike.

"A Smoot?" snorted Flaming Star irately, "I thought we were still working in Beard-Seconds!"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Fine, Mr. Picky," he said, "Keep driving for approximately 68 billion Beard-Seconds and then look to your left. You have reached your destination."

"Much better," chuckled Flaming Star, "I can understand Beard-Seconds SOOOO much better."

"Waaiiiitttt… Are you being sarcastic?" asked Spike suspiciously.

"Well, what do you think?" said Flaming Star with a grin.

"Um, guys? We're about to pass up our destination!" exclaimed Ditzy Doo.

Flaming Star turned back to the wheel and pulled a hard left turn. He stopped at the base of the target hill. The group clambered out and looked the hill up and down. It was green; it was small; it was extraordinarily unimpressive.

"This is the most standard hill I've seen in my life," said Spike.

"And it's in the middle of nowhere," added Ditzy Doo.

"It's so standard and unimportant-looking that I actually think it has a chance of actually containing something useful to us," said Flaming Star, eyeing the hill with an interested air, "Okay Spike, take a quick jog up there and let us know what you see. If it tries to kill you and you die, drop us a note."

"And this is what happens when ponies pull all-nighters," grumbled Spike as he climbed the hill.

There was a pause. Unexpectedly a cry from Spike rang out just as he disappeared from view over the crest of the hill. Ditzy Doo and Flaming Star glanced at each other. They then dashed off in unison towards the crest of the hill. They came across Spike who was sitting on the ground, rubbing his head.

"What happened?" asked Ditzy Doo breathlessly.

"I… ran into something…" replied Spike, bemusement plastered across his face.

"You ran into something?" said Flaming Star.

Spike rolled his eyes. "I just said that, didn't I? I have no idea what just happened, but it hurt."

Flaming Star winked at him, "Sure it did, kiddo."

He then turned to look at the hill before him. Slowly he inched forward, probing with his right hoof every now and then. Suddenly his hoof came in contact with something. A noise, similar to a pebble being dropped into a calm lake sounded long and low, and rippling effect spread out from where Flaming Star's hoof had just hit. It was an invisibility shield.

"Oh man," breathed Flaming Star. Rearing back his hoof, he sent out a massive EMP surge. It crackled through the energy shield and dissipated. After a second of silence, a loud crackling noise burst from the spot where Flaming Star had just released the EMP and the invisibility cloak shut down, revealing a strange metal box. It had several arrays of antenna, and it was about the height and width of Princess Celestia.

Immediately Flaming Star began to cross-reference the contraption with the dimensional traveler database. He hit a match: the box he was looking at was a completed version of the technology designed to block all portal-traveling and teleportation within a dimension.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: So, I just realized that both Discord and Jetfire (yes, Jetfire from the Revenge of The Fallen) are actual characters from canon material that work nicely as dimensional travelers. This leads me to this question: Does anyone have suggestions for other actual characters from any other story or movie out there that would have potential as dimensional travelers? What do you guys think?<strong>


	43. Chapter 43 - Horrors

**Note: Okay, I have a lineup for the dimensional travelers I will be using now. Thanks for all the feedback! So, the real Franklin Montgomery was wondering how I get these things typed to fast... here is my answer: I type an average of 100 word per minute, and I spend an hour every other day typing this story. That's 6000 words a day. I then spilt those words into 3000 word chapters. Thus, every other day I create two chapters, enough for me to easily keep up with everyday posting... most of the time. As for brainstorming each chapter out, I pretty much had this entire story planned front to back over the course of last summer. Anyway, keep up the R&R stuff please!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Unknown<em>

_Planet: Unknown_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

Twilight sat in the corner of her prison as she comprehended her fate. How long was she going to be here? Were they ever going to let her go? What were her friends doing right now? Was Flaming Star thinking of her at all?

She sighed as confused thoughts continued to bounce in her head. The Paradox… what he had said had made sense. The things he had shown her was terrible and violent and vicious. Could good survive in a dimension of evil? And then she thought of Ponyville, a light in a sea of darkness. Even then that light was tarnished by the thought of corrupt alternate timelines. Could Pinkie ever have the potential to kill her friends? She just didn't know. The Paradox seemed so kind, she almost forgave him for kidnapping her…

Then the automatic door to her prison slid open and a being walked in. He looked like the Paradox, but he was slightly different. The being before her was a little taller and broader. Although he was still dressed in white-colored full body armor, his helmet's visor resembled a red-glowing crow with outspread wings. Bands of black and blood-red ran in ribbons down from his shoulder plates to the backs of his hands.

Twilight blinked in confusion. Was this being from the Paradox's brotherhood? She got up to approach him, but, suddenly, the being viciously backhanded her. She flew across the room and smashed into a wall.

"Your friends just couldn't play nice, couldn't they?" the being snarled as he reached her in a single stride. Heaving her bodily, he slammer her into the white table and strapped her down again.

"What- what's going on?!" squeaked Twilight, completely confused, "The Paradox said I wouldn't be hurt!"

"He said that if all went well, you wouldn't be hurt!" yelled the being, "But guess what? All has NOT gone well! Elite Phasetrooper number seven went missing while hunting down your friend Rarity. Our intelligence alerted us that the Brothers in Arms corps has captured him. Something we did NOT expect. They made it out of Bray successfully, so guess who is going to pay for their little bout of resistance? YOU. We were originally going to let you escape with a little bit of misinformation to make it easier for our plan to proceed, but this new unwanted development has stripped you of your chance for freedom."

Turning to a wall, the being motioned to it. The wall slid out revealing all sorts of objects related to torture. Grabbing a pair of wires he turned to her.

"Did you know that if I used unhampered electrical currents at 50,000 volts, I can fry the skin off your bones without killing you?" said the being with a laugh, "Let's run a little experiment to prove the validity of that piece of trivia."

Twilight screamed as the being pressed the live wires to her chest, sending electricity coursing through her body. The voltage was too great to cause fibrillation, but it most certainly high enough to cause incredible amounts of pain. Twilight continued to scream as she racked about in her restraints. She jerked and shook and twisted as the searing pain lanced through her body. The being did it again, and again, and again, and again, and again.

Twilight was barely conscious when he finally stopped. Smoke slowly rose from two bleeding dark spots on Twilight's chest where the wire pads had been.

"That was… fun," said the being, "Personally, I hope your friends provide more opposition in the future, I really enjoyed this. Oh, my name is Pictor the executioner. I hope you remember this name, because I will be back. The more your friends resist, the more pain you will endure. You can thank the Paradox for this excellent plan."

Twilight simply gave out a racking sobbed and slipped into unconsciousness.

"All for the plan, eh?" chuckled Pictor as he exited the room. As he left he opened a holographic projection in front of his masked helmet. "Paradox," he said, "I preformed the first bout. Let the world know of how their precious princess is going to die a slow death if they keep interrupting."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The skies above Las Pegasus_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms crops_

"Wow! This setup is AWESOME!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she watched the tanks and Equestria soldiers taking up positions just outside Las Pegasus from a large dirigible in the sky.

"It's acceptable. We need to hurry up the left flank though, the attacks could be coming any minute. The reports said that they've just reached the Ponyville and Las Pegasus crossroads," said Commander Hurricane.

"Well… what do we do now?" said Rainbow Dash as she continued to look at the armies below.

"We wait. We just wait," replied Hurricane.

"Ummmm… Sorry if I missed some lecture somewhere, but when is waiting conducent to winning a war?"

"You obviously did miss a lecture somewhere. Waiting is the most important part of this plan."

"Sure. This is boring."

"Keep your mane on, kid. This pretty explosions will start soon."

They continued to look over at the armies waiting patiently for a good thirty minutes.

"Pinkie Pie would have spontaneously combusted by now," grumbled Rainbow Dash.

Commander Hurricane just chuckled calmly. "They'll come. However, I do have something to attend to at the forward battalions. I will be back in a moment."

With that, Commander Hurricane spread her wings and blasted off. Rainbow Dash groaned and rolled her eyes. Now she was bored AND she had no one to complain to either. She sat down grumpily and began to toy with the dirigible controls. A couple of minutes later a Pegasus scout flapped in. He was disheveled and his eyes were wide.

"Commander Rainbow Dash!" he exclaimed, breathing heavily, "The alliance armies! They're attacking Ponyville-"

The dirigible exploded. Some pony had placed an explosive on the balloon and detonated it two minutes after Commander Hurricane had left. The blast set the whole thing ablaze and sent it spiraling to the ground. The shockwave had killed the guard, but by some miracle it only sent Rainbow Dash flying backwards. Fortunately her training with the Wonderbolts Academy helped her immediately right herself. She quickly prepared herself for the invading army of the alliance to appear any second, but nothing happened. This had been no alliance anti-air attack, some pony had placed that explosive on the dirigible BEFORE anything had happened. There was a saboteur within their ranks. Despite the fact that the shockwave had spun her around, realizations hit her faster than they would have normally: the alliance army had never intended to attack Las Pegasus, they simply had used it as a front of a front so that they could attack Ponyville… where the tree of Harmony was. An icy fear gripped her heart, and she blasted off in the direction of her hometown, a massive rainboom spreading out behind her as she shrieked off to protect her friends.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms crops_

"Keep evacuating ponies! Stay calm!" called Sunset. He turned to Miranda with worry in his eyes. "Where are the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" he asked, "Applejack said she won't leave until she finds Apple Bloom!"

Miranda bit her lip. "She will have to stay behind with me then," she replied, "I don't think there is any other way. If I know the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they right now are probably doing something that actually might prove a major help as this war draws to a close. Anyways, did you tell the Princesses that you are going to have to decline their meeting in Fillydelphia?"

Sunset nodded and said, "I did. I also sent a lone letter to Luna in a code. If Luna is the real Luna, she will get the message and come with Celestia to help as soon as possible."

Miranda winked. "Okie dokie! I just have to try not to die! Have fun on the train! Don't eat too many sugar cubes while you're on the trip!"

Sunset blinked. He then shook his head and turned to Fluttershy. "I… I'm going to stay," his voice broke, "I will not let another dimensional traveler willingly give up their life without me doing the same."

Fluttershy's eyes hardened. "Then we're not leaving either," she said, "If you and Applejack are staying, then I'm staying too. That's that."

Sunset looked at her and smiled a little. "You, Fluttershy, are the greatest pony that has ever graced this dimension with her presence," he said.

Fluttershy blushed and looked down at her hoofs.

Miranda grinned dreamily. "Young love," she sighed, "This makes me want to get married. I just hope Franklin doesn't kill my groom though…"

Sunset looked at Miranda and rolled his eyes. "You're only twenty Miranda, and I would be more worried about you accidentally causing your future husband's to explode from being too nice," he said, "Anyway I'm sure the right one for you will come along one day."

Mayor Mare trotted up and nodded her head at them, "Are you getting on the train, Sunset?"

Sunset shook his head, "Oh, no, I'm staying here. I know I have made it obvious I am a pacifist, but I will not let Miranda stand alone against an army."

Mayor Mare's face fell. "But… er, won't that go against your beliefs?" she suttered.

Sunset blinked. "Um… no," he replied, "Not really. I never actually said that I was a true pacifist, I just implicated that that was what I was and wanted to be."

"Oh, um, of course! A-are you sure though?" said Mayor Mare, still looking a tad bit flustered.

Sunset nodded. "Of course. Are you okay?"

Mayor Mare nodded her head but then said, "I really don't think you staying is a good idea… I mean…"

Sunset looked at her. Horror gripped his chest as it became apparent… this could be one of those impostors Miranda could have been talking about. Why would Mayor Mare, in her right mind, want him to leave Ponyville less defended? Anger began to fill his vision, but he quickly recovered. He smiled and said, "You know what? You're right. I cannot let this situation get the better of me. I am a pacifist, and I should act like one. Come on Fluttershy, we're leaving."

Sunset then gave Fluttershy and Miranda a look that told them everything with perfect clarity: Mayor Mare was an impostor, he was bluffing. The two immediately caught on.

Miranda bowed her head dramatically. "Go then, my friend, go off and settle down far away. I will defend this town alone."

Fluttershy nodded her head vigorously. "Do let's go," she said quietly, "All this talk of fighting is scary, we should catch the train before it leaves."

Mayor Mare looked relieved and then said, "Excellent. As for me, I need to go. I have a train to catch as well."

She left, heading away from the train station.

"We should kill her," said Sunset, actually meaning it for the first time in a while. His vision began to slowly redden as anger began to bubble in his chest again. This impostor had heard all their plans, which means that "the group" Miranda talked about most certainly knew everything they were about to do

"Maybe we just need to calm down for a moment and think out what is happening," said Fluttershy soothingly, giving Sunset a kiss on the cheek. Sunset felt himself calm down and he hugged Fluttershy tightly.

"You're right, dear, I just need to calm down. We can get through this."

He turned to Miranda and said, "You wouldn't mind if I opened a telepathic link with you, would you?"

Miranda nodded, "I've had my mental port open all day, searching for Franklin, but feel free to tap into it. This way we can talk while you 'leave' for the train station."

Sunset opened the link and said over the intercom, "Okay, I'm going to walk to the train with Fluttershy and disappear into the crowds. When we do that, I'm simply going to cloak us and come back."

Miranda winked at them. "Have fun! I'm just going to stand here, trying to figure out how to beat a whole army. Hopefully Franklin will come soon."

Sunset frowned, "Don't count on it. If Mayor Mare is an impostor, than Lightning Dasher probably never got to the Frozen north."

Miranda dramatically rolled her eyes. "I can dream, can't I? You go off and spend some quality time with your lovely Fluttershy now. Precious moments are rare nowadays."

Sunset smiled. He then spread a wing of Fluttershy's back and they trotted off, with Sunset using magic to push Starlight Amber's stroller along. They soon rounded a corner and Miranda was alone. She sat down and looked at the sky and marveled at the beauty of the land. Her eyes brightened as a little bird landed next to her.

"Why hello cutie!" she said as the bird hopped over to her, "How are you on this fine day? I would suggest you go home to your family, things are going to get a little fuzzy here soon."

The bird chirped and flapped away. Miranda smiled after it. She lay on her back and began to look at the clouds blissfully. She had no intention of thinking about war and battle until she absolutely had to. She began to hum a little song about trees of green and friends shaking hands that Franklin had taught her in the old days as she waited for Sunset to return.

"What a wonderful world…"

The words slipped out between Miranda's lips as she sighed and closed her eyes. However, she immediately opened them again as Sunset uncloaked with Fluttershy and Starlight Amber.

"Has Mayor Mare passed by any time recently?" said Sunset as he looked around warily. Miranda smiled and said, "Nope. Everything is clear. Fluttershy, dear, what will you be doing while your husband and I try to keep the town from being burned to the ground?"

Fluttershy wrung her mane. "Oh dear, I really don't know," she confessed, "I don't want to fight, but I don't want to leave Sunset."

Sunset looked around. He then pointed to the abandoned Sugar Cube corner. "Go there," he said, "And look from the top window. You will be able to see me, but remain unseen yourself."

No sooner had Fluttershy entered it than the sound of rumbling M2 Bradleys filled the air. Miranda's eyes saddened.

"And so it begins," she sighed. She then looked at Sunset and said, "Two Harry Potter Galleons say that I get more kills."

Sunset shook his head. "You are so confusing, Miranda," he replied. After a pause he said, "I think I still have a Lord of the Rings ruby from the Lonely Mountain. Will that work?"

Miranda gave him a huge smile. "You betcha. But you have to promise me that you won't die. Your wife and foal needs you."

Sunset's eyes hardened. "I have no intention of dying."

The first wave of soldiers entered the town. They marched complacently up to town square and stopped a dozen meters from Miranda and Sunset.

The troops froze. "I thought there was only supposed to be one guarding," came a whisper that reverberated through the air.

"So Mayor Mare IS an impostor!" exclaimed Miranda dramatically, "Well, too bad! We hoodwinked her! And here you have it: two dimensional travelers, both power tier 2. And wait! That's not all! I present to you Joseph Torrus! One of the most powerful dimensional travelers of all time!"

The army soldiers shuffled uncomfortably. Their superiors had promised them only a small fight with a dimensional traveler. Now there were two, and one they knew very well was capable of laying waste to their army.

"So," snarled Sunset, trying hard to stay calm, "Who is up first?"

"Oh Sunset," came a voice from above them, "I thought I had left you in much better shape than that! Do not harm this army; they are only here because I need them to be."

Miranda and Sunset glanced up. The Paradox, swathed in golden light, slowly alighted in front of them. Sunset eyed the Paradox. He knew that Miranda had said that he was a liar, but he couldn't understand the feelings bubbling inside of him. So many different emotions…

"Sunset, Sunset, my son," he said, "Why are you so troubled?"

Pointing a shaking hoof, Sunset yelled, "You've lied to us! You say you watch over us, but you have done nothing but lie through your teeth! I didn't believe Miranda at first; I gave you the benefit of the doubt, but my trust was misplaced. You've spent eons rearing us, teaching us, and now THIS? WHY?"

The Paradox just looked at him. Slowly he kneeled down until he was looking Sunset straight in the face. "Sunset," he said, "You of all people should understand. You have seen how twisted the multiverse is; you have seen how far it's fallen. We're all burning in a hell right now, but I know who to quench this ungodly fire."

Sunset was working hard to contain his rage. "Then tell us, Paradox," he said, his voice strained.

"It is something a little too complicated to understand, my son," replied the Paradox, "but I need the tree of Harmony. That's all I need. I need the tree of Harmony. Celestia refused to give it on her own free will, so I needed to take it by force. I am desperate, Sunset, I am TRULY desperate. I am so close to solving all our problems, and all I need it that tree… just let me and my soldiers pass, and all will be well… for eternity."

"He's lying."

The Paradox and Sunset turned to look at Miranda, whose eyes had become glazed. The Light Man was speaking through her one last time.

"Hey everyone!" she said, though it was obvious she was not speaking on free will, "Please apologize to Miranda when I'm done, but I really needed to throw something out there."

"Who are you?" said the Paradox. For the first time in his life, Sunset heard fear in his voice.

"It doesn't matter who I am bub," the Light Man said through Miranda, "But I know very well what you are planning. Sunset, he is going to use the tree of Harmony to destroy the ENTIRE multiverse. There is a system rigged between the harmony units. The Paradox and his little cartel of lunatics have double-crossed the demons AND the angels of the celestial heaven to bring this plan into motion, but it is moving just as they set out. All they need now is to trigger the chain reaction via the tree of Harmony that will bring down everything. Every shred of energy, every piece of matter will be dissolved into pure nothing. All that will remain is the Paradox and his friends. Only with their survival will the multiverse be pure… be without the cancer of any evil… or so they think."

The Paradox just stood up and said, "Who are you?"

"As I said, you moron, it doesn't matter who I am," replied the Light Man, "What do you have to say for yourself? These people trusted you… THESE PEOPLE LOVED YOU."

The Paradox looked at Miranda, and then turned to Sunset. Quietly, he extended a hand and a holographic projection popped up. The image expanded and a video linked became live. It was a video of Twilight, strapped to a table. Tears were seeping from her eyes, and her body was heaving. Pictor was standing next to the table, a nasty looking dagger pressing against her belly. He slowly pushed it into her flesh. Twilight jerked a little, but she was in too much shock to really react.

"Why you little…" snarled the Light Man, "I'll fix you."

Miranda gasped as the Light Man left her mind. She shook her head, then she noticed the video. Her faced tightened in pain. "Oh Twilight…" she whimpered.

"Stand aside, Sunset and Miranda," said the Paradox calmly, "I need you two to stand aside. This plan cannot be stopped, it must continue. I am sorry, my son, but the multiverse must be cleansed."

"You sound like an extremist," said Sunset warily, "You sound like one of those that you set us out to stop."

"I've stared into the abyss, and the abyss has stared back into me… and perhaps I have been looking into it for too long. Perhaps I was not careful in my earnest attempt to destroy evil… perhaps I too became evil… perhaps. It's all relative really. The rules are determined by those in power, and I am a god, I am in power. I have determined what is evil, and now it must be stopped. I have crossed heaven, hell, and earth for this, and I will not be stopped now."

"We… we loved you, Paradox," choked Miranda, her eyes tearing up.

"I know, my daughter, but this must continue. Imagine a multiverse free from evil. A multiverse that is pure…"

Sunset bowed his head and motioned to Miranda. "Let them pass," he sighed, "Let them pass."

"But… but he'll kill us all!" exclaimed Miranda, "We can't just-"

Then she again noticed the beaten and bloodied Twilight on the video screen. She sighed and stepped aside as well.

The Paradox nodded and turned to the soldiers. "Surround the place and keep an eye on these two. Don't kill them."

He then turned to a radio-operator pony. "If they resist, call me."

He then snapped a finger and walked off. At the sound of his snapping fingers, all the imposters, the Elite Phasetroopers who had taken the guise of ponies and donkeys of power, appeared.

Mayor Mare, Martique, Commander Hurricane, Cadence, Ahmed Ponhammed, Shadow Scepter, and Corona Oscura uncloaked from around the Paradox and followed him off to the Everfree forest… and the tree of Harmony.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Does anyone want me to put up a dimensional travelers guide? As in I would post a full guide as a second story?<strong>


	44. Chapter 44 - Target Acquired

**Note: Hey, I noticed I had feinting and fainting mixed up. I tried to fix and re-update all the errors I could find, but I would appreciate it if you guys would drop me a note if you found any more of these errors. Thanks!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Somewhere above the Unicorn Range_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Sooooo… what next?" said Franklin.

"Franklin… if you say that one more time, I'll… uh… I'll…" growled Daniel.

Franklin then began to laugh and clap. "I've done it! I've successfully made you run out of different types of tricks to kill me!"

"I could just start over again. If you say that one more time, I'll do a loop-the-loop and send you two falling to your deaths," continued Daniel.

"Nice job, Daniel, you've just become repetitive," chuckled Franklin, "And there are three of us now, since we had to carry this hideous creature thingy with us."

"Okay, great, whatever," snorted Daniel, "What we need to do now is head for Canterlot. Princess Celestia should be there. We can take this godforsaken piece of meat to her and have her wring a confession from it."

"Oh, that would be a brilliant idea," called Discord, "I was hoping we would be able to drop by the castle. I can show Celestia and Lulu how I took care of Rarity and Pinkie Pie!"

"You say that like you did a good job!" exclaimed Rarity indignantly.

Franklin grinned. "Discordius, I think you and I will get along just great. Maybe we could go on a prank spree sometime!" Suddenly Franklin dropped his grin as his sharp eyes picked out something below. He pulled out his sniper rifle and scoped it out. He put it down and said, as if he could hardly believe it, "Um… Night Shade, your little friends, the Cutie Mark Crusaders… they're here."

Night Shade grabbed the sniper rifle and looked through the scope. He then handed it back to Franklin and said to Daniel, "Daniel! Swoop down! What are they doing here?"

"We're about to find out!" yelled Daniel as he swooped down.

Discord blinked at Daniel, looking confused. Then he looked at where they were diving to.

"Oh! I say Rarity! Your sister is down there! A weird place to have a vacation don't you think?"

Rarity's eyes widened as she peeked through a window of the plane and noticed a small pony down on the range below that looked remarkably like her little sister. She opened her window slightly then took a deep breath and yelled, "SWEETIE BELL! WHEN I GET DOWN THERE YOU'LL BE IN TROUBLE!"

Discord chortled as he began to lower his airplane.

"Night Shade!" gasped Scootaloo, who collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, "We… have a letter… from Sunset!"

Night Shade leapt down and gave the Cutie Mark Crusaders hugs.

"Woah… a DRAGON!" exclaimed Button Mash, "Can I ride him? Huh? Huh?"

Daniel rolled his eyes, "Maybe kid. Maybe. I'll check my schedule."

Franklin, on the other hand, was really worried.

"Guys?" he said, "I think you might want to take a look at this."

As the Brothers in Arms corps gathered around the letter, Rarity stormed up to Sweetie Bell from Discord's landed plane.

"Sweetie Bell! What in the world were you thinking, coming all the way out here?!" she exclaimed crossly.

"Sorry Rarity!" said Sweetie Bell, "But there was this warning about the alliance coming… then there was Lightning Dasher disappearing with a flash leaving this letter… then there was us deciding to bring this letter here… then here we are!"

Rarity just looked at Sweetie Bell. "Er… beg pardon?"

"Ooooohhh! I just love it when I disappear with a flash!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie with a bounce.

"I do too," said Discord with a wink. He then disappeared and then reappeared with a flash.

Pontius just rolled his eyes and chuckled at how remarkable the situation was as a whole.

As this was going on, the Brothers in Arms corps were reading over the letter.

Franklin bit his lip as he looked at Scootaloo. "How long did it take you to deliver this letter?"

Scootaloo, who was lying on her back, waved her hoof in the air. "Oh, I don't know, several hours. It was a workout I can tell you!"

Franklin bit his lip even harder as he looked back at his teammates. "This is really not good," he said, "anything could have happened by now."

Daniel nodded but sighed. "We cannot do anything though, even at supersonic speed it might take an hour at least to make it to Ponyville. We have just ran out of time. If we only had our portals…"

Franklin sighed and put his head in his hands. "My sister… alone…" he said. His voice trembled a little.

Night Shade trotted over and sat next to him and put a hoof on his shoulder. "She will be fine," he said calmly.

Franklin shook his head and shrugged off Night Shade's hoof. "No," he said, "She won't be fine. She is fighting a whole army armed with advanced technology. I am her brother! I am supposed to be there for her! If only… if only I could teleport! Damn! Damn it all! We've been played from the beginning!"

Daniel sighed as well, blasting out a burst of hot air. "You're right, our enemy is a whole lot smarter than we think, and obviously smarter than us. But there is nothing we can do about it now."

"We need backup," said Night Shade.

"We don't have backup," replied Daniel.

"You totally have backup," came a voice from behind them.

The whole group turned to see Flaming Star, Ditzy Doo, and Spike trotting through a portal.

"Guess who found and destroyed the portal-blocking device?" said Flaming Star with a wink.

"You may be a pain in the ass, firstborn," said Daniel with a rare smile, "but you are absolutely amazing."

Flaming Star bowed. He then noticed the unconscious for of the Phasetrooper that they had captured.

"Is this one of those creatures?" he asked, pointing with a hoof.

Daniel nodded. Flaming Star eyed it and nodded. "Yep," he said, "It most certainly looks like one. From what I understand, if there is one here, there is a major chance that there will be more. In fact, who knows, there could be hundreds here, posing as ponies in high power. They could be literally running both sides of the war in fact!"

Night Shade nodded, "I can see that happening, but we cannot be certain for sure. Is… is there a way we can find out?"

Daniel grimaced. "I really have no idea," he said, "If they are operating under someone, they will obviously not give information up easily. From what I understand, they might not give up information at all. Unless… unless… Flaming Star, can you use your stare-of-the-souls to figure out what is going on?"

Flaming Star stroked his chin with a hoof as he thought about it. Then he nodded slowly. "Maybe," he mused, "I've only used it to detect deceptions and understand truths… but I think I can also use it to glean truths. I suppose I could try."

Flaming Star strolled up and grabbed the creature by the throat. He then slapped it into wakefulness.

"Look me in the eyes, creature," he said. The Phasetrooper growled but complied. Flaming Star trapped it in his stare-of-the-souls. Sweat began to bead on his forehead as he began to drag information from the mind of the Phasetrooper. Little by little, the plan the Paradox had for this dimension came to light. The horror of what was even now transpiring caused his head to spin. He stumbled and fell down. He got up, breathing heavily.

"What is it?" said Daniel, his eyes full of worry. The firstborn was NEVER truly worried.

"The Paradox…" breathed Flaming Star, "The Paradox… The Paradox… He has been lying to us."

Franklin chuckled nervously. "Yeah right. Flaming Star, you're such a kidder! I got a better one though. What do you call a polar bear with earmuffs on?"

"No, no, no…" said Flaming Star, "It's all been part of the plan. WE'VE been all part of the plan. It's all about the harmony units. They're… they're weapons of mass destruction. All we've ever been created to do is protect them until the Paradox deemed it time to activate them. He's going to kill us all... just so that the multiverse can be cleansed of what he deems to be impure…"

"The Paradox? Dad? No… NO NO NO NO NO!" yelled Night Shade, "My dad would NEVER DO THAT!"

Flaming Star shook his head. "We… we have to find out," he said slowly, "Perhaps… perhaps this creature has been misinformed somehow."

The Phasetrooper chuckled. "You will wish that when it is over, Flaming Star… you will all-"

Franklin smashed the Phasetroopers head in with his rifle butt.

"Franklin!" shouted Daniel, "Control yourself!"

Flaming Star continued to shake his head. "Paradox… THE Paradox. I cannot… He's never given me any reason to be suspicious of him! Eight thousand years down the drain… Eight thousand years he's trusted and mentored me. Was this his plan all along? Has this been what he's always been planning? But… but…"

Daniel blinked calmly. Despite the horror of the news, he took every piece of information a baby step at a time. He looked at Flaming Star and said, "Calm down Flaming Star, I understand that this is terrible, but we're used to people betraying us. Or, at least, we should be used to it by now."

Flaming Star looked at Daniel irately. "This is the Paradox we're talking about," he snapped, "The one who gave you your powers, the one who raised Night Shade from a baby."

Daniel sighed and went to sit next to Night Shade, who had buried his head in his hoofs and was trembling. The black Pegasus wasn't taking the news very well.

"Night Shade," Daniel said, trying to sound calm and soothing, "You can't let your emotions get the better of you. As Flaming Star said, this creature might have been misinformed, or found a way to somehow forge truths. Nothing is certain at this point."

"My… Dad…" said Night Shade, still shaking. After a moment, he took a deep breath and got up. He nodded his head and said, "Okay. Okay, I'm calm now. Let's get moving. The sooner we act the sooner we can prove the Paradox's innocence."

"So," said Rarity, who was staring wide-eyed at the dead body of the Phasetrooper, "Where to?"

"The Harmony tree," replied Flaming Star, who too had gotten himself under control. With that he opened a portal straight to the tree of Harmony in the Everfree forest.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

Miranda and Sunset sat side-by-side, surrounded by a powerful electromagnetic prison shield. Soldiers pointed weapons at the from all directions, and the radio-operator stood by, next to his radio.

"Okay, at least they didn't think we had a telepathic link up," said Sunset to Miranda over the intercom.

"Yes," replied Miranda, "That was fortunate. Now what we need to do is figure out a way to shut down this shield, take out all these soldiers, and disable the radio before that operator can send out any warning or message. This should be a piece of cake… Except for the shutting down the shield part, and the taking out all the soldiers part, and the disabling the radio part."

"That's right Miranda," chuckled Sunset over the link, "Keep our spirits high. That is something you are very good at."

"It's a gift."

"So, do you have an actually plan, then?"

"Nope. But even if I did, I would be loath to really put it into action, with Princess Twilight in danger and all. She dies and Flaming Star will be heartbroken… Something I could never stand for."

"And there you have it folks, the number one reason why Miranda is probably the kindest dimensional traveler that ever existed."

"Aw, you make me blush, you flatterer. However, I suggest you save up those and give them to your wife, she deserves them more."

Sunset's ears pricked up. "That's right!" he exclaimed over the intercom, "Fluttershy! She's still in Sugar Cube Corner, and, from the looks of it, she hasn't been detected yet!"

The second he had finished broadcasting that message to Miranda, Fluttershy poked her head out of the window and looked at the radio-operating pony. She then glanced at Sunset and popped her head back inside.

"Is… is Fluttershy actually going to do something?" said Miranda, almost incredulously.

Sunset chuckled audibly, "She is. We need to get ready. If I know my sweetheart, she'll successfully disable the radio-operator. Miranda, as soon as that happens, release a EMP pulse set to destructive interference. The feedback from the blast should cause their shield generators to overload and explode. I'll then unleash a tidal wave that will knock these guys backwards. When we've done that, we will destroy the radio, grab Fluttershy and make a break for the Everfree forest. Once we're clear of Ponyville, we can easily disable the entire army and go off to stop… well, to reason with the Paradox."

Miranda gave Sunset a side-long glance as she said, over the link, "You think the Paradox will listen to us?"

Sunset blinked. "I don't know," he admitted, "But I will not fight him. We owe him too much. And besides, I refuse to kill anyone."

Miranda nodded slightly and then looked at Sugar Cube Corner. Fluttershy poked her head out of the second-story window once more. In her front hoofs she was carrying a large platter with a massive creamy ice-cream cake. She hoisted the thing above her head and then said, "I'm sorry!" She then let the cake drop.

The operator glanced up and took the pastry full in the face. Remarkably, it knocked him out cold. The second that happened, Miranda unleashed the EMP blast, and all the shield generators simultaneously exploded. The shield dropped and Sunset leaped up.

"Hang on!" he yelled as he called upon his control of H2O and unleashed a massive tidal wave. The thing swept every soldier off their hoofs and carried them away. The tank stood, though, and they immediately turned their turrets to fire. Miranda quickly threw up an energy field and the large shells exploded harmlessly off them.

"You destroy the radio and get Fluttershy," said Miranda, "I'll deal with the tanks."

Sunset nodded and ran towards Sugar Cube Corner. It was only a dozen meters, but it felt like a kilometer. Time seemed to slow down as massive tank shells buzzed by him as he ran. Nevertheless, he got by unscathed. Blasting the radio into nothing with a discharge of dark matter, Sunset dashed into Sugar Cube Corner, where he was met by Fluttershy, who had Starlight Amber on her back.

Fluttershy hugged Sunset tightly as she said, "Oh! I was so WORRIED! What are we going to do now?"

Sunset hugged her tightly back as he said, "We're going to get out of here. Don't worry, Miranda has got our backs."

The three burst through the door. Miranda was sitting next to the flaming hull of a tank, cooking a marshmallow. She turned her bright eyes towards them and waved. The entire area was clear. All that was there was a dozen burning tank hulls. Sunset was about to remark upon the sight when his sharp hearing picked up the rumbling of more tanks in the distance. Sighing he galloped towards Miranda.

"You're going to have to wait to eat those, Miranda," he said, "We need to the hell away. More tanks are coming, and I have no intention of risking my wife or this town with a confrontation just yet."

Miranda nodded and she got up. The four galloped off in the direction of the Everfree forest.

"Well, our plan worked perfectly. So much so that I don't think we're going to be followed," said Miranda as they continued to gallop, "Now here is the most important question: what are we going to do when we confront the Paradox?"

Sunset bit his lip and said, "I have no idea. I just have no idea. I will not fight him… but we still have to stop him. Perhaps we can still reason with him!"

Miranda just sighed a sad sigh and continued galloping. Soon they had passed Ponyville borders and were entering the Everfree forest.

"Fluttershy, you know the quickest way to the tree of Harmony," exclaimed Sunset, "lead the way!"

Fluttershy blanched at the thought, but after a moment of contemplation, her eyes hardened. "This way everypony!" she exclaimed as she spread open her wings and took off.

In a few minutes they were standing outside the gorge that lead to the tree. Sunset groaned as he saw the beings guarding the door. They were the Elite Phasetroopers who had replaced almost every important pony in the entire continent: Mayor Mare, Martique, Commander Hurricane, Cadence, Ahmed Ponhammed, Shadow Scepter, and Corona Oscura.

"There is NO way we can take them all out," sighed Sunset, almost giving up hope.

"Don't give up!" said Miranda, "We will find a way!"

No sooner had those words left her lips than a large portal opened up behind them. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Button Mash, Pontius, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Discord, the Brothers in Arms corps, Ditzy Doo, Spike, and Flaming Star all stepped out. And no sooner had the portal closed than Rainbow Dash came blasting out of the sky to land with them, and Applejack poked her head from around a tree.

"Well I'll be darned!" exclaimed Applejack, "And here was I thinkin' I would have to talk all those nasties down there alone!"

"Same here!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"Likewise," chucked Miranda, "See Sunset? There is always a way."

"Where's my dad?" exclaimed Night Shade in a strained voice, "I need to talk to him!"

"Slow down there," said Daniel. He then turned to Sunset and said, "I take it you've encountered some life-altering news?"

Sunset nodded. "The Paradox… is evil. He is going to use the tree of Harmony to wipe out the multiverse. And what's worse, if that was even possible, he has Twilight hostage. She's being tortured even as we speak. If we try anything, Twilight will die in the most agonizing way possible."

Flaming Star began to breathe hard as anger began to fill his vision. "The Paradox has done this?" he snarled.

Sunset nodded, but moved to block Flaming Star from rocketing off for the kill. "He has, which is why we need to be careful of what we do. We need to approach this with tact."

"We need to do that, and we need to do that fast," added Miranda, "We have no idea how long, or how short, it will take for the Harmony tree to be activated."

"Harmony... the hell it is," chuckled Franklin as he pulled out his sniper rifle and began to clean it.

"Well, what's the plan then?" exclaimed Discord, "I do hope it involves explosions!"

"I hope it involves very little few explosions!" interjected Rarity.

"Explosions!" exclaimed Ditzy Doo.

Sunset shook his head. He beckoned Flaming Star and Daniel over to a corner. The three whispered harshly to one another for about a minute before they went back to join the rest.

"We have a plan," said Flaming Star, "And it might work if done right."

Everyone but Night Shade leaned in eagerly.

"You sound like this is going to be an attack!" he snapped, "I just want to go down there and talk."

"You have no idea what he'll do to you!" warned Daniel.

"I'm his SON, Daniel," said Night Shade irately, "He'll listen to me."

Sunset sighed and nodded. "Then be happy that I incorporated you into my plan. Your job is to go down there and see if you can talk your way past the guards. However, you'll have the telepathic link open at all times. Talk to him, cuddle with him, whatever, but stall him. If you can talk some sense into him, then let us know immediately and we'll call off the attack. If not… well, then we're going in with hellfire."

Night Shade nodded. "Whatever, great. I'm going now."

He opened up a link with the rest of the dimensional travelers, sped up his molecules, and blasted off to the mouth of the harmony cave.

"Stop!" snarled Commander Hurricane, "How dare you… Oh…"

Despite the fact Night Shade had only seen creatures like this thrice times now, these beings seemed very familiar with him. They turned and whispered to one another, and then they stepped aside and let him pass.

Night Shade trotted into the cave slowly. There was the Paradox, his adopted father, standing in front of the tree, talking to someone over a holographic interface.

"You cannot kill her yet, Pictor, you need to wait. It doesn't matter anyway," said the Paradox calmly.

"Dad?" said Night Shade in a small voice.

The Paradox whirled. He stood there, staring at Night Shade for a full minute, quietly.

"Night Shade," was all he said.

"What's going on?" continued Night Shade, "Why do you have Twilight captive? What's with all this deception?"

"Night Shade, my son, you need to understand that I am acting in our best interests."

"What do you mean?"

"You and your friends have fought too hard and too long to clean the multiverse of an evil that is too strong and too prevalent to ever go away. I have mourned this predicament for a long time, but now I have the solution: I will start the multiverse anew."

"What do you mean 'anew?' What will happen to everyone?"

"Well… Night Shade, my son, mostly everyone will die."

"But… but that's genocide! Genocide on an enormous scale! That's pure evil!"

"You don't understand, Night Shade. It's all relative. Evil is really just what people in power determine to be unlawful. Before our time, the angels of the celestial heaven determined what was evil, but my brothers and I have grown in power. We are the gods now and we have determined what is right and what is wrong. What we are doing is simply right and orderly."

"You're no god. I know you too well."

"Do you, Night Shade?"

"Well… you're my dad. I think I would know my own dad pretty well."

"Night Shade… I have lived a trillion years. Rearing you over the course of ten years was NOTHING."

"But… but…"

"You're not really my son, little pony."

Just outside the gorge, Franklin, who had been toying with a fist-sized rock, smashed the stone with his bare hands as he snarled in a rage, "That's it. That's over with. We're moving in. I get the traitor's head."

Sunset's eyes hardened. He turned to Rarity. "Rarity," he said, "Stay here with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Starlight Amber. We're going in."

"Hey!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash indignantly, "I want to help!"

Sunset nodded. "I sent off a message to Luna and Celestia earlier, go find them. Head off in the direction of Fillydelphia and bring them here at top speed. If our plan is already in motion, go to Ponyville and engage the alliance army there."

Rainbow nodded and blasted off. Sunset then turned to face the others.

"Anyone else want to help in anyway?"

"Ooooh! Me! Me! Me! Me!" exclaimed Button Mash waving a hoof in the air excitedly.

Sunset conjured up a Game Foal and tossed it to him. "Your mission is to be level 41 of The Legend of Zebrda: Ocarina of Time."

He then turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Your job is to keep Rarity from fainting."

"I beg your pardon?!" exclaimed Rarity, but Sunset just turned to Discord.

"Discord come with us. I need you to be able to cause a distraction. But we have to be careful: anything drastic will probably cost Twilight her life."

"This is already drastic," muttered Flaming Star, his heart gripped in the icy claws of fear. Suddenly, he turned and said, "No. We can't do it."

Franklin blinked at him. "What do you mean we can't do it?" he exclaimed.

Flaming Star shook his head, "I mean we can't do it. At all. I will not let any of you jeopardize my love by acting recklessly like you all are doing now."

"And if we don't do anything? What will happen to all of us in the end?" asked Daniel skeptically.

"He has a point, Flaming Star," sighed Sunset, "If we don't do anything, we'll all die. I am sure as heck not going to let my lovely wife die because a lunatic had convinced himself that he's God and wants to cleanse the multiverse of life."

"There has to be another way," said Flaming Star in a strained voice.

"There is no other way," snapped Franklin, "Get out of the way, firstborn."

"Make me," snarled Flaming Star.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Okay. I am going to be posting a guidebio of the dimensional travelers soon. Just wanted to let you guys know. Also, I think I will begin to post chapters only on weekdays, at 4:00 PDT. Okay? Anyway, let me know how you think this part will turn out! And don't worry, this story is far from over. Now give me some R&R stuff! I love reviews! I think I should make that my motto... If I had a motto...**


	45. Chapter 45 - Pyrrhic Victory

**Note: Don't worry everyone, the dimensional travelers will eventually start showing up. Just not yet. I need to make sure everything here is finished off first. I will actually release the guide slightly before any of the travelers see action, though.**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Unknown<em>

_Planet: Unknown_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

"You know what Paradox? Screw you," snarled Pictor as he cut off the live feed.

He then turned to the barely conscious Twilight.

"I've always wanted to perform an autopsy on a living subject," he chuckled. Slowly he drew the blade across her flesh from her collarbone to just above her pelvic region. Twilight was in too much shock to do anything but give a little gasp.

"Let's see, I think I'll pull your small intestines out first… then your kidney. If you die, I'll defibrillate your heart and keep you conscious. We will have plenty of fun until the day is over, little pony."

He extended a hand and slowly reached for her exposed organs as he laughed sadistically. Suddenly the automatic door opened and another being like Pictor strolled in.

He was a little taller than the Paradox and Pictor, but a little less broad. He too wore white body armor with a masked helmet. His visor was that of an open flame, glowing red. Bands of red and purple ran down his arms.

"What do you want brother?" snapped Pictor, "Can't you see I'm busy?"

The other being didn't break his stride. He strolled straight up to Pictor and punched his face with all his might. The shockwave cause the door to buckle and the wall to crack and crumble. Pictor collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Immediately shouts rang out from the door, but the new being simply snapped his fingers once. The damaged automatic doors became fused together into a solid wall of metal.

"Oh Twilight, you're going to be okay," the being said with genuine concern straining his voice, "I'm going to get you to Flaming Star. He'll have the time to heal you. And don't worry, I'm breaking out all your other friends as well."

Twilight didn't even react. She was barely hovering above death. The being quickly opened a portal and it began to surround her and the table with it. In a moment it had engulfed her and spirited her away to the My Little Pony dimension.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Everfree Forest_

_Time: 4 days after the arrival of the Brothers in Arms corps_

"Great, so we've decided not to save the multiverse then. Instead we've opted to host a free-for-all catfight. Wonderful," snapped Miranda, "If you ask my honest opinion, I think you're all being idiots. We need to reach a non-violent understanding, and we need to reach it now."

"I'll be more than happy to after I've knocked out Franklin," said Flaming Star as he took a step forward. Sunset scrambled between them and yelled, "Stop! We have to stop!"

"I'm not stopping until Twilight's safe," said Flaming Star as he pushed by Sunset.

"Oh, well then it's good that she is," said Discord airily. The whole group stopped arguing and looked to where Discord was pointing. A couple of meters away a portal opened up and deposited the white torture table, with Twilight still on it, on the forest floor.

Flaming Star, not questioning anything he had just seen, dashed towards her. There she was, a hairsbreadth from death, her body cut open.

Spike scrambled up to her as well. "Oh no... Twilight! Twilight! Is she going to be okay?" Then he noticed the state Twilight was in. His face turned a dark green, and then he fainted.

Flaming Star didn't answer. He then turned to the rest of the group and said, "Twilight's safe. Go down there and kill them all."

Immediately Franklin pulled out his sniper rifle and began to shoot the Elite Phasetroopers. In seconds three of them were down. Daniel spread his wings and, with Sunset and Miranda on his back, swooped in low to engage the others. The Elite Phasetroopers immediately opened up with a hail of energy bolts, but an energy shield from Sunset protected them. Taking a deep breath, Daniel blasted the whole gorge with a massive storm of fire. It melted the rock walls and scorched the earth. The fire cleared to reveal the dead body of one more Phasetrooper. Three more to go. These Phasetroopers immediately formed up in a delta formation and unleashed a massive blast of pure power. It shattered Sunset's shield and blasted Daniel and his friends back. The Phasetroopers were about to redouble their attacks when suddenly a pink elephant popped into existence above them and dropped straight on top of them, breaking their formation. Discord laughed as he snapped his fingers once more. Suddenly the Phasetroopers were dressed as clowns with ridiculously large footwear. They stumbled and tripped… that was the last thing they ever did. The second they hit the ground a hail of lethal energy bolts from Franklin wiped them out. Daniel, Sunset, and Miranda entered the harmony cave and rushed to meet Night Shade.

The black Pegasus was crying, actually crying, in a corner as the Paradox simply continued working on the tree of Harmony. The Paradox was holding the mysterious six-keyhole box that Twilight had discovered when she had first found the tree of Harmony with her friends. He placed three fingers from his left hand over three keyholes, and then he placed three fingers from his right hand over the other three keyholes. The box began to glow. Then it opened. There was a mysterious multifaceted cube in the center. The Paradox picked it up and tapped it in several places lightly. Immediately it and the tree of Harmony began to glow. Sunset, Daniel, and Miranda began to rush forward.

"Don't come any closer, or I'll call for Twilight's head," said Paradox briskly without turning around. Daniel just rolled his eyes and lashed out with his tail. He wrapped it around the Paradox and threw him away from the tree. Surprised as he was, the Paradox elegantly twisted in the air and landed on his feet without a slip. He looked at them curiously for moment. Then he opened a channel with Pictor in the torture chamber.

The feed went live, but all he saw was Pictor, laying on the ground, with a massive dent in his helmet. He closed it and said, "Doxia… I should have known."

He looked at Daniel, Sunset, and Miranda. He then snapped a finger. Suddenly Sunset felt his power drain from him. He immediately tried to hurl a bolt of lightning, but the attack fizzed to nothing on his hoof. They were powerless.

"I should have done that hours ago," said the Paradox promptly. He began to stroll back to the tree of Harmony, but Sunset dashed in front of him; blocking his path.

"Get out of my way Joseph," said the Paradox calmly.

"No, Paradox, if you want to get by me, you're going to have to kill me," Sunset said stoutly.

"Think about your family, Joseph, think about your lovely wife," persisted the Paradox.

"It won't matter. If I let you pass, we'll all be dead anyway," continued Sunset.

"You have all shown remarkable resourcefulness and morality," mused the Paradox calmly, "So much so that… I know, I'll let this dimension exist indefinitely. The multiverse shall be cleansed, but this one little universe will be safe. If you just step aside, I promise you that this place will not be harmed."

Sunset faltered when he heard this. That was all he had ever wanted to be: safe. The Paradox was offering him a safe house. He and his family could live in peace and safety forever… Then he remembered. He remembered the other families and the other lives of the multiverse. They had the same right to live in peace as well. If he let the Paradox kill them, he would be no better than his former self: a psychopathic killer, a murderer. It didn't matter what happened to him, he had to be willing to give up his life to protect the innocents.

"Well? What say you?" said the Paradox.

"I say no," said Sunset slowly. "Why Paradox? Why? You said that I would soon have a chance to redeem myself, that an evil darker than demons was working in the multiverse! And what of Celestia's vision three years ago? What of that?"

"I lied," said the Paradox simply, "I just told everyone what they wanted to hear. I was always good at that."

Sunset nearly fainted right there. This was his worst nightmare come true. Over the eons, dimensional travelers had grown to pretty much worship the Paradox. He was the embodiment of all that was good. He was joy, love, peace, longsuffering, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. He was generosity, loyalty, laughter, honesty, kindness, and magic. Now all saw him for what he truly was: an extremely powerful and extremely intelligent liar. He was nothing more than a glorified evil mastermind.

The Paradox slowly got down on one knee and said, "I've never killed a single being in my life, do not make you my first. And believe me; I will have no regrets if I do kill you. The things you have done in the past will most certainly balance out my conscious. Just imagine it to be something of a little payback from all those families you killed back in the dark days… madman of the multiverse."

Sunset shook his head and said, "I am no longer the madman of the multiverse. I am a hero. I will protect this dimension to my last breath, and everpony knows it."

"Apparently," said the Paradox. He then stood up and charged his fist with deadly energy. He fired.

Time seemed to slow down as Sunset watched the coiling bolts of energy flash towards him. He closed his eyes and waited for the searing pain and the cold darkness to envelope him… but they didn't come. Suddenly a massive shove from behind sent him spiraling away and he opened his eyes to see another nightmare come true: Miranda… taking the full bolt through her chest.

The Paradox stared complacently as Miranda collapsed to the ground, coughing up blood. He then turned slowly around and opened a portal. All he said before he left was, "I will be back. But you've earned a moment of silence."

The moment the Paradox left, Sunset's powers returned in all their might. He dashed over to Miranda and began to pour healing energy into her, but to no avail. As he did so, he said over the intercom, "Franklin, get in here now."

"Give me a second, Sunset," snapped Franklin, "I'm helping Flaming Star!"

"Franklin… you're sister is dying," said Daniel, who, with Night Shade, had joined Sunset. There was a pause. Suddenly Franklin flashed into existence along with Discord next to Miranda.

"No… no sis… no…" he said, his voice becoming strained.

Miranda smiled. "Oh, this is much better," she sighed dreamily, "Just get me the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the cute little pony Button Mash here and I'll be just fine." Franklin disappeared with a flash. A moment later a portal opened and Franklin ushered in the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Button Mash. Then Rarity, Applejack, Ditzy Doo, Fluttershy, Starlight Amber, and Pinkie Pie came through.

"Oh Miranda," sobbed Sweetie Bell as she clutched Miranda's hoof, "Oh Miranda… you're going to be okay!"

"Of course you are!" squeaked Scootaloo, her eyes full of pain, "Right?"

"Of course!" said Apple Bloom, her eyes brimming with tears. Button Mash just stood to one side, his eyes overflowing with tears.

Miranda smiled calmly. "Of course I am, sweeties, I am going to be just fine. Bright skies… Quiet brooks… Lush forests… all those are waiting for me. All it takes is a single… step…"

Miranda died. The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Button Mash broke down crying. Franklin slowly stood up and bowed his head. He didn't say anything. No cries of pain, no oaths for revenge, just silence.

In that moment, several things happened at once: Portals opened up in the Crystal Empire, Irrum, Saddle Arabia, and Equus and these countries' true leaders entered their respective homelands from the Paradox's prison; confused, disheveled, but well. Also at the same time, the invading alliance army surrendered in Ponyville as they became surrounded by a massive Equestria army led by Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Commander Rainbow Dash. And finally… Twilight opened her eyes.

"Wha… what's going on?" she croaked.

Flaming Star didn't reply at first. He was pouring untold amounts of energy into her body, knitting together her flesh, sealing up internal bleeding, and reconnecting severed nerves and veins. He didn't stint, he took every bit of reserved energy to ensure that her body was well again.

"Flaming Star? Is that you?" she croaked again.

Flaming Star, who was still pouring incredible amounts of energy repairing all the damage Pictor had wrought upon his fillyfriend, just shook his head. "Hush Twilight," he gasped, "I'm… almost…"

He collapsed on top of her. "Done…" he whispered. There was a pause.

"Twilight?" he said quietly, "Will you marry me?"

Twilight Sparkle smiled a little smile. "Yes."

That was all she said. Then Twilight and Flaming Star both passed out as the sounds of mourning echoed throughout the Everfree forest.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Aaaaannndddd we're done with this part! That's right! Part 3 is completed! Now on to part 4! See you guys on the other side! So, what did you all think of part 3's finale?<strong>


	46. Chapter 46 - This is Goodbye

_Dimension: Orbis Terrarum II_

_Planet: Helios_

_Specific Location: The Burnt Wastelands_

_Time: Two Centuries after the Great Rebellion_

Samuel Dellor desperately dragged his body through the ash and dust up to the body of his friend Tiffany Neveu. Reaching forwards, he shook the body as he gasped out, "Tiffany? Tiffany!"

Tiffany Neveu was dead. Samuel gave something between a gasp and a sob. He hadn't meant this to happen. All he had wanted to do was get away from people, and now it had all ended with his best friend getting killed.

It hadn't started this way: After the era of Anarchy had grown too intense, 17-year-old Samuel Dellor and 18-year-old Tiffany Neveu fled from the chaos. By pure luck they ended up in the My Little Pony dimension in Fillydelphia. Samuel settled down and made a home for himself, pointedly ignoring Tiffany, his neighbors, and those who wished to get to know him. He did this for about a year. Then Joseph Torrus arrived. In less than a year he had turned the whole world upside-down, and Samuel hated it. He found Tiffany and asked her if they would like to go adventuring once more, to find a quieter, more secluded place where violence and hatred had never touched. Tiffany suggested the Looking For Group dimension. Samuel liked this idea, and so they set off… Unfortunately, they were immediately caught up in a war between a cartel of interdimensional mercenaries and a demon clan. Not wishing to be killed by either side, Samuel and Tiffany were forced to join the mercenary cartel and fight in the war for a year… and it all led up to this. With both legs broken, Tiffany dead, and demons running amok across the burning surface of Helios.

"No… Tiffany… All I wanted to do is be safe, you didn't have to die for me," gasped 19-year-old Samuel as he tried to get up to no avail. His legs were broken. Suddenly the sound of footsteps behind him caused him to whirl around and bring up a tornado of acid and caustic chemicals. However, in his pained and taxed state, the tornado faltered and dissipated to reveal five demons. They laughed at him.

"Oh no," hissed the tallest one, the leader, "It looks like Samuel Dellor is all out of options."

Giving a retching gasp, Samuel called upon his reserves and hurled a blast of concentrated Hydrochloric acid. It burned right through one of the demon's head. All the leader did was laugh as Samuel collapsed, breathing raggedly.

"Oh well, at least you get one last kill to your name, not that anybody will remember it," the demon leader snarled, "Any last words?"

"Go to hell," gasped Samuel.

The leader paused and blinked. "Ironic," he said as he conjured up a demonic blade. He approached Samuel and prepared to stab him.

All of a sudden, a bright light blinded everyone's vision for a moment. When the light cleared, the demons hissed with horror: Before them was a human with wings, golden armor, an elaborate helmet, and a long double-handed sword that was glowing with archaic celestial runes on its side. It was an angel.

"Back away demons, he is not yours to take," the angel said calmly.

The demons leader hissed, "What gives you the right to take our prey?! We are free to feast upon the fallen!"

"But he is not a fallen one, Paimon. Run back to your master and tell him that heaven is most amused with how well he handled being lied to by the Paradox."

Paimon screeched and signaled to his companions. They rushed the angel. In less than a second, the angel had decapitated three, and blasted the fourth with a bolt of celestial energy. The angel let the dust settle for a moment before placing the sword in its strap and floating over to where Samuel lay, gasping for breath.

Samuel looked at the angel and said, "I thought… that angels… never left the celestial heaven anymore…"

The angel lightly tapped Samuel's legs, healing them immediately.

"We didn't, until now," said the angel, "heaven is very displeased with the Paradox, so we are preparing to apprehend him. Like a police force would do to a petty thief."

"The Paradox… what?" gasped Samuel, who was convinced that he was hallucinating. No one had ever seen an angel in their true form for millennia, and the Paradox was his leader, why had they branded him as a petty criminal?

"It is not important yet," explained the angel, "We need to get you out of here though, before more demons come. I cannot vanquish them and protect you at the same time."

The angel helped Samuel to his feet and then snapped a finger. A portal to the planes of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings dimension opened, and the two stepped through.

"Who are you?" said Samuel as he stumbled into the dimension.

"I am archangel Michael," said the angel, "I am here to scout out the situation in this multiverse. The Paradox must be stopped and I need to find a way to do it."

"You keep speaking of the Paradox committing a felony or something, what do you mean?"

"The Paradox has done many things over the past couple of eons. In fact, just recently, in the My Little Pony dimension, he attempted to activate the tree of Harmony, a cleverly hidden weapon of mass destruction designed to end all life in this multiverse."

"The My Little Pony dimension? Impossible."

"That is right; you hail from there, do you not?"

"Well, sort of."

"Of course, you come from Earth Prime, but then came to the My Little Pony dimension in an attempt to escape everyone you ever knew… so you could wipe out the terrible memories of the civil war waging between your fellow travelers."

"How do you know this?"

"I am an archangel. I know everything."

Samuel shook his head and sat down. "Then why didn't you save Tiffany?" he mumbled.

Michael actually sat down next to Samuel and placed a gold-wrought hand on his shoulder. Something that had not happened for pretty much forever.

This contact sent bolts of tingling bolts of hope and happiness searing through Samuel's nervous system as Michael imparted a little bit of light.

"Fate decided otherwise, Samuel," said Michael calmly, "She was chosen to move on."

Samuel buried his face in his hands and moaned, "What am I going to do now? My only friend is…"

His voice caught. He took a shaking breath and continued, "My only friend is dead, and I am pretty much alone."

"You're not alone, Samuel, the Paradox just wants you to think so," replied Michael, "The traveler database has been tampered with. Look up the Abimael 'James' Sethson."

Samuel did so. "The firstborn is dead," he said as he checked the database, "He died in an ambush in the Warhammer 40K dimension."

"And that's where it's wrong," said Michael, "The firstborn arrived in the My Little Pony dimension a year after you left."

"Well, I couldn't care less, Michael. I don't care if the Paradox is evil, or if anyone is still even alive. I need to get away. Far away. Is there a place where I could hide and never be found?"

"You cannot run from your troubles, Samuel, you need to face them. We give strength to those who need it; for you are never tested outside what you can resist."

Samuel conjured up a small globule of caustic chemicals and levitated in front of him. He began to toss it in the air and contort the shape as he sighed, "I don't know. I just want to run. I've fought my fair share of demons for seven years now. I don't want to fight anymore. I just want to have peace."

"Peace will come, but right now the multiverse needs you for who you are: a hero."

"A hero? That's a laugh. There is no such thing."

"Then perhaps you need to talk to Joseph Torrus."

"Sunset Shadow? He's a maniac."

"You obviously didn't pay enough to what Torrus did: he brought peace and happiness to the dimension."

"There was enough peace, he was just a reminder of the horrors I've fought over my life. Do you know of Jahi?"

"The she-demon of the satanic prison? Yes. She was present in the first heaven-hell war."

"I killed her. With my bare hands." At that moment, Samuel's voice broke and he buried his head in his hands again.

Michael sighed. "I understand that you've gone through so much, but you need to find it within yourself to go out once more. I too have fought monstrosities. In the first heaven-hell war, I was the one who vanquished the Grand Devil, but that doesn't matter now. You need to return to the My Little Pony dimension once more. Heaven needs you to be there right now."

"Heaven needs me there? Why?"

"The Paradox has his plan, we have ours. Now it is just a matter of time to see who is smarter: Us, or the Paradox and his Brotherhood. Go now, I will join you soon."

"You're coming with me?"

"Wherever Joseph Torrus shows up, something important seems to happen in close proximity. He is incredibly important to this multiverse, and I have been instructed to accompany him for whatever is left of his journey."

"I… I think I understand. But I don't want to do it. I don't want to return. I hate everyone."

"You need to."

Samuel Dellor sighed snuffed out the ball of caustic material he was toying with. He then got up and opened a portal. He glanced back to Michael as he shifted into his pony form: Yellow coat, ragged dark green mane, pale blue eyes, short and skinny, a film-burned infinity cutie mark.

He trotted through the portal and it closed behind him. Michael stared at the spot where the portal had been a moment before and shook his head sadly. Their plan was now in motion; it was time for the Paradox to pay for killing Miranda.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 1005 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon_

"How the hell am I supposed to help Cadence explain to Shining Armor that she had been captured and been replaced with an impostor?! It's been one month now and Shining Armor still is really confused!" said Sunset with frustration in his voice.

"Look, Sunset," sighed Flaming Star, "Normally I would love to help you brainstorm out a problem, but right now, if I move, Rarity will have my head. She's been working on my suit for days now."

"That's right, the wedding… Anyway, I am very happy for you, but Equestria is still in an absolute state of confusion. I mean, we have no idea how many of those Elite Phasetroopers have been taking guises of important ponies. I even heard Prince Blue Blood accusing Fancy Pants of being one! And heaven knows the trouble Shadow Scepter and Corona Oscura are going through right now!"

"Well, I suppose we've reached an impasse then. If I go off now and help you, you'll be happy, but then Rarity will have me executed at dawn. If I stay here, she'll be happy and I'll live. I don't really know, I want to be alive for my wedding."

Sunset sighed and then chuckled. "Okay, okay, you've got me there. I remember when the same happened to me. You stay here, I'll continue to see what I can do to help out. However, the moment you're done, come and find me. I will be meeting with the Brothers in Arms corps. And please do hurry, they will be leaving soon."

"Wait, what!?" exclaimed Flaming Star, who turned his head ever so slightly to glance at Sunset.

"I HOPE YOU'RE NOT MOVING IN THERE FLAMING STAR!" exclaimed Rarity from the other room. Immediately both he and Sunset froze.

"What?" said Flaming Star in a quieter voice, "What do you mean they're leaving?"

"They made their decision this morning: they're going to return to their base in the Looking For Group dimension so they can begin their operations against the demons and the Paradox."

"Huh, that sounds like a tall order."

"I suppose so, but Daniel seems fairly confident. Anyways, I'm out. Talk to you later."

With that, Sunset trotted out of Flaming Star's house and back to his house next door.

Flaming Star pulled a face as Rarity trotted in with a whole pile of different measuring devices and said, "Well, now that I've gotten these, I can begin!"

Sunset shook his head as he heard an audible groan from inside Flaming Star's house and chuckled as he entered his house and closed the door. He went to the living room where Franklin was sitting, talking to Daniel who had stuck his head through the window.

"So, Sunset, do we have any definite plans yet?" said Franklin to Sunset as he entered the room.

Sunset shook his head. "I'm not sure. We really need more information, and a lot of it. Twilight, Flaming Star, Princess Celestia, and I have spent hours going over the tree of Harmony, and we haven't begun to figure out how it works, or how its controls work."

"Well then, why don't we just destroy it? Kill it with fire!" exclaimed Franklin.

Sunset shook his head vigorously. "We can't 'kill it with fire' either, Franklin," he said, "The thing has become tied to this dimension. If we destroy it, there is a good chance that this planet, and probably the whole universe, will collapse upon itself."

"So, the Paradox created an un-destroyable weapon, clever," said Daniel.

"Technically it IS destroyable, it's just that countless innocents will die if we do," sighed Franklin. Every time he said the word 'innocents,' his mind flashbacked to Miranda's death, something that pained him a lot each time.

"Could we evacuate everyone from this dimension and then bring it down?" suggested Daniel.

Sunset shook his head vigorously again. "That wouldn't work. Over 7 billion ponies, dragons, buffalo, donkeys, griffons, and who knows what else live here. We could never get them all out. And even if we did, what dimension in their right mind would except that many refugees? And would anyone be safe even if they did? No, we have to find another way."

"Could we destroy a different harmony unit?" asked Franklin.

"Yes… that might work!" exclaimed Daniel, "if we're lucky, there might be another dimension that isn't as secure or heavily populated."

"Or filled with loved ones," added Sunset. He then nodded, "You guys have a point."

"So," said Franklin, leaning in close, "What are the other three dimensions that have harmony units? Flaming Star planted one, right? Do you know where it is?"

Suddenly Flaming Star himself trotted in, looking a little flustered. A common reaction for those ponies who had to go through the clothes-making process with Rarity.

"What? Who? Do I know where what is?" he asked, shaking his head as if trying to clear it.

"The other harmony units, do you know where the other two are? The database spoke of the units, but I can't find orange juice on the locations of any of them. We only know that one is here because we discovered it," explained Franklin.

Flaming Star nodded slowly. "I rarely spoke of mine… but yes, I know where it is."

The group leaned in close.

"It's in the Winnie the Pooh dimension," Flaming Star explained, "I chose that place because it was sparsely inhabited, calm, and tranquil. The creatures living there deserved a peaceful life."

"Sparsely inhabited, you say?" said Franklin, stroking his chin, "Could we, perchance, blow up the harmony unit there?"

"No way," said Flaming Star, "The inhabitants there are too innocent. They wouldn't survive outside their bubble; I won't let you do it."

"A lot of people are going to do if we don't," replied Daniel.

"And if we do, we'll still be murderers. Cold, heartless murderers. We aren't gods, we cannot force those innocents outside of their home," said Flaming Star evenly.

"And what if we let them live?" continued Daniel, "If we let them live, everyone else, including them will die anyway. We have no right to deny the chance for countless lives to live by not destroying that harmony unit."

"Woooaaahhh… slow down there guys," said Sunset, "Let's not start this again. Anyways, we have no idea what will happen if we disable the other harmony units. There is a chance that they would continue to function. The real issue is this dimension's harmony unit, the control."

"We really need more information," agreed Flaming Star, giving Daniel a warning glance.

"Yeah, information we don't have, and might never get," retorted Franklin.

"Well, where is the third harmony unit, then, Flaming Star?" said Sunset.

Flaming Star opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Then he opened it again, and then closed it again. He blinked. "Um… I have no idea."

Franklin facepalmed. "What do you mean by, 'I have no idea?' What of the guy who placed that harmony unit? Did he say anything about its whereabouts? A hint maybe? An innuendo? Something?"

Flaming Star thought about it for a moment, then shook his head slowly.

"Um… no…" he said, "The guy who placed the third harmony unit, the Crystal of Harmony, was named Gagan Enosson. He was the brother of Dathan Enosson, or as we know him, Regal Crescent. He was an eccentric person. He came regularly to the meeting place where we gathered to discuss the harmony units, but never said anything. Then, the day after we had all confirmed we had chosen a location and placed our respective harmony units, he disappeared without a word. Dathan searched for him for at least a century, but eventually gave up hope. According to the Paradox, the unit was most certainly placed, but Gagan simply had vanished after his task was done."

"Well… that's… interesting," said Franklin slowly, "Is there a way we can find out where he put it?"

Flaming Star thought hard and long. A full ten minutes of silence passed before Flaming Star looked up.

He sighed. "This may sound outrageous," he explained, almost apologetically, "But I think there may be only one way to find the location."

"Outrageous or not, we have no choice, what is it?" replied Daniel briskly.

"You guys need to find the Bookkeeper… You will have to find Finnian Jones," said Flaming Star slowly.

Franklin, for the first time in a month, burst out laughing. However, it really didn't count much as a laugh, because it was somewhat derisive.

"Very funny," he said, "Everyone ever knows that Finnian Jones doesn't exist."

"I hate to agree with Franklin," said Daniel, "But I believe he's right. There is no such person as Finnian Jones. The Paradox himself said that person didn't exist when Bastian Junior Bux approached him about it."

"No, he's real," persisted Flaming Star, "He is as real as you and me. I know, I met him once."

Sunset, who had kept quiet up to this point, then said, "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait… You actually MET the Bookkeeper?"

Flaming Star nodded. "Only once, and it was only for a couple of minutes. It was in a small bookshop somewhere in Iowa in Earth Prime, 1998 A.D."

"I don't know… if the Paradox said he didn't exist, then I really think he didn't exist," said Franklin.

"The Paradox was lying," snapped Flaming Star. He then sighed and said, in gentler tones, "Look, this is really our only shot at finding a way to stop the Paradox's plan. What you guys need to do now is go off and find as many good travelers as you can. Now that we know that our personal traveler databases have been tampered with by someone, probably the Paradox, we know there is a good chance that there are plenty of other dimensional travelers out there who think they're the only good guys alive. You need to seek them out. Assemble them, and ask them if they know of Finnian Jones's whereabouts. While you are all out doing that, Sunset and I will be trying to figure out what the Paradox's next moves are, and if there is a way to disable the harmony units without destroying them."

"Well, it sounds like we have the easy part, because I know the Paradox is a WHOLE lot smarter than the lot of us put together," said Franklin, getting up, "Anyways, I suppose we should be off as soon as possible. I hate goodbyes. Where is Night Shade?"

"I'm here," came a voice. They turned around to see Night Shade, followed by Scootaloo and her parents.

"Oh, um, hi Scootaloo," said Daniel, "Are these your parents?"

Scootaloo nodded and gave Daniel a huge smile, "Yep. What are you guys doing?"

"Well…" said Franklin, looking a little uncomfortable, "We're about to leave the dimension."

Daniel nodded and turned to Night Shade. "Night Shade," he said, "We need to go. Flaming Star believes that Finnian Jones, the Bookkeeper, exists, and he wants us to assemble all the good travelers left to find him."

"Brothers in Arms unite, eh?" said Franklin.

He then turned to Daniel and was about to remark about them leaving after lunch when Night Shade said, "I'm not going."

Franklin froze, he then slowly turned around. "What?" he said incredulously.

Night Shade sighed. "I'm not going with you guys," he repeated slowly.

Daniel shook his head. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, "What are you doing?"

"I've been adopted… By Scootaloo and her family," he said.

"That… that doesn't make any sense," said Franklin, his face looking pained.

"You were a powerful part of our team, Night Shade," said Daniel, "How many battles have we won because of you? Hundreds?"

"That's the reason why I don't want to go with you guys," said Night Shade, "No more fighting."

Franklin blanched as if the phrase "no more fighting" was something of a curse. "What?" was all he managed to say.

"I'm an 11-year-old for heaven's sake!" exclaimed Night Shade, his face distraught, "I am a child! I shouldn't have done a hundredth of any of the things I've done! But you know what? It's over, I'm through. I am going to settle down here, with ponies who love me, and friends who love me. I am going to lead a normal life, away from war and death. All I want now is… is a family."

He then glanced at Scootaloo and her family. Night Shade's new mother gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Daniel sighed, "I understand. I guess this is goodbye then, Night Shade."

Night Shade nodded, his eyes tearing up a bit. "Goodbye, Daniel… Goodbye Franklin."

Franklin, who had originally looked a tad bit shocked, smiled gently. He got down on one knee and gave the black Pegasus a tight hug. "Take care, kiddo, Ponyville is a big place."

"YOU guys are the ones who need to be careful," said Night Shade with a chuckle.

Daniel simply looked at Night Shade with kindness radiating from his eyes. "Goodbye Night Shade. We will miss you, but rest assured: we will be back to visit one day."

Night Shade smiled. He let go of Franklin and took a step back. Night Shade's new father placed a hoof on his shoulder, and Scootaloo hugged Night Shade.

Daniel pulled his head out of the window and Franklin climbed through. Then Daniel opened a portal to their safe house in the Looking For Group dimension and stepped through. The portal closed and they were gone.

Night Shade hugged his new family tightly as he fought down his emotions.

Flaming Star smiled at the sight. "And I'm getting married!" he sighed, almost dreamily.

Sunset gave the firstborn a side-long glance and chuckled.

"Well," Sunset said, "I'm going to my backyard to garden, you might as well go off and do whatever it is the firstborn does."

"I'm going to find Twilight, tell her I love her, and give her a huge kiss," replied Flaming Star as he trotted outside his house after Night Shade and his family.

"I think I'll check the garden, then the chickens…" muttered Sunset to himself as he went into the spacious backyard with Angel the bunny on his back, "Then I think I will pay Night Shade a visit. It's nice to see a kid like him being able to enjoy life without having to worry about being slaughtered by demons."

He was about to begin to adjust a couple of the birdhouses when a crackling noise echoed from behind him. A portal was opening, and it sure as hell wasn't Daniel's or Franklin's portal.

Charging up a hoof with plasma, Sunset whirled to face the portal. The sight he saw caused him to stumble backwards, fall over, and discharge the blast harmlessly into the sky: A being who looked just like the Paradox was exiting the portal in front of him. He was a little taller than the Paradox, but was a little less broad. He too wore white body armor with a masked helmet like the Paradox when he had shifted out of his light-radiating form. His visor was that of an open flame, glowing red. Bands of red and purple ran down his arms.

"Who… who are you?" stuttered Sunset, not able to compose himself.

"Who, me? Oh… I'm Doxia, or as Miranda called me, the Light Man. Pleased to meet you, kiddo," said the being cheerfully. He helped Sunset to all fours. He then bowed with a flourish.

"Are you part of the Paradox's brotherhood?" asked Sunset warily as he finally got a hold of his emotions.

"Was," corrected Doxia, "I'm what you call a defector really. You know how Twilight and the rest of those ponies were freed? That was me."

Sunset stuttered. He opened his mouth, but all he managed to say was, "Why?"

Doxia chuckled. "Why? Because the Paradox and his brotherhood, the Enigma Empire, are absolute lunatics. They think they can play God and kill everyone because they believe it is the right thing to do. Well, I thought otherwise. We are not all pawns waiting to die at a word."

"Then you were the one who gave me the coordinates to the portal-blocking technology! You were the one who comforted Miranda and gave her all that information!"

"I was. Her mind was very unstable, and made it easy for me to enter it. I saw it as the only way to inconspicuously talk to you guys. All forms of instantaneous travel have been monitored by the Enigma Empire since the plan went into motion eight thousand years ago."

"Wow… Just… Wow…"

"I know right? Well, anyways, I am going to chill here a bit. The Enigma Empire is out for my head as of yet, but they cannot follow me here. This place is too important to their plan... And besides, they all think I'm in the Star Trek dimension, pretending to be part of the Q Continuum."

"That's right… the plan. Could you… could you tell me about it?"

"Tell you about it? Why heck yes! I was the right hand man of the Paradox! I know every bit. Tell you what, you get me a glass of lemonade, and I will tell you everything."

"Okay…"

"Alrighty!"

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><p><strong>Note: Where were all my immediate reviews? Was "Pyrrhic Victory" THAT anticlimactic? Just kidding. Anyways, I wanted to let you guys know that I will be releasing the guide probably on Monday, if not Friday. Now hit me with some feedback! Oh, and what do you guys think of Samuel?<strong>


	47. Chapter 47 - Secrets and Lemonade

**Note: Sorry for this being posted slightly late, I had lots of important things to do. I apologize to all you "Dimensional Traveler battle" fans, but I can't bring in any awesome fighting until the stage is properly set. Anyways...**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's house_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda_

Doxia picked up the lemonade and shook it. He then lifted it into the air and poured the whole thing over his helmet. The liquid ran down off his helmet and onto the ground.

Doxia then sat back in a lawn chair as he sighed, "Ahhhh… that hit the spot."

Sunset looked at Doxia and shook his head. "Are… are you okay?" he asked.

Doxia waved a hand off in a randomly picked direction. "Sure am! Why do you ask?"

"Well… If you don't mind me saying, you are acting quite unusual."

"I suppose that's just a reaction to Dimensional-Lord-itis."

"Dimensional what?"

"Never mind. That's what we are called: Dimensional Lords."

"Oh. Anyway, why do you act this way?"

"Well, picture it like this: You cannot die, you could destroy a whole galaxy without any effort, and you know that in no way could anyone every kill you. How would you act after knowing this for about a trillion years?"

"Wow… I mean, I never thought about it that way. Are you really that old?"

Doxia scratched the back of his helmet and nodded. "Yep, one trillion and counting. Of course, not all of us act this way. Paradox, our leader, just stopped talking to people. He says less and less now. Pictor became violent, convinced that action and death was the only thing that could fill his life with purpose. Meadolax simply explores every possible location in creation. And me… well, I just act like this."

Sunset shook his head. The age and power of these Dimensional Lords was unfathomable. "Wow… Anyway, could you tell me about this plan that has demons screaming in horror, and whole countries falling apart?"

"Ahhhh yes. I think I will start from the beginning. You see, this isn't the only multiverse. Oh, no, there are three: the Heaven multiverse, the Earth multiverse, and the Infernal Realm. The Earth multiverse is where this dimension exists. Anyways, my brotherhood and I were once part of one of three massive empires that ruled the Earth multiverse. We were always arguing and always warring with each other. After about five hundred billion years of discontent, a massive evil from the Infernal Realm rose to snuff out all life in the Earth multiverse. This force was called the Maelstrom, the most powerful force of evil devised by the Grand Devil. In the face of this new crisis, the three empires joined together to form the Enigma Empire. We fought back against the Maelstrom for seventy billion years. Neither side gained an advantage, and hundreds of dimensions were destroyed. Finally I devised a plan that swayed the battle in our favor, and finally, in one massive effort, we killed the Maelstrom and its vast armies. With this war over, the three empires chose to stay together as the Enigma Empire. After two hundred billion years of peace, Dimensional Lords began to leave the empire. They gave up their powers so that they could live their lives in peace in their respective homelands. Finally, the Great Leader left to live his life out far away, and gave his power to his right hand man. This man was named the Paradox. The Paradox led us from then on out. He was originally a good leader, and he was a genius. He managed to create a clone army of shape-shifting, power adapting creatures that we eventually called Phasetroopers. They were many, and they were completely loyal to us. They were charged with special energies, which is why the traveler database goes all haywire around them. This is why you guys thought they were from another multiverse. Things were good for a long time. However, over those eons, the Paradox became agitated.

"He seemed convinced that despite the defeat of the Maelstrom, evil still consumed the multiverse. Demons from the Infernal Realm were crawling over every nook and cranny, and the Heaven multiverse had ceased contact with the Enigma Empire. We were alone. Thus the Paradox began to send Dimensional Lords out to combat demons. It was easy for us to kill demons, we have more power in a pinkie then they have in a whole demonic army, but we were so few now. Finally the Paradox recalled us all and we fortified ourselves in the phantom dimension of Amethyst, somewhere that no one could ever reach. After we did that, the Paradox began to plan for a way to cleanse the dimension of evil, but not just demons, he wanted every scrap of evil to be gone. He wanted 'his' multiverse to be as spotless as the Heaven multiverse. He then spent millions of years searching for a solution. He went through each individual dimension, searching for some good that could help him overcome the evil that was predominate in the multiverse… all he found was more evil.

"Thus, he retracted to the Amethyst dimension. He was in a frenzied state, he couldn't take the knowledge that for every good act that he did, more evil would simply rise up. For every good person in the multiverse, there were thousands of evil creatures trying to murder, terrorize, and torture. That realization broke him, and he never recovered. In this broken state, he came up with the final solution to his problem: kill everything. He would bring down the Earth multiverse, the Infernal Realm, and the Heaven multiverse. The Amethyst dimension would be the only last surviving dimension in existence, only then could he have the 'good and peace' that he so craved. Thus he spent the next two hundred billion years locked away in his chambers, planning and plotting. The rest of us simply waited, unsure of what to do about him. Once and a while we would venture out to explore, or to help a few choice people in need, but that was pretty much it. Then, eight thousand years ago, the Paradox exited his room, declaring that he had a solution.

"His plan was elaborate, and incredibly brilliant. However, he only discussed the complete plans to me and his enforcer Pictor the executioner. This was the plan… The Paradox, in his time of isolation, had created three special devices: A crystal, a book, and a tree. These devices contained a special material called dimensional energy, something so powerful that, if used incorrectly, it could bring down a whole multiverse. The Paradox fully intended to misuse this energy, but he knew that if the angels of the celestial heavens got wind of the plan, they most assuredly would take him out. He needed to be covert, but he couldn't just hide these devices anywhere, he needed safe and secluded places. However, he couldn't search for these places himself, because he knew that the demons, and most probably the angels, were watching his every move.

"Thus the Paradox decided he would venture out to Earth Prime and select a few choice humans. These selections would be given incredible amounts of power, almost likening to a Dimensional Lord. These people would travel throughout the dimensions to search for three pure dimensions where the Paradox would be positive no one would ever attack or invade. When these places were found, the Paradox would command them to place the devices of mass-destruction by telling them that these devices would protect these dimensions from all evil. As soon as this happened, the Paradox would begin to recruit more of these people, and command them to protect the devices. However, he made sure no one really investigated the power of these devices by bringing the focus onto killing demons, which he claimed was the 'ultimate evil that must be snuffed out.' As this would transpire, he would watch the demons and figure out which demons were treacherous enough or scared enough that he could sway them to his side. When he decided on these choice demons, he would visit them through visions, posing as the hideous Dark King. He would tell them he was a rival to the Grand Devil, and that he would bring about a glorious war that would end all good, versus the silly little plots that their former leader had set out. These demons would comply with his wishes, or go insane, and would work for him. Their job would feed the hive mind of the Infernal Realm false information to keep the Grand Devil off his scent, and keep the demons from gaining any advantages during their wars against the special people, the dimensional travelers. Also, while this would be happening, the Paradox would send the more unknowing of his brotherhood to represent him to the Heaven multiverse. They would explain to the angels that he was just trying to act as a police force. Since he was sending the brotherhood members who knew nothing of the real plan, they were convinced they were telling the whole truth, so no deception was discovered there. Thus both the Heaven multiverse and the Infernal Realm would be kept off his scent.

"Finally, the last stages of the plan would go into action. He would initiate anarchy within the ranks of the guardians that he had created by scrambling their traveler's databases and feeding lies to them. As they fought with the demons and each other, they would forget their purpose: protecting the innocents. With them distracted, he could easily wipe clean the harmony dimensions as he saw fit using his demon connections. With these choice dimensions clean, he could, without any trouble, activate the harmony devices and… poof… all life in the Earth multiverse would cease to exist. This plan worked flawlessly, with a few bumps along the way. The Paradox failed to cleanse the Harmony unit multiverses because I convinced the him that the angels were still suspicious of him. So, instead, he convinced Legion to defect to his side, and got him to start the activation sequence in the Harmony tree for him. That is why Legion was flickering when you were fighting him. At moments in time you guys were just fighting a life-like holograph of him, while the real Legion set up the Harmony tree. You guys killed him though, but Legion had now become so dedicated to the cause that he lied to the Grand Devil so that the Paradox could continue his plan unopposed. Thanks to Legion, the demon of Terrible Trivium, and several other double-agents everywhere, the plan almost continued to work without a hitch afterward... until I realized how truly evil the plan was and completely defected. My meddling combined with you and your friend's bravery stalled his plan effectively."

Sunset's head nearly exploded. The plan was absolutely brilliant… brilliant and evil. His moment of awe and horror was then replaced by a feeling of depression. The only reason they existed was because the Paradox needed them for a small little cog in a massive war machine of death… they were nothing but tools. Then Sunset's eyes hardened… he wouldn't let this stop him. They had stopped the Paradox once, they could do it again; this time for good.

He looked at Doxia and said, "Do you know of how to shut off the harmony units?"

Doxia stroked his chin as he poured another glass of lemonade on his head nonchalantly. "I believe so, but it will be difficult."

Hope sprung up in Sunset's chest as Doxia said this. "What is it?" he asked with alacrity.

"The harmony units are each made for a special purpose. The Tree of Harmony is designed to be the control. The Book of Harmony is designed to be the focus point. The Crystal of Harmony is designed to be the outlet. Being the energy lattice outlet, the Crystal of Harmony is the weakest and the most sensitive of the three devices, and thus the easiest to disable. Since it is the one that would release the final blast, the Paradox could not have it integrate fully into its host's dimension's timeline. This would allow a person, theoretically, to destroy it without the entire dimension collapsing upon his head."

Sunset grimaced. The Crystal of Harmony was the one harmony unit that they could not find. "Do you, perhaps, know where the Crystal of Harmony is?" asked Sunset hopefully.

Doxia stretched. "Nope," he said, "It was brilliantly hidden. From what I've gleaned during my time of snooping about just before I defected, the Paradox had worried that one of his brothers, like me, would defect someday and disable the Crystal of Harmony. If that unit was destroyed, his whole plan would be ruined. Thus, inconspicuously, he gave Gagan Enosson a particular job to find the most secluded dimension and hide the Crystal where no one, not even his Dathan Enosson, could find it. The moment he did that… the Paradox killed him. The secret died with him. The same time that all happened, the Paradox sent everyone in the Enigma Empire, including me, to perform certain menial tasks across the multiverse. Thus… the location of the third harmony unit was safe… from EVERYONE."

Sunset sighed in despair. "What are we going to do now?" he groaned, "Is it possible that we could just go ahead and destroy the Book of Harmony? The dimension may be inhabited, but... But..." Sunset buried his head in his hoofs.

"Sorry, that won't work either," said Doxia, almost apologetically, "the harmony book is only the focus point, the system will continue to function even if you destroy that unit."

Sunset was about to give up in despair.

Then Doxia chuckled. "Don't give up, my little pony," he snorted, "Not all is lost. I had already began to work against the Paradox as this happened, so I immediately began work to find a way to locate the Crystal of Harmony so that I might one day disable it. To find the location, I decided I would create a dimensional traveler of my own who would be true of heart. This traveler would spend out his days searching for the location. I spent at least a thousand years searching for the right person… but I eventually found him. He was a sprightly young fellow, with a strong will and a loving heart. His name is Finnian Jones."

Sunset's mouth dropped open. "YOU are the one who gave Finnian Jones power?"

Doxia nodded. "I'm surprised you know of him, Sunset. Since I made him a dimensional traveler and not the Paradox, he never showed up on the traveler's database. But yes, I gave him powers, and for the last seven thousand years he has searched Earth Prime and beyond for the location of the Crystal of Harmony. Unfortunately, soon after I gave Finnian Jones his powers, the Paradox became suspicious of me… and I was forced to sever all connections with my dimensional traveler. He then disappeared off my radar; I am actually not sure where he is right now. I don't even know if he has found the location. A tragedy, don't you think?"

Doxia said the last phrase if it wasn't much of a tragedy at all, but Sunset wasn't really paying attention anymore: his mental gears had begun to turn.

"Soooo… do you have any idea of where Finnian Jones might be?" asked Sunset.

Doxia shook his head. "Nope, to keep my profile low, I had to completely cut all connections, as I said. Now, now, don't lose heart kiddo! I actually know the being that might! Jetfire, that kooky old transformer dimensional traveler. He probably does. Just before I left, Jetfire and Finnian Jones had become the best of friends, so I figure that Jetfire might at least know of Finnian Jones's possible whereabouts."

Sunset sighed again. "Isn't Jetfire dead? Didn't he accidentally get himself killed during a battle or something in his home dimension?"

Doxia laughed. "I don't think so. Remember: the traveler's database has been screwed up thanks to the Paradox. Nothing you see on there is really true. I have a strong feeling he's alive. He most probably is in the Grand Theft Auto dimension, or the Looking Glass Wars dimension."

Sunset nodded his head decisively. "Have you had enough lemonade?" he asked.

Doxia stood up and said, "Sure! Where are we going?"

Sunset turned to trot into Ponyville. "We're going to talk to Abimael 'James' Sethson. We're going to tell him what you told me, and we're going to send Daniel Dragoon the information on Jetfire. I think things might turn out alright after all."

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><p><strong>Note: Yes, Doxia is REALLY old and REALLY powerful. I understand that such an age is pretty much unfathomable, but these beings are incredibly awesome. Does anyone want me to add a section on these guys in the guide? Oh, speaking of the guide, I will be releasing it at 4:00 PDT Friday in place of a chapter, so keep a look-out for it! However, if I cannot reach that deadline, then I will replace that event with just posting a new chapter (which I have already prepared).<strong>


	48. Chapter 48 - A Moment of Silence

**Note: I just wanted to let you guys know that this chapter is a little bit pointless. You see, I was reading some other people's fanfiction when I realized that they seemed to have more cute scenes than my story as a whole. Then it hit me... Where had all my cute love scenes gone? I mean, sure, it was cute when Fluttershy and Sunset spent their first night together and such, but that was it. So, then I said to myself, "Screw this, I need more cute scenes." Thus I cut out an hour of my day to write a whole chapter devoted to cuteness. If you guys aren't into this stuff, then just wait for the next chapter when all the REAL stuff starts happening, if not... well, then picture this as a moment of quiet reflection on love and enjoy!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's house_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda_

Sunset was about to trot into his house so that he could exit through the front door when Doxia stopped him with an arm.

"What?" said Sunset.

"Where's Fluttershy?" asked Doxia, looking around.

"I think she's at the park with Starlight Amber."

Doxia nodded. Then he said, "You go to her. Spend time with her. I will fix things up."

Sunset cocked his head to one side, slightly bemused. "What do you mean?"

Doxia shook his head and chuckled. "What I mean is go to Fluttershy and spend some time with her. Pick some flowers, go for a trot, frolic in the sun. Do it now."

Sunset shook his head incredulously but complied. He turned his back on Doxia and began searching through his garden, meticulously scrutinizing each bed of flowers for the perfect bouquet. After a couple of minutes, he had the perfect set. He turned around to ask for Doxia opinion on the flowers, but the being was gone. Chuckling, he trotted off to find Fluttershy.

She was sitting on a park bench with Starlight, who was asleep, talking to some birds.

"Oh, hello Sunset!" she said as Sunset approached her, "What are you doing here? I thought you had some very important things to do."

"They are important," replied Sunset, "But they can wait."

He sat down next to her and handed her flowers. She breathed them in deeply as she exclaimed, "Oh, Sunset, these are wonderful. Are they for me?"

Sunset smiled and said, "For you and only you."

Sighing happily, Fluttershy leaned her head against Sunset's shoulder and murmured, "I've missed these."

Sunset closed his eyes as he felt the sunlight sink into his skin. "I've missed these too."

The two stayed like this for a good thirty minutes, enjoying the sunlight, as Fluttershy would say. Then Sunset opened his eyes and said, "Do you want to go for a trot?"

Fluttershy blinked. "Where?"

"Oh, around the meadows, maybe we could talk to some of the animals. Angel is staying with some friends there, is he not?"

Fluttershy nodded, "He is. That would be a wonderful idea!"

Sunset began to use magic to push Starlight's stroller forward. Fluttershy then got up and followed it. Sunset spread a wing over her back and the two trotted off to the meadow, side-by-side.

"What a wonderful day for a picnic," sighed Fluttershy as she looked over the meadow as they entered it.

"It is. You know what? We should have a picnic. We haven't even had lunch yet," declared Sunset.

"Oh, that would be wonderful. Just you, me, Starlight, and nature."

"That WOULD be wonderful. Tell you what, I'll make the picnic. You go find the perfect spot."

"The perfect spot… Oh, I know. That one spot where we were stuck in the rain… that is the perfect spot."

With that, Sunset quickly spread his wings and flew off to the house to make the picnic, while Fluttershy and Starlight went to visit Angel. After that, the two quickly cantered to the spot where Fluttershy and Sunset's adventures began. Fluttershy settled down and began to stare off dreamily into the distance. Soon Sunset arrived with a picnic basket. Fluttershy gently cooed Starlight into wakefulness, and the three had a small lunch. Then Fluttershy and Sunset rolled onto their backs and began to look at the skies.

"What can you see?" asked Fluttershy as they looked skyward.

Sunset smiled and replied, "I see… A house… A bunny… And a Star Wars-grade medpac flexclamp from the year 10500 Before the Battle of Yavin."

Fluttershy blinked. "What?"

Sunset chuckled and said, "Oh nothing, just my nonsense-filled mind getting in my way. Ooooh! You see that one? It looks like an apple!"

Fluttershy nodded. "My, that one does look like an apple. And there… That one looks like a four-leaf clover."

"That's good luck… Something that we need right now," sighed Sunset.

Fluttershy kissed Sunset on the cheek. "We have everything we want right now. We couldn't have been luckier."

Sunset smiled at Fluttershy. "You're right, Fluttershy."

There was a pause. "Fluttershy… did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?"

Fluttershy blushed. "Over and over again Sunset," she said.

"Well, I'll add one to the stack. You are beautiful."

The two kissed. They continued to look at the sky together as the sun slowly crawled past its apex and spiraled down past the west.

"Do you want to go home?" asked Sunset as he glanced at the sky.

Fluttershy closed her eyes. "Oh no," she sighed, "I think it would be fine if we stayed here for tonight. We can sleep together under the stars."

Sunset closed his eyes dreamily as well as he said, "I can't think of anything better…"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's library_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 8 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Twilight looked up from a book she was reading as a hoof rapped on her front door. Trotting downstairs, she opened it to find Flaming Star, his face obscured by a wonderful bouquet of flowers.

"Oh, these are lovely!" exclaimed Twilight, "Did you pick them for me?!"

"Better," chuckled Flaming Star, "I made them. Pulled every organic molecule together. You see that blue one? That's an Andorian Ice flower. Don't even exist here."

Twilight levitated them carefully into the air and placed them into a large vase. She looked them up and down and sighed, "This is perfect. A perfect mantelpiece."

"Absolutely exquisite, your taste leaves me in awe," chuckled Flaming Star.

There was a pause, then Flaming Star said, "Hey… do you want to do something?"

Twilight gave a little bounce of excitement. "Oh… We should! We could have a read-a-thon! We could start with the top shelves, and see how many books we can read down until the sun sets! Then we can have quizzes on our books to see who learned more!"

Flaming Star grinned. "You're on. Am I allowed to use my traveler's database?"

Twilight winked at him. "Only if you agree to read the books blindfolded."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, very well. I still think I'm going to win."

Twilight chuckled. "Prepare for your second-ever defeat, Firstborn."

The two laughed heartily. After a moment, Flaming Star cleared his throat and said, "Okay. Soooo… Starting with section A? Maybe start with an encyclopedia?"

Twilight nodded as she levitated two thick volumes over to where they sat. They were about to dive in when Spike strolled in from helping Rarity with something.

"What are you to doing?" he asked.

"Oh, we're having a read-a-thon," exclaimed Twilight happily, "Do you want to join us?"

Spike blanched. He slowly backed up and shook his head. "Um… now that you mention it… I think I left my, um, something, back at Rarity's… Gottagobye!"

He rocketed out of the room and slammed the door.

"Oh well," laughed Flaming Star, "More books for us to read."

"Yep," chuckled Twilight, "Well… ready… set… GO!"

The two dove (figuratively) into their books and were off. As they read, they would once and a while call out interesting tidbits that they had come across.

"Oooh… Cockatrices migrate to Zebrabwe once every year!" exclaimed Twilight.

"Hmmmm," mused Flaming Star, "Dragon's eggs are supposed to be harder to break than a diamond. They say the lattice structure is sturdier because of a form of fire-magic that runs through the carbon bonds… I don't know if that's true. Can I PLLLEEEAAASSSEE double-check this using the traveler's database?"

Twilight gave him a huge smile as she levitated him a strip of cloth. "Of course you can, Sweetie! Here's a blindfold!"

Flaming Star shook his head. "No thanks, dear. I prefer to be able to read while I can see."

The two then lapsed into a moment of silent reading as they continued to look through their books.

"Ooooh… This is interesting!" declared Twilight as she continued to scan her book, "This says that waterfalls fall upwards in the some areas in the wild cloudlands over the Western Ocean! I wish I could see that for myself…"

Flaming Star gave her a side-long glance. "You know… I could take you there right now."

Twilight looked up from her book, her eyes wide. "You could?!"

Flaming Star got up and nodded. "Right now. Do you want to go?"

"WOULD I EVER?!" exclaimed Twilight as she seized Flaming Star in a tight hug, "I would LOVE to go right now!"

"So much for the read-a-thon," chuckled Flaming Star to himself as he searched the traveler's database for the location. He found it, and then opened a portal directly to the wild cloudland. Twilight and Flaming Star trotted through the opening in time and space and entered the wonderful, spacious expanse of fluffy clouds, which stretched in all directions.

"This is where most Pegasus go for safari's," explained Twilight as she looked around in awe, "I've read about this place, of course, but never been to it myself! This is so amazing!"

Twilight leaned against Flaming Star's shoulder as she continued to look around. She then gazed up at the sky and smiled, almost dreamily.

"What are you thinking?" said Flaming Star, following the direction of her gaze.

"I was just wondering how it would feel to by flying high above this expanse, watching the world unfurl below you…" sighed Twilight.

Flaming Star planted a kiss on Twilight's cheek. He then took a step back on the fluffy clouds and spread his wings wide.

"Well?" he said, "You imagined it, now let's do it!"

Twilight gave him a huge smile and spread her own wings. With powerful flaps, they took off into the sky.

"This… is… AMAZING!" yelled Twilight over the wind as they blasted through the bright blue sky.

"You're starting to sound like Rainbow Dash!" laughed Flaming Star, "All we need to do now is convert the word amazing into the word awesome!"

They continued to speed through the air. They then veered sharply upward in unison and began to climb higher, and higher, and higher. Soon they were reaching the heights where air was hard to come by, but Flaming Star simply counteracted this effect by pulling up a bubble of air around them. Twilight then smiled dreamily and tucked her wings in, she then twisted around and began to descend at incredible speeds. Quickly Flaming Star did the same and they whizzed down towards the fluffy expanse of the cloudlands together. Just before they hit the ground, Flaming Star and Twilight veered upwards again and they spiraled through the air at top speed, with the clouds below blasting away below them. Twilight smiled as she saw massive sky waterfalls, with water going up them instead of down, passing on by them. Then she began to climb high again, with Flaming Star right behind her. The two continued to perform this same routine again and again, as the sun slowly set in the west.

After a bit, Flaming Star glanced over at Twilight and yelled over the wind, "Do you want to go home?"

Twilight blinked as she thought about it for a moment, and then yelled back, "Okay!"

The slowed down and landed on the fluffy clouds. Flaming Star then looked at the setting sun and nodded, "Yes, it would be best if we got you home."

He opened a portal back to Twilight's library, and the two stepped through.

"Do you think we should finish the read-a-thon?" asked Twilight as she organized a couple of scattered books.

Flaming Star glanced out the window as the last rays of dusk disappeared over the west hills of Ponyville, "Not unless you want to pull an all-nighter."

Twilight giggled, "No, I suppose not."

Flaming Star bowed his head low to Twilight and took a step back. "I will be going now, my lovely princess," he said dramatically. He then turned around to leave.

"Wait!" said Twilight.

Flaming Star stopped from exiting the building and turned around. He looked at Twilight curiously.

Twilight blushed a deep red, and she mumbled, "Would you… would you stay with me tonight?"

Flaming Star blinked. What she had said had touched him more than anything had in his entire life. He knew Twilight, and he understood that what she had said had taken an incredibly amount of courage… and love. He then smiled and said, "I would love to."

Twilight flapped lightly over to her bed and lay down. Flaming Star, desperately wishing that there was an army of demons he could fight instead, slowly lay down next to her and closed his eyes. Twilight almost immediately fell asleep. Flaming Star could feel her body raise and lower with each sigh, and feel the warmth of her breath on his cheek. He let these feelings slowly wash away any raw emotions and worries he had, and he too soon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Here is an important question... Who is the cuter and better couple? Sunset Shadow and Fluttershy or Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle...? Or, dare I say, Regal Crescent and Luna?<strong>


	49. Chapter 49 - Developments

**Note: It seems like Fluttershy and Sunset Shadow hold the winning place in cuteness! Anyways... Moving on...**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: A little bit east of Fluttershy's former cottage_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 8 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

"So, why am I here?" asked Night Shade as he stood a ways off from the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were hiding in a bush. He then glanced up at the sun which was slowly beginning to set.

"You're going to help us chronicle the secret life of Diamondbeaks for the Foal Free Press!" explained Scootaloo as she pulled out a pair of binoculars.

Night Shade just said, again, "Soooo… Why am I here?"

"If we keep doing really well as reporters, maybe we'll get our cutie marks in reporting!" exclaimed Apple Bloom excitedly.

Night Shade rolled his eyes. "I already have a cutie mark."

Scootaloo poked her head out of the bush and poked his cutie mark accusingly. "Yeah, but you cheated. You shape-shifted into this form and got a cutie mark for it. Do you know what your real talent is?"

Night Shade opened his mouth, and then closed it. He blinked. "Um… I have no idea." Scootaloo winked at him.

With that, Night Shade hopped into the bush with the CMC and grabbed his own pair of binoculars. "Right," he said, "What are we going to do first?"

Slowly Sweetie Bell crawled out of the bush and moved forward. She glanced over her shoulder at her friends and motioned quickly to them to follow her. Night Shade, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo slowly crept forward as they followed her. Suddenly the chirping of a Diamondbeak alerted the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Night Shade of its presence. They leapt into another bush and poked their heads out of it.

"Where is it?" exclaimed Apple Bloom in a whisper.

"Over there!" whispered Night Shade back, pointing with a hoof.

Everypony trained their binoculars on the area that Night Shade was pointing at. On a branch, in the distance, a Diamondbeak was perched, twittering away.

"Where's her nest?" whispered Sweetie Bell, "I can't see it!"

"It looks like the bird is gathering twigs. I think she is going to use them to repair her home. This means it must be somewhere else!" said Night Shade in hushed tones.

The Diamondbeak, when it had finished searching for and gathering up twigs, spread its wings and began to take to the air.

Scootaloo buzzed her tiny wings in excitement as she exclaimed, "Ooooh! The chase is on!"

Night Shade and the Cutie Mark Crusaders then galloped after the flying Diamondbeak as fast, and yet as quietly, as they could manage. The bird flew to the border of the Everfree forest and perched on a thick branch in one of the tallest trees.

"I can't see! Where did it go?!" whispered Apple Bloom.

Night Shade quickly scoped out a smaller tree that was slightly adjacent to the Diamondbeak's home tree.

"Here, let's climb this one. I'll help you guys up."

Using his enchanced strength, Night Shade hoisted up his sister and her friends into the lower branches. As they climb upward, he spread his wings and flapped lightly onto one of the top branches.

"You got the notepad?" said Apple Bloom to Scotaloo as they pulled out their binoculars once more.

Scotaloo nodded and pulled out a pen and notepad. The Cutie Mark Crusaders began to take notes on the behavioral attributes of their bird. Night Shade, on the other hoof, was scoping out something entierly different.

"Um, guys?" he said as he peered through his binoculars, "Did you three invite over company?"

"No way!" whispered Scootaloo back, "This is one of those totally covert operations! Black ops and stuff! Why do you ask?"

"Because Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon are on their way here. And they brought some kind of net," explained Night Shade.

"What?" exclaimed Sweetie Bell. Night Shade slapped a hoof over her mouth.

"Quiet every pony!" he said in hushed tones. "I think I can hear what they're saying."

The group quieted down as Night Shade leaned through the branches and listened closely to what they were saying.

"So, why are we doing this?" asked Silver Spoon as she and Diamond Tiara trotted towards them.

"Oh, a Diamondbeak was spotted over here. If we can steal an egg from it and hatch it ourselves, I could have one of the rarest birds for a PET!" replied Diamond Tiara haughtily.

"You mean WE," corrected Silver Spoon.

"Well? Do you know which tree it is?" interjected Diamond Tiara.

"That tree right there," replied to Silver Spoon, pointing to the tree where the Cutie Mark Crusaders were inspecting not moments before, the home of the Diamondbeak.

"Excellent. Go fetch my butler with the ladder. We can scare off the mother and grab and egg before anypony knows what is happening!" declared Diamond Tiara.

Night Shade pulled himself back into the protection of the branches in the tree he was sitting in and turned to the CMC.

"This isn't good," he said to Scotaloo, Sweetie Bell, and Apple Bloom, "Those two plan to steal one of the Diamondbeaks eggs so they can raise it as a pet!"

"What?! They can't do that!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell indignantly, "This is a wildlife… um… safe place or something!"

"A wildlife reserve, you mean. However, technically it isn't. Nevertheless, we should protect the mother and her babies at all costs!" declared Night Shade.

Scootaloo looked at her big brother with Bambi eyes. Night Shade blinked at her, then realized what she was trying to imply. "No, Scootaloo," he said, "I'm NOT going to use my powers like that. They're annoying foals, not demons."

"They look like monsters if you squint your eyes though!" exclaimed Scootaloo, "Look!"

Night Shade rolled his eyes and said, "Nope. No. However, here is what I will do…"

Diamond Tiara tapped a hoof against the ground impatiently as she waited for Silver Spoon to return with her butler. She was about to comment to no pony in particular that this was taking too long when suddenly the trees she was guarding rustled. She blinked at them. Abruptly, a Diamondbeak burst forth, chirping loudly. It then commenced to attack Diamond Tiara with pecks to her head.

Squealing loudly, the little pony began to run in circles. She then dashed off in the direction of where Silver Spoon had trotted off. She soon caught up with her compatriot and yelled, "Rogue Diamondbeak! Run!"

The two foals, screaming loudly, began to run from the enraged Diamondbeak. They rounded a corner and dove into a bush. The Diamondbeak, however, veered off and flew away and disappeared into a grove of trees. A moment later, the bird shimmered, and shape shifted into a pony. It was Night Shade. Chuckling to himself, he trotted off to find the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

He found them with still sitting in the tree.

"Ironic that Diamondbeaks are considered peaceful creatures," chuckled Night Shade as he trotted up to the tree to help the CMC down, "I don't think Diamond Tiara or Silver Spoon will be thinking about venturing this way for a while now."

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Night Shade all laughed. The four trotted away as their laughter slowly dissolved into the dusky air as the sun's last rays dissipated into darkness.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The border of Ponyville_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 8 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Samuel pressed his ears against his skull as he tentatively began to enter Ponyville. He hadn't actually been here himself before – he had hardly ever left his house in Fillydelphia – and everything in the town made him extremely nervous.

He stopped just as he was about to put a hoof into the town and began to reconsider his options.

"Archangel Michael hadn't SPECIFICALLY told me to go to Ponyville," he reasoned, "He just told me to go back to the My Little Pony dimension. Maybe I should just go home to Fillydelphia and stay in my cozy house. Perhaps I can just stay there for the rest of my absurdly long life."

Samuel groaned and sat down. He grimaced. That wasn't what he wanted either. All his house and Fillydelphia would do now would be to remind him of his friend Tiffany, who had been slaughtered. Too many bad memories. But then again… almost everything represented a bad memory now. A small street would remind him of his younger days, before the Paradox recruited him. The days in which he had spent alone on the streets of Chicago in the Earth Prime dimension. A setting sun would remind him of his days as a traveler, when he had been forced to destroy a star to kill an army of demons... It coincidentally killed a large amount of innocents too. Memories, the bane of his existence… they constantly plagued him, and he felt like he could never rub out his past, no matter what he did.

Samuel shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He then got up onto all fours and put a hoof into Ponyville. Immediately he was pounced upon by Pinkie Pie.

"Hey! A new pony! IknowthatbecauseIknoweveryponyinponyvilleandsinceIdon'tknowyouthatmustmeanyou'renew! Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie! Who are you?"

Samuel stumbled backwards as he gasped, "What the- How did you find me so fast?! I literally entered town in the most discreet way possible!"

Pinkie laughed, "Oh, nothing ever gets by me here. Soooooo… Are you moving here? Are staying? Huh? Huh? HUH?"

Samuel shook his head as he began to inch away. "Um… no. In fact… I was leaving… right… now…"

He quickly whirled straight around and was about to dash off in the opposite direction when he found Pinkie Pie blocking his path. He looked behind him in a flustered state. Had she teleported or something?

"Um," he stuttered, "Are you… Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously as she hopped up and down. "Yes! I am! How did you know?"

"Well," replied Samuel, trying desperately to find a way around the crazy pink party pony, "You guys are the Harmony Bearers. You are famous from here to Fillydelphia and beyond."

"Oooooh! Are you from Fillydelphia?"

"I was. I really don't have a home now."

"What do you mean? Do you need a place to stay? You could stay with me! At Sugar Cube Corner!"

"Um… no. That's very kind. But I think it would be safer if I found some remote Chimera's den in the Everfree forest to stay in."

"Huh? What? Never mind! You can't go yet! We need to throw you a Welcome-to-Ponyville PARTY!"

Samuel blanched. This was the last thing he wanted. Couldn't she just leave him alone?

"Um… no. I don't think that would be a good idea!" he said, trying to get away.

"Why not silly! Let's go!" exclaimed Pinkie, grabbing his hoof.

Samuel wrenched his hoof free and yelled, "No! Don't touch me! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Pinkie Pie actually stopped bouncing. Her pink curly hair flattened with the sound of a deflating balloon. She blinked at him. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?!" yelled Samuel, "EVERYTHING is wrong! My whole life is wrong! I just want some place I can hide in peace!"

With that, he ran around Pinkie and galloped off into the Everfree forest. Samuel took a deep breath as he made sure the pink pony wasn't following him.

"Stupid Pinkie Pie," he grumbled as he sat down. This wasn't going to turn out well. Where was Michael? Was he going to be forced to stay here indefinitely? He hated this idea more and more. He sighed deeply and trotted slowly out of the forest and into a meadow, with his head bowed. He wanted nothing to do with this place. Nothing at all. Slowly he climbed his way to the top of a small hill, and he sat down. And there he sat, staring off into the distance as night descended on the land. Samuel sighed again and flopped his head down upon the grassy mound. A single tear rolled from his eyes and hit the ground. He hated himself more than anything… He closed his eyes and drifted to sleep.

His eyes snapped open, and he looked around. He was in a mist filled forest. At first Samuel had somehow been spirited away to a mysterious dimension, but then failing to release a massive hurricane of acid in retaliation, he realized something… he was dreaming. Samuel snorted with frustration and sat down in the damp grass. He looked around derisively as he surveyed his gloomy surroundings.

As he did so, he talked out loud to himself. "What an extraordinarily stupid dream," he said, "Literally. This is the most…"

Then he heard something. Pricking up his ears, Samuel cautiously approached the source of the noise. As he drew closer to location, he became aware that it was the sound of screaming. Breaking into a gallop, he drew closer and closer to the source of the sounds. He stopped just before the clearing where the noise was emanating from and peeked through the foliage. It was himself as a human, beating a demon to death with his fists. He was reliving the horrendous side of the death of Jahi in the realm of dreams.

Samuel pressed his ears to the side of his skull and turned around to run, but behind him was just another clearing that had suddenly appeared. This clearing contained a street and a couple of buildings, all buried in snow. He saw a small child dragging himself through the icy drifts, shivering. It was himself again, trying to survive as an orphan, just before he had been changed by the Paradox.

Samuel cowered to the ground and tried to cover his eyes and ears simultaneously to block out the terrible memories that constantly plagued him. When he thought that it was just about to get too great, and that his mind would surely break into pieces, a hoof lightly touched him on his shoulder.

Samuel shot up and whirled around with a snarl. It was a majestic alicorn pony, about the same size as him. Her coat was dark blue, and her mane was a glowing swirl of sapphire and ocean blue, and light azure. It was Luna. She looked at him curiously. Samuel just scowled in confusion and looked away, unsure of why she had appeared in his dreams.

"I have not seen you before, my friend," said Luna in an interested tone, "but your plagued dreams called to me in distress. What are your troubles?"

Suddenly he realized that he had forgotten to set up his mental defenses when he had drifted off to sleep. Every night he had previously spent in Equestria before he had tried to run away, he had blocked his mind from the outside world, keeping such mental intrusions at bay and rendering him invisible to ponies such as Luna. But now that he had forgotten…

"I am Princess Luna, ruler of the night. It is my duty to raise the moon every dusk, and comfort my subjects in the realm of their dreams. That is precisely why I am here, as I said," continued Luna

"I know who you are and what you are doing here. Well, you can go. I don't need any help," muttered Samuel, pointedly avoiding eye contact.

"Your dreams say otherwise."

"Go to hell."

Luna ignored his jab and looked through the clearings, watching with a saddened and distressed eye as she witnessed Samuel's tragic past of loneliness, suffering, and pain, as well as his descent into brutality. She blinked slowly as she began to comprehend what she was seeing. She turned back to Samuel, who was still looking at his hoofs, but had not yet attempted to leave.

"You are a dimensional traveler?" she asked, her tone gentle.

Samuel just nodded. "I am. I've been trying my entire life to escape what you just saw, and you're not making it any easier. Tell you what, go off and help someone else in their dreams, I don't need help. I just need to keep running. Eventually I'll leave everything in the dust," snapped Samuel, still looking hard at his hoofs.

"You can't run from your problems, you need to face them," said Luna kindly.

"Everyone seems to say that," snorted Samuel derisively, "I just don't know…"

He then looked up and looked Luna in the eyes and said again, "I just don't know…"

He sighed and closed his eyes.

Luna put a hoof and Samuel's shoulder and said, "I know where you are. Stay there. I'm coming to meet you."

Suddenly the dream began to fade, and Samuel yelled, "What? No! Don't! Don't come near me!"

But it was to no avail. The dream disappeared, and Samuel drifted into a deep slumber.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Looking for Group<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The forest of Nestorep_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, a year after Cale'Anon meets Richard._

To the average passerby, the small space that represented the "base" of the Brothers in Arms corps look remarkably unremarkable. Just a small space. But this was just an illusion. The area was surrounded by walls of photon reflecting sheets of retro-reflective material and energy. It also was encompassed by a special synthesized material that was perfectly soundproof. These security measures were so well placed that no one would have ever realized that a large portal was opening within it to reveal a dragon and a human. No one noticed… except for hooded being. It had been watching the area for some time, his eyes peering straight through the deception. Now, as he sensed the return of the Brothers in Arms corps, he slowly got up onto all fours and moved towards the cloaked hideout. Neither Daniel or Franklin took any notice.

"What is our first move?" said Franklin as he sat down on a tree stump.

Daniel, who had chosen not to change out of his dragon form, slowly lowered his hefty body to the ground. He wrapped his tail around his back legs as he replied, "We need to find Evan Funsch. He might know where Finnian Jones is; he usually know where everyone is."

"Isn't he dead?" said Franklin as he pulled up his traveler's database.

"Stop looking at that!" exclaimed Daniel, swiping one of his massive claws through the holographic database projection that had popped up in front of Franklin's face, "We ALL know that it has been tampered with by now. And no, I don't think Evan Funsch is dead. Remember how Funsch and Jared DeWhite were acting just before the era of Anarchy really picked up in intensity? Those two were going on and on about how there was a conspiracy with the Paradox, and how their databases had been altered. Of course, we didn't take any notice of them then, but they were pretty serious. All of us were fooled, but I am pretty sure they took necessary precautions to be ready for the outbreak of chaos that was coming."

"Funsch and DeWhite were always suspicious of everything," sighed Franklin, "Anyway, where would Funsch be now?"

Daniel sighed and said, "I have no idea."

"How about DeWhite?"

"I have no idea either. He's probably at his home dimension though. He always made a point that he had no intention of ever getting really involved with our calling."

"Do you think he would know where Funsch is?"

"Nope. Those two may have gotten along, but they never really trusted each other. I think they would have gone their separate ways when the era of Anarchy exploded in our ranks."

Franklin threw up his hand in disgust. "Great. So we're trying to find Finnian Jones, who is missing. To find him, we're going to find Evan Funsch, who is ALSO missing! This is absolutely stupid. I vote we pay DeWhite a visit, maybe he has an idea."

"I doubt it, but I suppose we could try. He MIGHT has the SLIGHTEST chance of knowing where he could POSSIBLY be," chuckled Daniel.

Then a voice came from behind them. "Or you could ask me. I might know where he is."

Franklin whipped out his sniper rifle faster than the eye could move as he and Daniel whirled to confront the speaker. It was the mysterious hooded creature.

"Who are you? How did you find us?" said Daniel warily.

The creature threw off his hood. It was a pony from the My Little Pony dimension. Dark grey hide, green mane, greenish flanks. His cutie mark was a picture of a paw print imprinted upon an infinity sign. It was a dimensional traveler.

Franklin immediately recognized the being he was looking at. However, instead of putting down the sniper rifle, he just pointed it straighter and put a finger on the trigger.

Daniel, too, recognized the being. "It's nice to see you again Wild. Or should I say… Feral," he said calmly.

"Call me Wild, please, the name Feral is something of a trigger word if you know what I mean," chuckled the pony in guttural tones.

"It's nice to know that you got control of your good side then, you schizophrenic freak," said Franklin warily.

"I'm not schizophrenic. I am Wild, and then I am Feral. However, we're not here to talk about me," replied the pony.

"Maybe we should," said Daniel, "Last time I recall we met, we had to save your team from you while you were battling the northern demons. Didn't you kill one of them in your frenzy?"

"Those demons had it coming to them," said Wild, "my 'friends' just got in the way."

"I vote that we stop talking about Wild," said Franklin loudly, "I say we hear what he has to say. Then he can go on his way, and we can go ours."

"Oh no, Franklin, that's not how it's going to work," chuckled Wild, "If I tell you, you're going to take me with you two."

"Well then, I think we'll take our chances with finding Jared DeWhite," replied Daniel curtly, "We know where he probably is, and I will take that over having to travel with you."

Franklin and Daniel were about to open a portal when Wild said loudly, "He doesn't know where Funsch is. He did know, but he's not there anymore. I was the last on to speak with him."

Franklin slowly turned around and said, "Well… how do we know that you're not lying? How do we know that you're not just going to lead us into a trap? We've had that happen to us before, you know."

Wild grinned a voracious grin as he replied, "You're just going to have to trust me."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Aaannnddd say hello to the new Dimensional Traveler, Wild, people! Anyway, I was wondering... Would you guys like to see another Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Discord team-up? Or perhaps a different Ponyville team? Please let me know! And don't forget the feedback!<strong>


	50. Chapter 50 - Mysterious Times

**Note: Just to let you know, the guide is up, just in case anyone missed it. Oh! And there is a wikia page on "A Mending Soul" now as well. Anyways... enjoy!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: A meadow just outside of Ponyville_

_Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 14 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Sunset opened his eyes. He was still in the meadow. Then he remembered what had happened earlier. He, Fluttershy, and Starlight Amber had chosen to sleep under the stars the day before. He looked over at Fluttershy, who was still asleep peacefully. He then blinked. What had woken him up? He turned around. Doxia was sitting a distance away from them, looking at the sky. Doxia then looked down and noticed that Sunset was awake.

"Rise and shine sleepyhead," laughed Doxia in hushed tones, "You two look SOOOOOO cute together. I nearly had a cute-induced stroke. The cute power here was most certainly over 9000."

"Stop it Doixa," mumbled Sunset as he stretched and got up. He trotted over to where Doxia was sitting and looked at him. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I just wanted to let you know that I was about to see the firstborn. Of course, knowing him, he will take me randomly showing up a little worse than you. So I figured you could tag along."

Sunset nodded. He then turned to Fluttershy and gently shook her awake.

"Hmmm? What's going on?" murmured Fluttershy.

She then noticed Doxia. Giving a frightened squeak, she leapt behind Sunset.

"Oh, I'm Doxia. Pleased to meet you!" exclaimed Doxia jovially. Fluttershy glanced at Sunset, who said, "Yeah, he's okay. I THINK he's a good guy."

"You THINK? Ouch, you hurt me on multiple different levels, infinitybutt."

"If you start calling me that, I'll blast you," snorted Sunset.

"You'll blast me with what? Hitting me with a bolt of dark matter is the equivalent to throwing a ping pong ball at a titanium wall, infinitybutt" replied Doxia, "You know what? I could just start calling everyone that. They do have unique pictures on their flank after all."

Sunset shook his head to clear it. Doxia literally made no sense half the time he said anything.

Doxia moved over to where Fluttershy was and bowed low.

"I am honored to meet you, Fluttershy," said Doxia sincerely, "You are the Harmony bearer of kindness. We Dimensional Lords consider that element to be by far the most powerful."

Fluttershy blushed and gave Doxia a little smile.

"Well, Fluttershy," said Sunset after a pause, "I wanted to wake you up to let you know that Doxia and I are going to talk to Flaming Star. Do you want me to walk with you while you go home?"

"Oh no, Starlight and I will be just fine," said Fluttershy cheerfully, "You go do whatever it is you need to do."

Doxia struck a pose. "Right!" he declared, "Let us go see Flaming Star! We should grab a camera along the way, though, it wouldn't be right not to take a picture of his flabbergasted face when I show up."

"You act like you know for a fact he is going to be shocked," said Sunset as Fluttershy trotted away with Starlight's strolled, "You know he might just attack you."

Doxia waved a hand in a randomly picked direction, "Whatevs. Angry, surprised, pretty much the same thing. Get a picture of it."

Doxia conjured up a camera and tossed it Sunset. He then opened a portal to Twilight's Library. Through the portal Sunset could see Twilight and Flaming Star sleeping peacefully together, with Twilight resting her head on Flaming Star's back.

Sunset blushed and took a step back. "Maybe it would be better if we come back later. I don't think we want to interrupt."

Doxia ignored him. Taking a deep breath he yelled, "FLAMING STAR! EXECUTE CODE 66!"

Flaming Star and Twilight leapt out of their bed and tumbled to the ground. Flaming Star shot up looking around wildly. He then saw Doxia.

"Paradox? How DARE you…" he snarled as he threw up an energy shield around him and his fiancée.

"Me? The Paradox! Heaven forbid! I'm the Light Man. You know, that really awesome guy who did all that really awesome stuff?"

Twilight, who had been absolutely disoriented for a moment, then noticed Doxia.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, "That's him! That's the guy who saved me!"

Flaming Star dropped the shield, and Twilight rushed to embrace Doxia. She hugged him tightly and said, "Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Doxia hugged her back without saying anything. Twilight then released him and said, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm here to talk to the firstborn. I want him to do something for me," replied Doxia.

Flaming Star eyes Doxia warily, "You want me to do something for you? What?"

"I know who the Brothers in Arms corps guys need to find to find Finnian Jones," said Doxia.

Flaming Star blinked. "How do you know of our plans?"

"Because I know lots of stuff. Anyways, I want you to go to Franklin and Daniel and tell them that they need to find the transformer Jetfire to find Finnian Jones. It won't take a moment. You could even just open a telepathic link. Oh, and when you do so, tell them that it is okay to trust Wild, and that Evan Funsch DOES know where Jetfire is," said Doxia.

Sunset looked at Doxia in confusion. "Wild? You mean THE Wild? That absolutely chaotic dimensional rogue?"

Doxia nodded. "That's the one! He, Franklin, and Daniel are having a little bit of an argument right now, so I want you to alleviate all that hurtful distrust."

Flaming Star narrowed his eyes and said, "Why should I do anything for you?"

"Because I told you," replied Doxia complacently, "I'm the elder."

"That's a laugh. I am eight thousand years old," snorted Flaming Star.

Doxia threw up his hands in mock despair. "No noes! Eight thousand! I didn't know! I thought for SURE that my measly trillion years would have the jump on you!"

Flaming Star blinked. "You're what?"

Doxia looked at Flaming Star and said, "Oh. I'm just one trillion years old… you know. Now go make that call."

"You are sooo weird, you know that?" muttered Flaming Star as he searched his mind for the mental port so that he could open up a channel with Daniel.

"I know. I try so hard."

Flaming Star ignored Doxia's reply as he found the port and opened it up.

"Daniel, it's Flaming Star," said Flaming Star over the link as Daniel accepted it.

"Hey firstborn. This isn't really the time right now for a call though, we are dealing with some issues," replied Daniel.

"I understand, but there are some important things I need to tell you."

"Go ahead."

"Find Jetfire. You guys need to find Jetfire. Evan Funsch knows where he is. Oh, and finally, trust Wild."

There was a pause, then Daniel said, "How the heck did you know Wild was here?"

"I know because I have some inside help. Needless to say I will be watching you guys. You need to carry this all out quickly though, I have a feeling the Paradox isn't twiddling his thumbs."

"Well… Understood. Okay. I'm out."

"Roger," said Flaming Star as he cut the link. He turned to Doxia, who was still on the other side of the portal. "I did it, satisfied?" he snapped. Doxia nodded.

"I am. I apologize. You guys can go back to being cute together. Oh, by the way, you two will NEVER look as cute a couple as Sunset and Fluttershy, just saying."

"Oh, it's ON," said Flaming Star, "You just wait…"

Doxia closed the portal. And turned to Sunset. "All good," he said.

Sunset facehoofed. "You have no idea how to interact socially with ponies, do you?" he groaned.

"Oh I did. About one trillion years ago. I'm off now, Sunset. I need to talk to Celestia."

"Why?" asked Sunset.

"Oh nothing important. Just that Equestria will soon be a hotspot for Elite Phasetroopers. The Paradox is actually right now dealing with a system virus that has disabled everything in the Amethyst dimension, but that won't keep him occupied for long. We need to get ready so that we can hold out as long as possible while the Brothers in Arms dudes find Finnian Jones."

Sunset shook his head and sighed. "So much fighting. I just want to enjoy the life I have with Fluttershy and Starlight Amber."

Doxia slowly got down on one knee, and said kindly, "That will be coming. You see? This is why we will win. Good has something worth fighting for."

With that, he turned around and opened a portal to Canterlot and stepped through.

Sunset sighed as he trotted off to his house.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: 14 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Celestia flapped her wings gracefully as she finished her mourning rounds outside the castle. Ever since the invasion of Xaphan and his demons, she had been circling the castle once every day early in the morning to ensure that all was well within and outside the walls of Canterlot's capitol fortress. She swerved upwards as she prepared to land on her balcony outside her majestic chambers. Bright morning light filtered through her wings as she spread them wide and shook them, knocking loose droplets of morning dew that tumbled earthward in a swirl of bright points of colorful lights. Celestia sighed with contentment. All within her kingdom was safe. Just yesterday she had received word that Shadow Scepter and Corona Oscura had restored trust within their advisors and citizens, and that all was well. The war between the Equus-Irrum Alliance and Equestria was nothing more than an unpleasant memory now, and the real Commander Hurricane had gathered up all the scattered soldiers and restored the Freezelock Pass of the Frozen North.

Smiling a little to herself, she trotted into her chambers to lay down on her bed to do a little contemplation. She stopped as soon as she saw another being in her room, staring at a beautiful impressionistic picture of the sun and moon, rising together. The being slowly turned around at the sound of her hooves and looked straight at her. It was Doxia. Celestia recognized him immediately.

"Guard!" she yelled, a mixture of fear and anger in her illustrious voice.

Doxia bowed to her. "I do apologize for my intrusion, Celly," he said, "but don't bother calling the guards, they actually respect and fear me a little more than they do you, I'm afraid."

"What do you want?" asked Celestia warily, moving backwards. Her behind bumped against the large windows that led to the porch, it had closed and locked behind her.

Doxia sighed, his voice suddenly lacking its usual joviality. "These ponies literally worship you, Celestia," he said, "They bow and scrape to you, and they swear by you. Do you not understand what you hold sway over these ponies? You are almost a god to them, but yet you do not act truly like one. Character is what a pony does behind closed doors, not what they do out in the open, and a true ruler is pure in character."

Celestia sighed. "Doxia, I'm not here for games. What do you want?"

Doxia shook his head. "Celly, I don't want ANYTHING. I am here to help you."

"I don't want your help."

"That's what you said last time. But guess what? I was right. Letting the Paradox put the tree here was all part of his plan, but you didn't listen. You refused my help, and here we are, with impending doom on the horizon. Did you at least take the vials to a safe place?"

Celestia's pupils shrunk to a tenth of their size and blinked at Doxia.

Doxia facepalmed. "Okay… Where did you put them?"

"I… I gave them to the crystal unicorn Sombra."

"That's right! That little foal Sombraro! The staircase-obsessed pony! Where is that rascal?"

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed deep and long. Then she opened her eyes and said, "He's dead."

Doxia didn't react for a moment. Then he said, "Okay. Who killed him?"

Celestia scuffed a hoof on the ground as if she was a child being scolded for taking a cookie without asking permission. Then she said, "He killed himself."

Doxia folded his powerful arms across his chest and said, "I don't understand Celly. Please explain."

Celestia nodded and looked Doxia in the eyes. "It was the vials' faults," she said, "I gave them to him, but he became obsessed with the crystalline contents. He began to study deep into the dark arts of black crystal magic, and it consumed him. Luna and I fought him and banished him to the Artic. He broke free after a thousand years, unfortunately, and attempted to conquer the Crystal Empire. However, when we used the Crystal Heart, his body, which had become infused with black magic, reacted negatively to it and exploded. He died."

Doxia strolled over to Celestia and put a hand on her shoulder. "I understand," he said kindly, "I am sure it was difficult to see such a brilliant little foal like him fall into such an obsession. I knew that those vials would have a negative effect somehow. So let me guess: the secret of their location is hidden somewhere then?"

Celestia nodded. "I put the Crystal Empire's new rulers, Cadence and Shining Armor, on a lookout for it, but I had to be descreet. They don't really know what the vials are for, but they are searching indirectly for them."

Doxia returned the nod and then said, in his usual friendly voice, "Okie Doxia Lokie! That sounds good. I am probably going to leave to look for the vials myself then. They shouldn't be too hard to locate… I think."

He was about to open a portal when Celestia said, "What will become of Equestria? What's going on?"

Doixa sighed and turned around. "If all goes well, Equestria will be safe," he said kindly, "But I cannot guarantee that. You see, Celly, the Paradox has pissed off Heaven and Hell very badly. But I know the power of the Enigma Empire, and I can say a three-way war is on the horizon, and it will probably devastate the whole multiverse. But then again, that could just be part of the Paradox's plan, I don't know. My former leader is absolutely insane, so he might have been feeding me and Pictor lies all along. However, I don't think he knows of the vials, and if he doesn't than we have a chance changing everything. Unfortunately, all we need now is time. The vials will need time to be put to use."

Celestia rushed forward and hugged Doxia, something she had never dreamed of doing, but she was very worried and scared. Scared because she truly didn't understand the magnitude of what was going to transpire in her little nation, and worried because she couldn't comprehend what would be even left of her little nation if the events transpired. Doxia hugged her tightly back for a moment, and then eased away.

"Tell no one of our meeting yet, Celly," he said, "I don't think it poses relevance as of yet. However, if I sense we're out of time, we will need to tear apart the Crystal Empire. Those vials must be found. Do we have any experts on little Sombraro?"

Celestia sighed. "Princess Twilight Sparkle might know a thing or two, and Sunset Shadow seems to know everything about everything. They might be of use."

Doxia shook his head. "No, we need someone who KNEW Sombra."

Celestia shook her head as well. "No one then. Sombra was very secretive. So secretive in fact that we didn't know that the vials corrupted him until it was too late. However… he did have someone who loved him dearly."

Doxia stopped himself from stepping through the portal to look at Celestia. He nodded to her.

Celestia looked off into the distance as she recalled the painful memories of King Sombra's rise and fall. "I cannot remember her name… but Sombra had a sister. He cared for her, but eventually enslaved her like everyone else. When we freed the kingdom, however, the Crystal Empire vanished for a thousand years thanks to a powerful curse that Sombra had placed on the land. When it returned, and Sombra had been defeated once more, I sent Cadence to search for her. We found her, but she won't talk to anyone. She is the only crystal pony whose luster has not returned, and there is nothing we can do about it. She won't tell us anything."

Doxia groaned audibly. "Why does everything have to be so ironically difficult?" he exclaimed, "Okay, what we need to do is find a way to get Sombra's sister to talk. If she can divulge any information about those vials, we will be set. THOSE THINGS MUST BE FOUND."

Celestia straightened up decisively. "I will get one of my little ponies on it right away."

Doxia waved a powerfully armored hand. "You do that," he said, "I will be doing some snooping around, among some other stuff. Oh, and Celly? Please be careful, things are going to get real bad real soon."

With that, Doxia turned around and stepped through the portal into the Crystal Empire's castle. Immediately he was surrounded by a mixture of Crystal Empire guards and Equestira guards. When they saw Doxia come into full view, however, they faltered in their step. Even a trained soldier couldn't help but feel cowed by the presence of a Dimensional Lord.

Doxia bowed to them. "Hail bold ponies!" he said dramatically, "I am here to see Princess Cadence and Shining Armor."

"Y-your highnesses?" called on of the guards, "I think there is someone here to see you two."

A large door to the throne room flew open and Cadence and Shining Armor trotted out. Immediately Shining Armor defensively placed himself between Doxia and his wife and charged up his horn.

"Who are you?" he said warily.

Suddenly Cadence recognized Doxia. "He's the one who saved me from my prison!" she exclaimed joyfully. She flapped over Shining Armor and landed at Doxia's feet. She then bowed low. Doxia quickly raised her and said, "Do not bow to me."

Cadence smiled at him. "Why are you here? Dear friend?" she said, "Is there anything you need?"

Doxia nodded. "First things first. First I need you all to start calling Shining Armor, PRINCE Shining Armor. Or KING Shining Armor. This fad with princesses is getting way out of control, and that thing is too 2014. Second, I was wondering if any of you know where the hidden chambers of Sombra is, and if it has too many staircases in it. Sombra's cutie mark was a stairwell, wasn't it?"

Cadence blinked at him. "I am unsure. Um… Very well. I can show you where the chambers are, Princess Twilight Sparkle showed me their locations. Tell me, what is your name?"

Doxia got down and on one knee to look Cadence in the eyes, then he said, "I am Doxia. I am a Dimensional Lord."

"Why are you here? And why are you asking for these things?" said Shining Armor, trotting up to stand beside his wife.

"Well, PRINCE Shining Armor," said Doxia, "A long time ago, I gave a promising young filly a powerful present that she was supposed to guard. This little filly eventually passed it on to a special colt. This colt kept the present safe, and he kept it safe well. Unfortunately, he became obseesed with the present's contents, and it drove him mad. The location of the powerful present was lost in his madness. The filly was Celestia, and the colt was Sombra."

Shining Armor looked at Doxia, his eyes still full of wariness. He hadn't trusted much at face value since the Equus-Irrum Alliance war. "What was in the present?" he asked.

Doxia turned his armored head to look at Shining Armor. "That would be telling, wouldn't it?" he replied, "I might tell you when the time comes, but you two will have to trust me. I need to find this present, and I need to find it now."

Cadence nodded. "I trust you," she said, "Follow me."

Cadence signaled to the guards and they were more than glad to back down. She then turned and trotted off down a side passage.

"Wow, what a lucky catch, marrying her, huh?" murmured Doxia to Shining Armor.

Shining Armor glared at Doxia, "Stop it."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Looking For Group<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Forest of Nestorep_

_Time: 14 hours after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension, a year after Cale'Anon meets Richard_

Daniel blinked as he disconnected the telepathic link with Flaming Star. He then turned to Franklin and Wild, who were looking at him expectantly. "The firstborn... He says... to trust Wild," said Daniel slowly.

Franklin threw his hands in the air and Wild winked at them. "The firstborn knows his stuff," said Wild, "As I said, you guys are just going to have to trust me."

"And why should we?!" snapped Franklin, "Why should we trust you, a rogue?"

"Rogues take care of each other, if you know what I mean," replied Wild.

"Well that's where you more wrong than usual," retorted Franklin, "We're heroes, not rogues."

"Oh?" said Wild, grinning, "Just check your databases for recent updates."

Both Daniel and Franklin did so, and what they saw stopped their hearts for a split-second: both of them were mentioned in the newest update... they were wanted, by order of the illustrious Paradox.

"We're... we're wanted criminals," said Daniel slowly, "The prize for our death..."

"Four vials of pure Revetahw... Heck, I would turn myself in for that stuff! You could buy a whole dimension with just three vials!" snorted Franklin, a little too shocked to even act shocked.

Daniel turned his great head to Wild and said, "Why haven't you tried to apprehend us?

Wild continued to grin, "Because I have no want for worldly material now, all I want is to do what is right."

Daniel blinked, "I... I don't understand. You want to do what is RIGHT?"

Wild nodded, "I am a supposed to be a hero, right? Well, I may not have been one before, but it sure counts more now that we are in need of one. And that is what I intend to do: be a hero once more."

Daniel nodded. "I understand. Wild... thank you."

Wild bowed his head as Franklin crossed his arms and said, "Great, great, great. So, we're freaking wanted heroes... yay. What are we supposed to do now? Go find Funsch?"

Daniel nodded. "Yes, we need to find Funsch, but he won't be able to help us find Finnian Jones."

"Then what is the POINT?!" burst out Franklin.

Wild just rolled his eyes, "Hold your horses, Franklin. We need to listen, Daniel hasn't finished yet."

Daniel quickly nodded to Wild and continued, "Thank you Wild. We still need to find Evan Funsch, as I said, but we aren't going to ask him for the location of Finnian Jones, we are going to ask him for the location of the dimensional traveler Jetfire."

Wild nodded his head slowly. "I see. Jetfire was best friends with Finnian Jones. That's who you guys are looking for in the first place, correct?"

"That's correct," said Daniel, "We are searching for Finnian Jones, who supposedly knows of the location of the Crystal of Harmony."

"So," said Franklin, "We find Evan Funsch, who will lead us to Jetfire. Jetfire will then lead us to Finnian Jones who will lead us to the Crystal of Harmony. While we do this, we will be racing the clock and dodging mercenaries and other dimensional travelers. Okay... well, what the heck. Yolo right?"

"Don't even start, Franklin," sighed Daniel. He then said, to Wild, "You know where Funsch should be, right?"

Wild nodded his head and then winked at Daniel and Franklin, "I do. Let's go... team."

Daniel sighed again. "Yes, let's go team."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Amethyst<em>

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: Summit Meeting room 8, floor 9853171_

_Time: Unknown_

"When are we going to make our move?" snarled Pictor, slamming his fist on a white table. Then, at his telepathic signal, Pictor proceeded to pull up multiple holographic projections. He quickly positioned them in space about him as he quickly ran a couple of calculations as he continued, "You were stupid by leaving the job unfinished. You should have just stepped over Dimensional Traveler Miranda's dead body and continued the trigger process."

"That wouldn't have worked, Pictor," said Paradox calmly as he stared out a window into the vastness of space, "I understood that Doxia had defected. I also understood that he would come for me if I immediately set off the system."

"I could have handeled Doxia," snarled Pictor.

Paradox turned his armored head to look at his enforcer and shook his head. "You couldn't then, and you probably can't now. Even I can't," he said, "Doxia's abilities are incredibly powerful. We need another plan to dispose of him."

"We need multiple new plans now to append to the old one," replied Pictor sharply, "You killing Miranda has caught the attention of Heaven. According to our sensors, they have sent Archangel Michael to scout out the situation."

"Let him do that," replied Paradox, "He will not find us. No one can find us. The Phantom Mode is absolute. I will sort out a couple of new additions to the Great Plan, but the changes will not be too drastic. We just need to proceed as normal. Now that the warrant is out for Torrus, the firstborn, and the Brothers in Arms corps, our only bothersome enemies are bottled up, not that we should be worried about them at all."

Pictor glanced around, as if he knew they were being eavesdropped on, and leaned in close to the Paradox. Then he whispered, "Rumors are starting that the Great Leader Kytax might return."

Now it was the Paradox's turn to slam his fist on the table. He did it with such force that the table shattered to dust, and all the walls cracked. The window shattered and the air was sucked into space, but none of this even fazed the two Dimensional Lords.

"Do not speak of Kytax to me," said the Paradox in a deathly quiet voice, "He is not coming back, do you hear me? The other Dimensional Lords are simply speculating. Let them. They have no idea what is going on anyway."

"But how can we keep the rest from finding out our felonies?" snapped Pictor, "You forget that Meadolax might have come across something by now, and if he finds out truly what we are doing, he too will defect. The Great Plan is good, but it will only be good as long as other Dimensional Lords are not involved… like the Great Leader Kytax."

"I SAID not to mention that name to me," said the Paradox in the same deathly quiet voice, "Kytax is not coming back. We must simply proceed like we have set out."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Oooooooohhhh... What is in the vial?! And who is this Great Leader Kytax?! You guys will just have to wait for the upcoming chapters! Anyway, keep that R&amp;R stuff coming in! I love reviews! Oh! Here's a good question! What is your favorite chapter so far, and why?<strong>


	51. Chapter 51 - Ambush

**Note: "I find your lack of immediate feedback disturbing." -Darth (not) Vader. Where were my reviews? Did I lose them under the rug somewhere? Just kidding. We're moving on now...**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's library_

_Time: 14 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Twilight and Flaming Star just sat on the bed together, thinking about what had occurred with them and Doxia's message to the Brothers in Arms corps.

"We are SO totally cuter than Fluttershy and Sunset," muttered Flaming Star.

Twilight just burst out laughing as Flaming Star glanced indignantly at her. "I mean it!" he exclaimed, "We ARE!"

Twilight kissed Flaming Star on the cheek. "You're so funny," she sighed. She then flopped back onto the bed. Flaming Star joined her.

"So," he said, "What do you want to do today?"

"I have an appointment with Rarity to go over the color schemes of the wedding," sighed Twilight, picking up a pillow and slapping it over her face, muffling her voice.

Flaming Star chuckled. "Ah yes, and I have an appointment with Rarity to go over the finalized version of my suit."

"That pony… sometimes I think…" muttered Twilight.

"Rarity is AWESOME. And you know it!" exclaimed Spike as he walked by them, sweeping the floor, "You two looked soooo cute sleeping together, by the way."

Twilight blushed profusely and exclaimed, "Spike!"

Spike was about to say something else but stopped. He double over and belched out a letter from Princess Celestia. Twilight forgot her momentary embarrassment as she used her magic to levitate the letter over to where she lay. She then opened it and scanned its contents. She levitated it over to Flaming Star as she said, "Princess Celestia wants us to talk to Pinkie Pie. Apparently Princess Celestia wants her to go cheer some crystal pony up somewhere in the Crystal Empire. Interesting."

"It seems to be of some importance, though," mused Flaming Star as he read the letter through himself, "We should get it on it right away."

"You mean I will get on it right away," corrected Twilight as she levitated over a checklist, "I've made your schedule for today, and I want you to stick to it. Don't forget to look over your secondary checklist, and your backup-backup checklist."

Flaming Star groaned audibly, and Twilight laughed. "If you're going to marry me, you're going to have to learn to organized," she said.

"Yes ma'am," sighed Flaming Star as he unfurled a packet of long strips of paper, "Are these notarized? How about signature-gridlocked?"

Twilight poked him in the stomach as she got up, "Very funny, mister. You get started on double-checking your backup list; I'll go to Pinkie Pie's."

Twilight then trotted out of her library and went straight to Sugar Cube Corner.

"Hello Mr. Cake!" she exclaimed cheerfully as she entered the building.

"Why hello Princess Twilight!" replied Mr. Cake, "What can I do for you today?"

"I was wondering where Pinkie Pie might be," Twilight said, giving him a huge smile.

Mr. Cake nodded, "She's in her room."

Twilight nodded and trotted upstairs to the second story. She then knocked on Pinkie's door. After a pause, the door swung open to reveal a rather disheveled Pinkie Pie, whose hair was still deflated.

"Pinkie!" exclaimed Twilight, "What's wrong?"

"I wasn't able to get the green pony to be my friend," sighed Pinkie, a little downcast, "And now I can't find him!"

Twilight cocked her head to one side, "Say what?"

"Oh, never mind," replied Pinkie, "Would you like to come in?"

Twilight nodded, and trotted it. She then sat down on the floor and handed Pinkie the letter from Celestia.

"Princess Celestia has a mission for you," Twilight explained, "She needs you to cheer up some important pony in the Crystal Empire. However, if you're not up to it…"

Suddenly Pinkie's hair "re-inflated" with a pop and she exclaimed, "AM I EVER?! This will be wonderful! A pony to cheer up!"

Twilight sighed in relief; Pinkie's attitude had had her worried for a moment. "That's wonderful, Pinkie Pie," she said, "is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Nope!" exclaimed Pinkie happily, "I just need to grab my party cannon, Gummy, Boneless, and a few other things and then I'll be off!"

Twilight nodded and was about to leave when Pinkie said, "Wait! There IS something you can do! Avengers Assemble!"

Twilight blinked. "W-what?"

"I need my team! I need Rarity and Discord!" explained Pinkie Pie dramatically.

Twilight's mouth dropped. "You… you need Rarity and Discord?"

Pinkie Pie nodded her head vigorously. "Oh yes," she said, "I need Rarity and Discord! They're my team! We went to that crazy party in Bray! Wasn't that fun?!"

"Pinkie," said Twilight with a roll of her eyes, "That 'party' was an ambush."

"Huh, I didn't see that many bushes around when we were having THAT party. Never mind! I need them! Can you help me get them? Plllleeaaasssseee?!"

Twilight took a deep breath, then she said, "Okay. Let's go. First we'll go to Rarity's, then we will go to Flaming Star, I'm sure he will be able to contact Discord. I am SURE they will both be more than happy to go with you to the Crystal Empire."

Pinkie leapt into the air, tossing confetti from nowhere as she exclaimed, "Absaballyloutly wonderful! Let's go!"

Pinkie began to bounce downstairs and out the door, and Twilight followed her. They went directly to Rarity's house and Pinkie pounded on the door.

"Open up Rarity!" exclaimed Pinkie gleefully, "We have some teamwork to do!"

Rarity opened up the door and blinked at Pinkie Pie. "Er, beg pardon?" Then she noticed Twilight. "Twilight! You're early! That's wonderful! We can start looking at some color schemes now! I have this particularly dashing beige color that I want you to have a look like. But no… beige doesn't go very well with purple, does it? Oh! Maybe we could use orange!"

Twilight resisted blanching and took a step back. She then said, "Oh, no, I'm fine right now, Rarity. It's Pinkie Pie who wants to talk to you right now."

Rarity sighed. "Very well… Pinkie? What is it that you want to say?"

Pinkie bounced up and down as she exclaimed, "It's teamwork time Rarity! Remember when we went to Bray? Well, Celestia wants me to go and cheer some pony up, so I figured, 'hey, they went with me last time when I traveled; they should come with me again!'"

Rarity sighed. "Oh Pinkie, I really do apologize, but I just cannot leave. I have all this work I need to complete! I can't just go off to attempt to cheer up some pony I don't even know! That's more of your category, really. And there would be Discord!"

Pinkie nodded. "Uh huh! But still! Discord can create stuff out of thin air, and you can make really pretty dresses! I am SURE that crystal ponies LOVE pretty dresses! And sequins!"

Rarity cocked her head to one side as she asked, "Crystal ponies? What?"

"Yep!" exclaimed Pinkie, "I need to go to the Crystal Empire! A crystal pony needs cheering up! Like I said!"

Rarity blinked. Then she exclaimed, "The Crystal Empire?! Well why didn't you say so darling?! How posh! I'll pack my bags right away. Oh no… I have an appointment with Twilight and Flaming Star though…"

Twilight smiled at Rarity. "We'll still be here when you get back, Rarity," she said kindly, "And we haven't even decided on a wedding date anyway!"

Rarity smiled dreamily. "Oh thank you Twilight! The Crystal Empire… it has been AGES since I last went there. All those rubies and diamonds and quartz…"

Pinkie bounced up and down excitedly. "Great!" she exclaimed, "Now all we need is Discord!"

Rarity blanched, but then recovered. She sighed dramatically, "Oh yes… well… I suppose."

Twilight turned around and beckoned to Pinkie. "Let's go find Flaming Star," she said, "He should be able to contact Discord."

The two cantered off as Rarity quickly reentered her house saying, "Sweetie Bell? We're going to call our parents! I need them to look out for you while I'm going to the Crystal Empire for a spell!"

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie and Twilight reached Twilight's Library, where Spike and Flaming Star sat on the porch, playing Scrabble.

Spike had Flaming Star's traveler database open, and was searching for a word to match the letters he had.

"Are you SURE it can't be a proper noun?" grumbled Spike, "I found Quietsem! It's a type of plant in the Star Trek dimension! That would score me, like, a billion points!"

"Nope. Sorry," chuckled Flaming Star, "Thanks for letting me know what all your letters are, though!"

Twilight trotted up to them and kissed Flaming Star on the cheek. "Hello every pony!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

Flaming Star smiled up at her and then looked back at the board. "Don't make me start timing you, Spike," said Flaming Star.

Spike just waved a claw off in a randomly picked direction. "Yeah, yeah. It has already been about 45 minutes since your last turn anyway. I'm sure you can wait 45 minutes more."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes dramatically and turned to look at Twilight. "Can I help you, Twilight?" he asked.

Twilight nodded in the affirmative. "Pinkie has something to ask of you," she replied.

"Yeppers!" exclaimed Pinkie, "I need you to get Discord for me!"

Flaming Star blinked. "You WANT me to get Discord for you?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yeah! I need to go on a vveerrrryyyy important mission for Celestia in the Crystal Empire! However, last time I did anything important, it was with my ever-so-awesome team backing me up! Thus, I decided it was only fair that I get the team back together!"

Flaming Star returned the nod slowly. "Okay… I can see what you're getting at," he replied. He then turned his head to look at Spike, who was still looking at the traveler's database frantically. "Sorry, Spike, but you're going to have to grab a dictionary, I have to go now. Oh, by the way, did I ever tell you that you're technically cheating?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "About a million times. But it's only fair! I'm a baby dragon! You're an eight-thousand-something-year-old!"

Flaming Star chuckled again. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Well, I'm off. Twilight, make sure he doesn't try to switch out my word for his. In fact, why don't you take me place? I'm sure you can score higher than I ever could."

"I doubt that," giggled Twilight as she took Flaming Star's place at the Scrabble board. Flaming Star smiled, patted Twilight's hoof, and then turned around. He then quickly opened a portal to Canterlot castle and trotted through.

The moment he entered, he was surrounded by guards. However, they recognized him immediately and stood down. At this moment, Celestia herself entered.

"Greetings Celestia!" said Flaming Star cheerfully, "I see that our portal-defense security measures are working just fine! Do you, perchance, know where Discord is?"

Celestia sighed. "I can't say that I have seen him recently."

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side and said, "Celestia? Is something troubling you? You seem a little bit flustered."

Celestia shook her head as she replied, "Oh no, I'm fine. I just have a lot to think about at the moment."

Flaming Star nodded his head, but didn't immediately drop the conversation. "Okay. Where's Luna?"

Celestia shook her head again. "I am unsure," she said, "She left earlier this morning, saying that she was going to meet somepony."

Flaming Star thought about that statement for a moment. Unusual. Then he smiled. "Very well. Is there anything I can do for you? I still think you look a little weighed-down."

Celestia sighed. "I am fine, Flaming Star, as I said. You should check Canterlot's royal gardens, that is usually where Discord is to be found."

The regal alicorn then turned around and trotted out the same way she entered. Flaming Star blinked after her in bemusement for a moment, and then went off to the gardens. When he entered, it seemed deserted, but Flaming Star called out, "Discord! I know you're here! Come out please!"

Discord suddenly flashed into existence, dressed in a sniper-grade camouflage vest. "Oh! There you are Flaming Star," he drawled, "I suppose you're here to help me fortify my little hidey-hole?"

The yellow alicorn shook his head. "Um… no. What do you mean?"

Discord threw up his hand in the air in mock horror. "The tragedy! I understand that we are not to trust the traveler's database anymore, but a pony would think that you would at lease check the updates once and a while!"

Flaming Star narrowed his eyes at Discord. "What do you mean?"

Discord opened his own traveler's database and projected it in front of his face. "Take a look at the updates, my friend."

Flaming Star did so, and he just stared dumbly at the interdimensional announcement. He, Sunset, and the Brothers in Arms corps were being branded as six-star wanted criminals. The reward for their capture (or, preferably, death) was four vials of Revetahw.

"I would turn myself in for four vials of that elixir," commented Discord dryly as Flaming Star read over the update's contents over and over again.

"Brilliant," breathed Flaming Star. The Paradox had effectively boxed them in the My Little Pony dimension.

"Brilliant indeed," snorted Discord, "I suppose we're going to have to get ready for invading marauders soon."

"I suppose," Flaming Star replied as he closed his database, "Nevertheless, that is not why I am here. Pinkie Pie wants you."

Discord fell out of the air in surprise. He quickly scrambled up, dusted himself off, and pulled a face. "What do you mean she WANTS me? I am not going into a Pinkiecord thing, there are other timelines for that."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes. "Heck no, Discord. She wants you because she wants to reassemble the Bray team. Remember? You, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity?"

Discord grinned as he recalled those specific events of the past. "Ah, yes, an enjoyable vacation if there ever was one."

Flaming Star chuckled, "I am sure Rarity would disagree to that statement vehemently. Anyway, Pinkie Pie was tasked by Celestia to 'cheer up' a pony in the Crystal Empire. Pinkie said she would do it, if you and Rarity choose to tag along. I believe Rarity has already agreed, but there is still you."

Discord stroked his chin slowly for a full minute. Then he flashed out of existence and then flashed back in again, now dressed in a suit and tie. He waved his golden swagger stick in the air as he declared, "I suppose my hidey-hole of epic proportions can wait a spell. Let us go and bother Rarity! Er… I mean… Let us go and cheer up a pony!"

Flaming Star rolled his eyes once more before opening the portal back to Twilight's Library in Ponyville. The two moved quickly through it. Twilight, who was still waiting for Spike to finish his turn, looked up at the sound of the portal opening and closing and trotted up to meet Flaming Star and Discord.

"That's right! You two are ENGAGED!" exclaimed Discord gleefully, "Oh my, all the little ponies are growing up. How quaint."

"I believe the term is 'cute,' Discord," replied Flaming Star good-humoredly.

Twilight, however, blushed, and this enticed Discord to continue. "Ah yes, I did mean cute. You two are the perfect match! However, you two are going to have to try really hard to look cuter than Fluttershy and Sunset. My, my, now those two have it going."

"Why does everyone think they're cuter than us?" snorted Flaming Star. Then he straightened up and said, "Look, Discord, this isn't the issue, and last time I checked, I was marrying one of the most wonderful ponies in Equestria, not you, so get over it."

Discord sighed dramatically, "Very well. Your wish is my command, firstborn. Right, where is Rarity, and team leader Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie Pie and Rarity appeared just around a corner at that moment. Discord quickly teleported over there and bowed to them both. "Discord, at your service madams!"

Pinkie gave him a huge smile, but Rarity just looked away, muttering, "A visit to the Crystal Empire better balance this out…"

Discord ignored her jab and conjured up a safari outfit. He then popped out a map from a vest pocket and unfolded it.

"It appears that we will be traveling north… interesting," chortled Discord as he pretended to scrutinize the map while holding it upside-down.

"I packed my things," interjected Rarity, "I suggest we leave as soon as possible, before Discord gets too excited about being annoying. Spike! Would you be a dear and help me carry my luggage? Pretty please?"

Spike nodded vigorously and leapt up. "Flaming Star! Take my place!"

Flaming Star sat down and looked over Spikes Scrabble letters for a moment and then said, "Oh! Mesquits! That's 392 points for me, Twily."

Spike nearly tripped over himself. He was about to turn around to complain when Rarity grabbed him.

"Let us hurry darling! We don't have much time to lose! We have train tickets to the Crystal Empire set for this afternoon!"

As Pinkie Pie, Discord, Rarity, and Spike left for the train station, Twilight stared blankly at the Scrabble board and her letters. After a moment, she said, "Can I resign?"

Flaming Star winked at her. "Sure you can, sweetie."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Looking For Group<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The forest of Nestorep_

_Time: A year after Cale'Anon meets Richard_

Wild beckoned Daniel and Franklin over to stand by him. "I was lucky when I stumbled upon your hideout," he said as they moved to stand next to him, "But that doesn't mean other travelers cannot find you. In fact, no matter where we go, there is a fair chance that we could be noticed and attacked. We're going to have to be careful."

Daniel nodded his head sagely, "I agree. So, where are we going?"

Wild cut his voracious grin for a moment to grimace. "We have to go to the Star Wars dimension. 21 years before the battle of Yavin."

Franklin nodded, "Cool, so we get to shoot stuff more often then. Why the hell is Funsch there?"

"Funsch is actually right now hunting down another traveler, who he suspects has been helping the Paradox formalize the false information in our databases."

"Coolio," replied Franklin briskly, "Let's get the hell there already so we can get this over with."

Wild nodded and then began to search for the dimension in his mind so that he could open up a portal.

As this was happening, Daniel glanced over at Franklin with worry in his eyes. "Franklin," he said quietly, "What are you going to do when this is all over?"

"Assuming we're not both dead?" snorted Franklin, "Well, I don't know. I fully expect to be killed while doing this, so I'm not really worried."

"What do you mean?" asked Daniel gently.

Franklin sighed derisively, "My family is dead. My sister is dead. Night Shade left. I really don't have much going for me other than fighting and dying now. But… I suppose… I suppose if I do survive, I will spend out the rest of my days as a bartender for the Snuggly Duckling Inn in the Tangled dimension."

The moment after this statement left Franklin's lips and drifted into the air, a portal crackled opened and Wild turned around, grinning.

"We have a portal, let's move," he said. The three quickly moved through it, and the portal closed behind them with a small "pop." They found themselves in a dense jungle. Giant temples of stone framed the sky in the distance to the west. A deathly silence echoed throughout the whole landscape.

"We have to be careful," said Wild warily, "There could be sensors anywhere on this planet."

"Where are we?" breathed Daniel, staring suspiciously around.

"This is Tython. This is the homeworld of the Jedi. Be careful, it is not a safe haven. The creatures that inhabit this planet now are slaves to the Sith, the mortal enemies of the Jedi," said Wild.

"Yeah, yeah, we know. I didn't spend my whole life in the Star Trek dimension, you know," snapped Franklin, "I don't think there's anything wrong with this place…"

Suddenly a hail of bolts of explosive energy tore through the area that Daniel, Wild, and Franklin were standing on. Quickly Daniel recovered and threw up an energy shield. Another hail of bolts struck the shield and the shield shattered into shards of pure energy.

"Run for cover!" roared Wild as yet another hail of energy bolts decimated the land.

Suddenly heavily armored humans leapt from the surrounding trees, hurling beams of power from their fists.

Wild swiftly responded by blasting several of the attackers with bolts of shadow. Then he leapt upon the nearest enemy, tearing into the man with his teeth. Daniel took a deep breath and released a massive onslaught of fire. The blast of pure heat vaporized the entire clearing, and blew away a group of the armored humans. Franklin quickly pulled out his sniper rifle, and began to no-scope the enemies nearest to him.

"I just HAD to open my big mouth!" yelled Franklin in frustration as one of the armored men grabbed his sniper rifle. Franklin flipped the weapon around and began to strangle the unfortunate person. Franklin then hoisted him in the air and dove backwards, rapidly firing his rifle sideways simultaneously, as he used the strangled man as a meat shield.

A dark mist of pure shadow energy was trailing from Wild as he zoomed around, tearing out the throats of his enemies while using his control of shadow energy to keep those behind him at bay. Meanwhile Daniel was still swathing the battlefield in fire as he slammed his great claws into the ground, sending up massive blasts of seismic power, knocking back those who dared to get too close to him.

Despite the ferocity of the battle, it soon petered out, and Daniel, Wild, and Franklin stood around, breathing heavily.

"Were these travelers?" said Daniel, still breathing hard.

"No, they didn't taste like one," said Wild. Both Daniel and Franklin glanced at him and started to sidle away. "I'm not joking!" snapped Wild, "However, they are armed with traveler-grade weaponry. I think a mercenary is equipping them with the weapons, hoping that they can weaken us."

"Well, where would this 'mysterious' mercenary be, then?" snorted Franklin, "Heaven forbid he ran away when he saw you having lunch."

Suddenly a massive blast of kinetic energy sent the group spiraling away into a grove of trees that hadn't been burned down. Wild swiftly scrambled to his feet and cast up a massive wall of pure shadow every. The wall then shattered from a second impact into a enormous amount of black mist that swirled around Wild, Daniel, and Franklin, obscuring their attacker from their view.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: The suspense! Anyway, I am going to have to call this the end of the week. Sorry, but I have lots of other stuff that needs doing, and I need to restock my doc manager as well as prepare for a new story (that may or may not involve dimensional travelers directly). See you guys next week! And don't forget to REVIEW!<strong>


	52. Chapter 52 - Complications

**Note: My story has reached 100 reviews! Yes! Let's celebrate with some Doxia stuff and some Wild time! Oh, by the way, I thank you all for being so helpful and encouraging, and I look forward to writing many more chapters! Keep that feedback rolling in!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Star Wars<em>

_Planet: Tython_

_Specific Location: Western Temples_

_Time: 15 hours after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension, 21 years before the battle of Yavin_

Fortunately, the shadow wall had bought enough time for both Daniel and Franklin to recover as well from the attack. The smoke eventually cleared and Franklin's sharp eyes quickly recognized the attacker: Matthew Tricost, a well-known dimensional traveler.

"Great, we get to fight a popular traveler, this will most certainly make us even more wanted than we already are," grumbled Franklin as he picked up his sniper rifle.

"We have a popular traveler on our team, remember?" said Wild, not taking his narrowed eyes off the approaching enemy.

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Great! Daniel, you hear that? You're popular! Go over then and… um… un-popularize Tricost!"

Daniel took a deep breath and bellowed at Matthew, "Tricost! What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm bringing you in!" shouted Tricost. He then stopped, charged up his fists, and hurled another powerful blast of kinetic energy. Quickly Daniel slammed his claws on the ground, commanding the ground to rise up to form a barrier 100 meters thick. The kinetic blast struck the earthen wall and blasted it to smithereens. Tricost was now only 150 meters away. He stopped again and put up his fists.

As he did this, Daniel said, "What have we ever done to you? The warrant doesn't even tell you what we did wrong other than going against the Paradox!"

"I don't need to know what you did," snapped Tricost, "All I need to know is your disobedience… and the prize."

Franklin rolled his eyes. "Well then," he said, "Now that we know he is really just here for the prize, I suppose we can just take him out, since he's obviously not going to be reasonable."

Tricost levitated himself in the air as he hurled a wave of lethal light energy blasts. Quickly Wild countered the attack with an equally large wave of shadow bolts. Meanwhile, Franklin dove to one side, filling the air with bullets as Daniel took a deep breath, preparing to unleash a storm of pure fire.

Tricost quickly dove to the ground, dodging Wild's second shadow attack and engaging Franklin in hand-to-hand combat. Franklin threw his sniper rifle away and conjured up a sword as Tricost dove upon him, a sword of his own in his hand. The two quickly began to fight as Franklin said, "We're not the real enemies Matthew! The Paradox has been using us! He really is just going to kill us all in the end!"

"It doesn't matter!" snapped Tricost. He drove Franklin backwards with a vicious slash of his sword. He then twirled as he hurled a stream of explosive energy, knocking Wild backwards, who had been sneaking up on him. Daniel just stood to one side, holding back his attacks because of the close proximity of Franklin.

Franklin dove into the fight once more and quickly assaulted Tricost with a set of attacks. A quick jab, then a sweeping uppercut, then a left feint followed by a swift slash to the right. All of these Tricost blocked. He then locked blades with Franklin. Quickly Tricost kicked Franklin in the shins and shoved him backwards so that he could duck down, dodging a precision shadow attack from Wild. With Franklin on the ground, Tricost then accosted Wild. The two momentarily grappled with each other, but Tricost kicked Wild away. He then leapt backwards with a somersault. He followed up by throwing a fist forward, unleashing a stream of light energy. Wild retaliated with a stream of shadow energy. The two streams connected and the shockwave caused all standing trees in a kilometer radius to be blasted over. It also knocked Franklin, who was starting to recover, over again.

"I told you guys not to cross the streams," chuckled Franklin breathlessly as he tried to get up again.

Suddenly then Daniel unleashed the fire storm in a focused beam straight at Tricost, who swiftly threw up an energy shield. However, the force of the fire blast was so great that it sent him flying into a tree. He slammed against it and fell to the ground, winded. He recovered and leapt up, but as he raised his fists to call down a lightning strike, a shadow blast from Wild struck him upside the head, knocking him out cold. He tumbled to the ground.

"That… was interesting," sighed Franklin, getting to his feet, "nice moves their wolf boy."

"I'm technically a pony," responded Wild dryly. The wolf/pony then turned to Daniel and said, "What are we going to do with this guy?"

Daniel pocked the unconscious form of Tricost as he mused. Then he said, "We're going to drop him in the negative zone."

Franklin pulled a face. The negative zone was a dimension void of literally everything, including physics. One would simply float there, not able to experience anything or die, until someone pulled them out.

"Are you sure? Won't he just escape?" said Wild skeptically.

"Of course he will," said Daniel, "But by the time he does, we will be long gone. Now we know that we must be more careful when covering out tracks. We need to find Funsch, and this won't stop us."

"How do we know that Funsch himself won't just attack us when we find him?" asked Franklin cynically.

Daniel shook his head. "We don't. However, I believe he won't. After all, he was the first to suspect the Paradox and live, so he might understand. Either way, we need to keep moving."

Wild nodded. "Acknowledged," he said, "Funsch should be on Coruscant, the capitol of the republic that rules this specific galaxy. Follow me."

Wild then opened another portal to that specific planet and stepped through. Daniel quickly opened a portal of his own to the negative zone. He tossed the unconscious Tricost through the interdimensional opening and closed it. He then opened another to Coruscant, and he and Franklin moved through.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: 15 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

"Grrreeaaattttt… It's the throne room. I am so happy that your royal behind is comfortable here," snorted Doxia as Cadence led him into grand crystal hallway of the kings and queens of the Crystal Empire.

"There is a hidden trapdoor right beneath us," replied Cadence, "All I need to do is… now…"

Cadence closed her eyes and strained. Dark magic began to gather around her horn, and a terrible crackling and hissing noise filled the air. Sweat began to trickle for Cadence's brow as she continued to strive to control the dark magic. However, then Doxia gently placed an armored hand over her horn, snuffing out the magic. Cadence looked curiously at Doxia, who said, kindly, "I'll do it. Do not try any further attempts to cast dark magic; it is one of the most hated things in the multiverse."

Doxia raised a hand, and a aura of power surrounded his appendage. Beams of a strange color began to wreath around it and rips in time, dimensions, and space began form around his fist. Suddenly Doxia clenched his fist and cut off the power. He then simply snapped a finger and the trapdoor slid open.

"What… what happened?" asked Shining Armor after a pause.

Doxia chuckled. "Oh, I was exaggerating. Sorry about that." He then proceeded to peer down the new opening.

"Wow. I totally think Sombra's cutie mark WAS a stairwell," commented Doxia as he gazed down the winding stairs that led from the trapdoor opening down into the inky darkness.

"I could teleport us down…" said Cadence slowly.

Doxia just abruptly grabbed Cadence and Shining Armor and leapt into the darkness yelling, "GGGGEEEERRRROOOONNNIIIMMOOOOOO! "

Cadence screamed at the top of her lungs the whole way down, but just before they hit the ground, they decelerated rapidly and the three lightly landed on the floor.

Shining glared at Doxia as he snapped, "Don't do that again!"

Doxia shook his head as he looked around. "Some ponies don't enjoy the spice of life," he muttered to himself. Almost immediately they noticed a door. Cadence trotted up to open it, but it suddenly slid around the circular chamber to the opposite side. Cadence blinked, and trotted up to it again. Once again the door moved away from her swiftly.

"Dark magic, most probably," said Doxia heavily. He hated the black arts with a passion. Raising a hand, he snapped a finger. The door suddenly began to glow an eerie green, with black lighting running the length of its frame. Then it shot open and a bright light began to shine from it. Immediately Cadence and Shining were placed in a trance, as Sombra's dark magic defenses began to mentally show them their greatest fears: They were shown again the day when Abbadon was destroying the Crystal Empire; however, this time no help ever came. Dead ponies and shards of crystal filled the streets, and buildings were being demolished every other second. The air was choking with ash, dust, and soot, and the entire land was filled with the sounds of terror and mourning…

The magic hit Doxia too, but bounced harmlessly off. He had nothing to fear, so it did not affect him. He quickly strode up to the door and slammed it shut, cutting off the magic source. Cadence and Shining Armor shook their heads in bewilderment and relief as they realized what was going on.

"Sombra's magical defenses," explained Doxia briskly. He then sized up the door. Extending a hand, bands of pure light began to ripple around his fist. Suddenly a blast of pure power burst forth and struck the door, annihilating it and its dark magic and blasting a hole through the wall.

Doxia, Cadence, and Shining Armor strode through the opening and found themselves facing yet another stairwell, but this time leading skywards.

"I bet you a whole globule of Revetahw that Sombra's cutie mark was a stairwell," laughed Doxia as Cadence sat down and buried her head in her hooves.

Doxia then glanced at Cadence and Shining Armor expectantly.

Shining sighed deep and long and then smiled a little. "Okay," he said, "Let's get this over with."

Doxia seized Shining and Cadence and rocketed upwards at supersonic speeds, with Cadence screaming the whole way. In literally no time they were at the top. All they found was an empty round terrace that overlooked the whole of the Crystal Empire. This was where the crystal heart of the Crystal Empire had originally been hidden.

Doxia cocked his head to one side as he strolled around the plateau of crystal and marble. Then he began to scan the timeline with his powers, searching for a hint of where Sombra had hidden the mysterious vials. There Doxia stood, for a good hour, just scanning the timeline. Eventually he cut the outflow of power and gave up looking at the temporal continuum.

"Huh, wherever Sombra hid it, he most certainly didn't hide it here," said Doxia slowly. He looked out over the Crystal Empire. He stopped for a moment and then said, "It looks like Princess Celestia is sending her backup. Interesting."

Cadence sat up from where she had been laying on the ground next to Shining. She pricked up her ears and said, "What? What backup?"

Doxia nodded towards the Crystal Empire train station, a mere speck in the distance. "I see smoke billowing on the horizon, and I can recognize the beings riding the train. There is Pinkie Pie, element of laughter; Rarity, element of generosity; and Discord, dimensional traveler."

Cadence peered off in the direction that Doxia was looking, but her eyesight was nowhere near as good as his. She blinked, "I can't see anything."

"That's because you don't have Dimensional Lord eyesight. No problem. We can remedy that."

He snapped a finger and suddenly the three had been teleported from the terrace to the train station. Cadence, who was totally unready for transfer, fell hard on her rump, and Shining landed on his jaw. The two staggered up and shook their heads vigorously to clear them. Doxia waved enthusiastically at the train as it pulled into the station. The train literally stopped early so it could avoid pulling up directly next to him. The ponies getting off the train immediately exited and moved as far away as possible from the Dimensional Lord, who pretty much was terrifying.

Doxia shook his head and crossed his arms, chuckling, "I really guess I should shape shift into a pony sometime… nah. Screw that."

Pinkie Pie then bounced off the train. She noticed Doxia, Cadence, and Shining Armor and immediately dashed over there.

"Heya Cadence!" she exclaimed enthusiastically as she gave her, and Shining, a hug. Then she glanced up at Doxia and said, "Oooooooohhhh… Hello!"

Doxia grabbed one of her front hoofs and shook it vigorously. "Hey Pinkie!" he exclaimed dramatically, "I am Doxia! I am soooooooo pleased to meet you!"

Pinkie's smile expanded to twice its regular parameters. "And I am sooooooooo pleased to meet you!"

Doxia got down on one knee so that his masked face was only a couple meters above her head.

"Why don't we grab some Crystal Empire ice cream?!" said Doxia enthusiastically, "Then we could totally go off and find that one pony your supposed to cheer up!"

Not questioning anything, Pinkie nodded her head vigorously and bounced up and down. "Yeah! Let's do that! See ya' guys! I'm going to get ice cream with one of my bestest friends!"

Doxia and Pinkie Pie strolled off into the distance, leaving Discord and Rarity in the dust, staring disbelievingly after them.

"Well… that most certainly was NOT the Paradox," mused Discord, "I wonder where a being that looks so much like that psychopathic monster got such a good sense of humor…"

"He was most certainly jocund, I must say," murmured Rarity, a little too shocked to even act shocked.

Cadence smiled at Rarity and pulled out a letter from Celestia. "Princess Celestia told me you were coming," she explained, "I have rooms all ready for you. Discord, I even have one for you."

As Rarity audibly sighed in appreciation and wistfulness, Discord winked at her. "You have a room for little old me? Well, that IS touching, isn't it? I do appreciate it."

Shining beckoned to them. "Come. We'll show you the way. After you two get settled in, we can find Pinkie Pie. Then you three can proceed with the… um… cheering up of Sapphire Anemone."

"Is that her name? Sapphire Anemone? She was the sister of king Sombra, was she not?" asked Rarity, keeping pace with Cadence as they trotted from the train station to the Crystal Empire's castle-spire.

Shining nodded his head as he replied, "Yes. She is probably the only pony not to have regained her luster when the crystal heart was returned. She spends all her time now locked away in her house, refusing to speak with anyone. Why do you guys want to cheer her up again? Celestia never told us that part."

Rarity shook her head. "Oh dear, I am sorry, but she really didn't tell us either. However, if there is a pony in need of being cheered up, than Pinkie Pie is most certainly the pony for the job. As for me… well… I couldn't pass up a chance of meeting you two again."

"I'm just here for a vacation from my vacation," interjected Discord dryly, "You remember Rarity, that wonderful vacation in Bray?"

Rarity shot him a look, but didn't say anything. Discord just grinned.

"Well, in any case, I am glad you could come along, Rarity," said Cadence cheerfully. They then bumped into Doxia and Pinkie Pie, who both had massive ice cream cones.

Pinkie Pie was giving her ice cream huge licks. Doxia, on the other hoof, was staring intently at his ice cream. Then he turned it upside-down and stuck the whole thing on the top of his helmet. Despite the fact that he was now wearing melting ice cream for a hat, he still looked terrifying and intimidating.

Rarity blinked. "Um, excuse me, kind sir," she said timidly to Doxia, "But… um… Who are you?"

"His name is Doxia! He's my bestest friend!" exclaimed Pinkie happily.

Doxia dipped his head in Rarity's direction, causing his ice cream hat to fall of. However, it dissolved into thin air a split-second before it struck the ground. "I am pleased to meet you, Rarity. You are the element of generosity, a powerful virtue."

Rarity grinned in a rather unladylike fashion, still a tad bit cowed by Doxia's presence. "Well, why thank you Mr. Doxia," she said, still a bit flustered.

Doxia nodded to her and turned his head to look at Discord, who was observing him from a distance with an amused air.

"Discord! It's nice to meet you finally! I have heard so many wonderful complaints about your attitude. I mean, some ponies just can't understand how it feels to be so old and powerful, right?"

Discord, who had originally been reserved, broke into a grin. "Oh, of course! It's a tragedy and no mistake! Ponies just don't appreciate a little fun at the hooves of a prank now and then!"

Doxia nodded sagely, "It's a dying art."

"Um, excuse me?" said Cadence, who was warming up to having Doxia nearby, "We really should be going. Pinkie Pie? Could you come along? You, Rarity, and Discord need to settle in so you can all go about cheering up Sapphire Anemone."

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Okie dokie lokie!" she exclaimed, "Bye Doxia! I gotta skedaddle! See you later!"

"She said Loki," chuckled Doxia, "If only she knew."

Then he got up and said, "I probably should be going as well. Shining Armor? Do you mind if I take a stroll about the Crystal Empire spire for a bit? I want to keep searching."

Shining dipped his head slightly, "You may."

Doxia then teleported away, leaving Cadence, Shining, Discord, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie behind.

"He is soooooo awesome!" shouted Pinkie with a bounce.

"Doxia is certainly an interesting character. I rather like him," murmured Rarity, continuing to make her way to the crystal castle.

"Oh, I'm sure EVERYONE likes him," chortled Discord as he floated alongside her; Cadence nodded her head in agreement.

Shining Armor just chuckled, and the group trotted away.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Here is a good question! Who is your favorite character in this story (in general), and why?<strong>


	53. Chapter 53 - Time Together

**Note: I made a couple of changes to the guide, just to let you guys know. We're moving on now...**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: 16 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

Samuel's eyes snapped open. The sun was high in the sky already, and the earth was warm from its heat.

Cursing silently, he shot up and looked around frantically, the sleep he had been enveloped into had most certainly knocked him out for a long time.

"I have to get out of here," he muttered to himself, "Before Luna gets here. Last thing I want is royalty hampering my movements every other second."

He bit his lip as he looked towards Ponyville. Should he go back? There most certainly was cover there, and plenty of places to hide, but there was also the element of laughter, Pinkie Pie. She would definitely catch him and force him to meet every pony that ever existed in Ponyville ever, a nightmare for him.

He then turned his eyes to the Everfree forest. Perhaps he could just go there. He understood from rumors from some ponies in Fillydelphia that the place was full of danger, but what was considered danger to a pony was probably less than nothing to a dimensional traveler… probably.

"To hell with this," grumbled Samuel. He was about to take a step in the direction of the densely foliaged land of the Everfree forest when a voice range out.

"Where are you going?" the voice asked.

Samuel immediately dove to the ground as if a grenade had been tossed from the sky and threw up an invisibility shield around him. However, he had done it in such haste that the retro-reflective material that constituted the shield lost its molecular integrity and drifted apart, exposing him once more.

Unable to do anything, Samuel just covered his eyes, making him look rather foolish.

He heard hoofs land on the ground before him and trot in his direction. The sound stopped just before him. He peeked out from between his hoofs and looked up at the pony before him. It was Princess Luna.

Grumbling to himself, Samuel got up and stood on all fours, facing her.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

Luna blinked at him in bemusement. "I said I was coming to meet you. Did you not hear me?"

"And didn't you hear what I said?" snarled Samuel, "I said not to come and meet me!"

Luna dipped her head slightly apologetically and said, "I did not hear you say that, I am sorry."

Samuel looked at her with confused distress on his face. He had not expected her to say that so openly. "Oh… um… okay," he stuttered.

Luna came over to where he lay on the ground. "Why are you so troubled?" she asked.

Samuel pointedly sidled away from her and replied, "Because my life is terrible, that's why. I am sure you understand since you saw what I was reliving."

Luna thought about it for a moment. Then she sat down and said, in an unladylike fashion, "Do you want to tell me about it?"

Samuel's jaw dropped. What was going on?

"Um… No."

"Are you sure?"

"Um... No."

The two sat side-by-side for a long while, not saying anything. Birds twittered in the trees and a calm breeze blew through the grass, causing everything to wave and shimmer like a static sea of green.

Suddenly, Samuel just started talking.

"I was an orphan for three years, starting when I was five. I stole to survive, and was literally almost killed every single day. It was terrible. I still have nightmares about it. However, a powerful being called the Paradox eventually gave me special powers that allowed me to leave my horrifying life. I did so. However, all I found was more tragedy. I worked myself to death, trying to prove to everyone that I could be more than that 'little poor orphan boy.' Unfortunately, that landed me in trouble, and I was almost killed. Then I broke. I killed the group that I hunting me in the most violent possible. I've been running from those horrors ever since."

Luna listened carefully, her head cocked slightly to one side, an ear pricked in the air.

"And you've been running ever since?" asked Luna quietly.

Samuel turned to look away. "Yes," he said derisively, "I've been running. I am still running."

Luna placed herself in front of Samuel so that he couldn't avoid making eye contact.

"But what are you running from really? From what I have seen and heard, it sounds like you are running from memories!"

"So? What does it matter? Why do I matter? Go back to your castle enjoy your life as the glorious queen of the night!"

"You matter because you are a living, breathing pony. You are alive, and thus you deserve to be shown love and kindness like everyone else!"

"Then why don't you find some other pony that is in need of being showed loved and kindness! Why does this unnecessary attention have to fall on me?"

"Because it looks like you have no one else."

Samuel closed his eyes and looked away.

Luna persisted anyway. "Memories are supposed to help us remember events, morals, and lessons of the past! They do not define who we are right now. You need to let go of your troubles and just live for today and tomorrow, not yesterday," she said kindly.

Samuel blinked as he thought about it.

"I suppose… I suppose…" he muttered.

Luna extended a hoof. "Come," she said sagely.

Samuel shook his head. "No," he replied, "I don't want to go back."

"Why? Why are you so afraid of meeting others?"

"Look at me. I am a monster, even my cutie mark is burned by the acid of my sins."

"What sins? All I see is a young pony just trying to live a life of peace safe from the horrors of his past. That is what you are trying to do, right?"

Samuel sighed again. He then took her proffered hoof and got up. Immediately Luna began to trot off in the direction of Ponyville. Samuel shook his head slowly, but then began to follow her.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: 16 hours after the arrival of Doxia_

"Oh my, this place is absolutely FABULOUS!" exclaimed Rarity with gusto as she cast an appreciative eye over her room.

Cadence smiled at her brightly as she said, "Well, I am so glad you like it."

"Ooooh, this place is most certainly shiny. I'm sure it could even blind a Breezie on an overcast day," chuckled Discord as he floated in the air, looking over Cadence's shoulder.

Cadence sighed and motioned Discord over to his room, in the adjacent apartment. "This is where you will be staying, Discord," said Cadence, "I hope you enjoy it."

"And remember that we could have guards watching your every move," said Shining Armor sternly.

Discord laughed out loud. "You don't trust me? My, my, that isn't quite how one friend would treat another."

Shining just continued to look at him sternly. "What makes you think I consider you a friend?"

Discord just chortled briefly, but kept quiet. He gave Shining a sheepish grin, drifted into his room and shut the door.

Cadence giggled a bit as Shining Armor grumbled to himself. She then turned to Pinkie Pie and said "Your room is right over there. When do you think you can begin?"

"Oh, I don't know," mused Pinkie, "This cheering up business is quite deep! I need plans! I need schematics! I need psychologists! I NEED CUPCAKES!"

She then trotted into her room and dramatically shut the door, leaving Cadence and Shining Armor alone in the hallway.

"Um… bye?" said Cadence awkwardly.

Suddenly Doxia teleported in next to them. He handed both Shining Armor and Cadence crystal necklaces made of beautiful gems and minerals. "Found these lying around in one of the Crystal Empire's underground caverns. Aloha swag anyone?"

Cadence gave Doxia little smile as she used magic to put a necklace first around her neck, and then the other around Shining Armor's.

"Thank you, Doxia, they're beautiful," she said appreciatively.

Doxia nodded as he stroked his chin. "Still haven't found orange juice on the whereabouts of the vials, but I suppose that is to be expected. Shame we're not omnipotent, that would make life a whole lot easier… and a whole lot worse really."

Cadence nodded. "I suppose we will just have to wait for Pinkie Pie."

Doxia suddenly projected a holographic image in front of him. He quickly swiped his hands through it and then said, "Oh, if the timeline goes undisturbed, Pinkie Pie's cheering-up routine should be starting the next couple of hours."

Shining Armor blinked in surprise. "How can you tell?"

"I can scan the timeline for a limited time ahead and behind. It is almost like telling the future. The only issue is that futures change all the time. It's not linear, it's more of a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff, to put it using another's words. Time Lords… they're so funny."

Both Cadence and Shining Armor had literally no idea what he had just said. They just stared at him.

Doxia just chuckled audibly and then said, "Could I trouble you two to have lunch with me?"

"What, you mean we sit down and eat while you stick stuff to your helmet?" said Shining Armor with a hint of humor in his tone of voice.

Cadence exclaimed, "Shining Armor!"

Doxia, however, just laughed. "I suppose so. Yes, I actually don't eat, but foodstuffs do make interesting hats."

Shining Armor couldn't help but begin to laugh. "Why?"

Doxia chuckled and got down on one knee. "My friend," he said, "When you lived as long and done as much as me, you stop asking 'why?' and 'how to?' and start to simply say 'why not?'"

Cadence smiled as she said, "Maybe that's something all of us could learn."

Doxia straightened up as he said, "Perhaps. However, you need to have the wisdom to discern when you should think about doing something, and when you should not when it is absolutely wrong to do it. Fortunately the arrival of the 'why not' questions and the accumulation of wisdom via age go hand-in-hand. Or hoof-in-hoof if you prefer to think about it in that way."

Shining Armor dipped his head respectively in acknowledgment. Doxia may act and talk crazy, but there was more wisdom within him then perhaps Luna and Celestia put together.

There was a pause, then Doxia struck a pose, exclaiming dramatically, "Right! Who wants to have lunch with me?!"

The three laughed together as Shining Armor led them through the grand crystal halls of the castle out onto the streets of the Crystal Empire to a little corner café that he enjoyed.

The café and all its good seats were conveniently vacated by frightened crystal ponies as Cadence, Shining Armor, and Doxia entered the building. They sat down at a nice corner table and began to talk as the waitress stood off to the side, trying to build up enough courage to approach the seemingly unapproachable Dimensional Lord.

"So, has there been any luck in finding… whatever it is you are looking for?" asked Cadence, "Come to think about it, you never really mentioned what was in the mysterious present that you gave Celestia."

Doxia, who had to take up an entire row of seats and sit sideways, replied, "Oh, the present was vials of crystals. These crystals contain a special material that is vital to a mission I am trying to achieve."

"May we ask about the circumstances of this mission?" pried Shining Armor.

"My, my, Prince Shining Armor, you are a nosey one! I cannot tell you too much, since you two would not understand any of it, but I can tell you that I am trying to take down the group responsible for capturing Cadence and replacing her with an imposter."

Shining grimaced, those were not happy memories, considering the fact he had not even noticed the difference thanks to the craftiness of the Paradox's Elite Phasetroopers.

"That does sound important," exclaimed Cadence, "I hope it doesn't take too long for you to find what you are looking for… though I do hope you are enjoying your time here in the Crystal Empire!"

Doxia nodded his head as he replied, "Oh yes, I am enjoying my stay here most certainly. Being able to spend time with two wonderful ponies such as yourselves is quite a treat! However, you two really should start skydiving more."

Shining Armor cocked his head to one side. "Skydiving? What's that?" he asked.

Doxia laughed. "I am so glad you asked! Tell you what, after lunch, I'll show you how it is done."

He then turned and beckoned to the waitress, who was still stiff with fear.

"Come on! Don't be shy! I gave up biting a trillion years ago!"

Something in the kind voice of Doxia gave the crystal pony waitress the bravery that she needed and she tentatively approached the table to take their orders.

After they had ordered, Doxia picked up a glass of water and looked at it.

"You aren't… you aren't going to pour that on your head here, are you?" asked Shining tentatively.

Doxia laughed and put it down. "Oh no, I suppose that wouldn't be a good idea to do it here… in a restaurant. Point taken old lad."

Cadence smiled at him. Then she said, "Why don't you eat anymore?"

Doxia stroked the place on his helmet where his chin would have been as he said, "I suppose… I suppose food lost its taste for me. I mean, I don't have any need to eat, so I guess I really just began to consider it something of a distraction and a time-waster after a bit."

"Breakfast, Lunch, and Supper aren't just for eating though Doxia," said Cadence brightly, "They're also a time for fellowship and family."

Doxia nodded his head slowly. "I suppose so."

"Why don't you ever take off your helmet?" persisted Cadence as the food was brought over by the waitress, who had warmed up to Doxia's presence. He seemed only half as terrifying after talking to him.

Doxia patted the waitresses hoof appreciatively as he took the food. Then he turned to look at Cadence again. "Well… I don't know. In truth, I actually don't have a face anymore. I am more of an entity of light, sound, and energy, floating around. We box ourselves into this armor to keep it contained, though we can also shape shift. I can actually hardly actually remember what I looked like before I became non-corporeal."

"It must be tough, losing your identity over the years," sighed Shining as he began to eat.

Doxia shrugged. He picked up his carrot-dog with mustard and looked at it intently. He then put it down and said, "Well, I may have lost what I originally looked like, but I sure as orange juice didn't lose my personality. Tell you what, one of these days, when this is all over, I will come and find you two and show you what my face really looks like. In fact, I might even have a real lunch as well!"

Cadence smiled brightly as she said, "I look forward to that day."

Doxia picked up his carrot-dog again and tossed it in the air. As it reached its pinnacle in height, it suddenly turned into a flurry of dragonflies that drifted lazily out the open window. Doxia then said, "You two ready to do some skydiving?"

Shining Armor shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he said, "I really have no idea what that means. Does it have to do with diving through the sky?"

Doxia laughed heartily. "Maybe," he said.

He stood up and beckoned to them. Doxia then snapped a finger and a little crystal box full of liquid gold appeared in the air. He put it down lightly on the table. He then conjured up a little piece of paper and a pen. He wrote down a single word, "BELIEVE," and he set it down next to the crystal box. Cadence glanced at Doxia curiously, and Doxia said, "That's for the waitress. Come on! Follow me!"

The three then left the café and Doxia led them quickly out of the Crystal Empire. As they walked, Doxia explained what was going to transpire next.

"Once we find a clear field, I am going to conjure up a hot air balloon. I am then going to raise it to about 1219 meters. Then we jump."

"We… jump…" said Shining, inceduously.

Doxia nodded his head. "Of course! Naturally we will have parachutes, though. After a couple of seconds of free falling, we pull the parachute cords and drift to the ground. It will be fun."

"We… jump…" was all Shining said, again.

Doxia chuckled, but didn't reply. Then he motioned to an empty field that was bare except for a couple of large multi-colored crystal rocks. "Here is a nice… place… to…"

Doxia stopped talking. Slowly he turned around and said, "Michael."

Archangel Michael, in all his brilliance, was hovering right behind them. Massive white wings, face hidden by the shadows cast by his brilliant helmet of gold and silver, golden-armor wrought appendages, light streaming from his belt of truth.

Terrified, Cadence and Shining Armor immediately fell to the ground, with the faces to the earth.

Doxia just stood there, as if he was Michael's equal, if not his better.

"Are you looking for the beacon crystals? Where did you put them?" asked Michael sagely.

Doxia nodded and replied, his tone reserved, "I put them in vials and gave them to Princess Celestia of Equestria of the My Little Pony dimension. She gave them to King Sombra of the Crystal Empire of the My Little Pony dimension. However, the beacon crystal's radiation drove him insane, and he hid them. I am searching for them as of yet."

"It does not look like you are searching for them 'as of yet,' my friend," replied Michael, a tad of iron in his voice.

Doxia laughed heartily, his jocund attitude returning. "That's because I'm going skydiving with some friends right now, Mickey!"

Michaels tone remained emotionless as he said, "Do not call me Mickey, Doxia. Why are you doing this when time is running short?"

Doxa just continued to chuckle. "We are waiting on some others to glean some important information. However, that is just it: we are waiting on some others. Remember that we are not to worry, that is for the Heavens."

"I am an ANGEL of the Celestial Heaven, remember Doxia?" said Michael, "I have been tasked to stop the Paradox, and I intend fully to do just that. Do you know where the beacon crystals are?"

Doxia shook his head, "As I said, no, I do not. They are hidden, but they will not be for long. Why don't you relax for a moment and go skydiving with us!"

Michael shook his head. "No," he said, "I will be off. I need to talk to Samuel Dellor."

Doxia cocked his head to one side. "The dimensional traveler? Is he here?"

Michael nodded and then pinpoints of light began to wreath around him in bands of gold. Then… he was gone.

Chortling to himself, Doxia helped up Cadence and Shining Armor, who were still very stunned by the appearance of the glorious archangel.

"Sorry about that. Business calls, you know. Now let's go!"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Star Wars<em>

_Planet: Coruscant_

_Specific Location: The southern sector_

_Time: 21 years before the battle of Yavin. A day after the arrival of Doxia_

Coruscant is an awe-inspiring yet terrifying place. Massive skyscrapers and crowded streets. High in the air, the rich live in penthouses, with personal hover craft that carry them from place to place without ever having to walk the dirty long forgotten streets at the bottom of the totally industrialized planet. As for the poor and the desperate… they are the ones who walk those streets. It was those very streets that Franklin, Daniel, and Wild had to walk.

"Don't you think you'll stand out?" whispered Franklin to Wild as they moved nonchalantly down a crowded street, filled with drunks, mercenaries, and the fallen.

"The Star Wars dimension is notorious for the amount of aliens it has in its galaxies, I am sure I won't be truly noticed here with all the different sentient species," replied Wild.

"Whatever you say, wolf boy," muttered Franklin.

"I do say. I also say stop calling me wolf boy," retorted Wild.

"Stop it you two," whispered Daniel harshly, who had still insisted on being a dragon. However, because of his size, Franklin had convinced him to let him and Wild ride him. After a long argument and some pleading from Franklin, Daniel had agreed.

"That's a fine steed you have there, my friends," said a shady character as they passed by him, "Could I interest you in a trade?"

Daniel swung his head to look at the being as he snarled, "Go to hell."

The person stumbled backwards as if he had been struck by an object and he fled in a panic.

"And here were you, thinking we had to be inconspicuous," chuckled Franklin, "Silly Daniel."

"Shut up Franklin," snapped Daniel, "We need to keep on moving. Wild? Do you have an idea of where we might be going?"

Wild nodded. "I believe so. Last time I talked to Evan Funsch, he was going to hit the interdimensional traitor while he was enjoying some peace and quiet in the penthouse in the great southern sector."

"Then why the hell are we HERE?" burst out Franklin.

"Not so loud… I'll tell you," snapped Wild, "The Penthouse is heavily guarded. Except for one thing: the lower ventilation. We can access the sky-rise apartment that the traitor lives in from here. When we do so, we can work our way upwards. Granted, the security is heavy, but they were all designed to take out this dimension's natives. We are travelers, we should not have too much of a problem."

"You better be still repeating that in retrospect," muttered Daniel. After a moment, he then said, "Okay. Where to?"

Wild hopped off Daniel's broad back and whispered, "Follow me."

Franklin too got off Daniel's back and the three quickly sidled into a narrow side passage. It was a tight squeeze, even for Wild, but the three made it through. The passageway gave way to a dirty clearing that was full of smoke and pipes.

"Okay… if I remember the schematics that Funsch showed me, the ventilation should be right over here…" muttered Wild. He extended a hoof to poke at pipe. Suddenly a laser bolt whizzed out of nowhere and decimated said pipe as he was about to touch it. Wild, Franklin, and Daniel immediately whirled around to face the attacker.

It was a burley, motley man with six armed thugs.

The man raised a laser blaster and said, "No one gave you permission to enter the Syndicate gang's territory! You will pay for this trespassing with your life!"

Franklin just rolled his eyes. "Tell you what," he said, "You can either give us permission for trespassing in exchange for me not killing you, or you can all shoot at me and get yourselves killed. What will it be?"

The man opened up with the blaster. Daniel immediately threw up a protective energy shield, and the laser bolts bounced and reflected off of it. Wild grinned voraciously, and shimmered, dissolving into the shadows. Suddenly black smoke began to billow up and drift towards the enemies, obscuring the attacking gang's view. The smoke then solidified into Wild, who immediately leapt upon the leader, killing him in an instant. Franklin ran at the protective shield and vaulted over it. As he flipped backwards above the wall of energy, he quickly no-scoped a couple of shots off, beheading three of the six gang members. The other three backed up, firing rapidly still, but a pillar of fire shot from Daniel incinerated them.

Wild looked up from the dead leader's throat and shook his head sarcastically. "That was almost so easy it was disappointing," he chuckled.

Franklin looked at Wild warily as he said, "I suppose so, but you just need to calm down now, Wild. We cannot afford having you turn into Feral right now."

Wild's breathing steadied and he nodded. "I suppose you are right," he said. He then searched around the clearing again for a moment. After a pause, he beckoned them over to a vent.

"This vent leads to the penthouse," he said, "Who wants to go in?"

Franklin sighed and said, "You and I should. Daniel, unless you want to shape shift, you can stay here and guard our backs. If we need a rapid and destructive extraction, we will drop you a note."

Daniel nodded his head and said, "I like that idea. Do as you said."

Wild nodded as well. "I like the idea altogether. Let us do it."

Franklin crouched down and pulled the vent off. It screeched as the rusty metal grating was pulled from the wall. Franklin then tossed the vent aside with a loud clanging noise and looked up into the open ventilation pipe. Despite his brilliantly sharp eyesight, he couldn't see more than a dozen meters into the inky blackness.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire," muttered Franklin as he crawled into the vent and began to climb, with Wild behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I am practicing my cliffhangers! By the way, I am probably going to release my new story along side tomorrow's chapter on Wednesday. It is called "Days Gone By," so keep a lookout for it! Anyways, don't forget the R&amp;R stuff! I love reviews!<strong>


	54. Chapter 54 - Hitting the Stop

**Note: It appears that Doxia has a place amongst the "favorite characters" category! Awesome! Anyways... Who is ready for some storytelling time?**

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><p><em>Dimension: Amethyst<em>

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: Summit Meeting room 8, floor 9853171_

_Time: Unknown_

"Are we going to proceed now?" asked Pictor as he looked expectantly at the Paradox.

The Paradox just shook his head nonchalantly. "We just need to wait a little longer. Another complication has revealed itself."

"Complications? I hate complications. What is it?" snapped Pictor.

"Ever since we discovered that Doxia was only pretending to be hiding in the Star Trek dimension, I've been doing some research into the history between him and the My Little Pony dimension. It appears that that little traitor had something hidden there previously," explained the Paradox calmly.

"That son of a… What is it?" asked Pictor.

Paradox pulled up a holographic projection at his telepathic command and opened up a file. It was a picture of a set of vials with a mysterious crystal contents within them.

"What material is that?" asked Pictor. Commanding the computer system telepathically, Pictor began to run visual diagnostics on the image.

"It appears to be some form of Imagination Energy," said the Paradox, "I am rather unsure, but it seems to be of some importance for him to have hidden it so well."

"Could it possibly be to disable to Dimensional Energy blast that the Great Plan will use to end all of the multiverse? Dimensional Energy and Imagination Energy are like antimatter and matter, they could cancel each other out."

"Perhaps."

"However… there is only a single set of vials with the material within them. That is not nearly enough to disable the blast."

"Perhaps. Look at the edges; see the light energy spectrum distortions? That could imply that the vials are under the influence of one of those spatial-planar expansion phenomena. If that is the case, he could hide a whole planet's worth of Imagination Energy in those vials and only take up that space."

"Or the vials could just be normal vials that are made of transparent, crystalline Kunda stones from the Star Wars dimension. Both have the same distortion effect."

"I suppose there are two possibilities then: either they are vials actually holding vast amount of Imagination Energy crystals to be used to contain the blast that will destroy the multiverse, or they are ordinary containers holding a mysterious substance that I, the Paradox, have failed to recognize after hours of diagnostics."

Pictor just continued to look warily the image. "You've been wrong before, Paradox," he said slowly.

The Paradox just stared blankly at Pictor for a full minute. Then he said, "Very well. We will approach this new situation with extreme prejudice. Doxia is in the My Little Pony dimension as we speak, looking for these vials. As of yet, he thinks we still are searching for him in the Star Trek dimension, and we will keep letting him think that. Archangel Michael, too, is in the My Little Pony dimension. If I know Doxia at all, I think it is safe to assume that both of them are working together to find those vials. What we need to do now help them find it, discover the true nature of what those containers hold, and then, based off that information, plot out the proper way to dispose of the threat. We need to avoid crossing swords with Doxia and Michael at all costs. You, me, and the Phasetroopers most certainly could take on one… but together… that would be far too much."

Pictor nodded his head. "I like this idea. However, we have very few active Elite Phasetroopers occupying the My Little Pony dimension right now, and both Doxia and Michael will be able to spot the deception immediately. We will have to micromanage every little detail of this deception down to a fraction of a millisecond."

"Literally," said the Paradox promptly, "Let us begin the process."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: A day after the arrival of Doxia_

Rarity sighed dreamily as she looked over her roof carefully. She ran a hoof across the crystalline windowsill, and then she tapped the quartz and ruby bedpost of her classy bed.

Then she gasped in appreciating as she opened a side closet to discover a beautiful set of hangers, all made of solid diamonds. She was about to swoon as she discovered a jewel-encrusted crystal mirror on the back of the closet door when Pinkie Pie burst into her room unannounced.

"It is time to go and cheer a pony up!" yelled Pinkie enthusiastically with a huge bounce.

"Why do you need me to go?" said Rarity indignantly, quite reluctant to have to leave her awe-inspiring quarters, "You are the element of laughter! It is your job to… er… cheer ponies up."

"A team is a team is a team," said Pinkie stoutly, "There is no I in 'teim,' I think... or maybe it IS teim? Team… teim… I gotta think about that one. Never mind! Come on! Maybe you could bring along some of your pretty dresses to 'wow' her! That might cheer her up if my party cannon doesn't!"

Discord, at that moment, drifted in and said, "Oh, do let's go Rarity! I have some particular pranks that Sapphire Anemone might find enjoyably… shocking."

Rarity eyed Discord with an air of suspicion for a moment before saying dramatically, "Oh, very well. Let us go!"

Rarity, Discord, and Pinkie pie then trotted into the throne room of the Crystal Empire to find Cadence, but they found the hall empty. After a moment of looking around, Discord said, "Well… it looks like no pony is home. How rude."

Rarity was about to comment as well when the door opened and Cadence, Shining Armor, and Doxia strolled in. Shining was grinning, and Cadence was still chuckling breathlessly. Both ponies' manes were mussed up badly, as if they had been standing in front of a high-powered fan all day.

Discord noticed them and immediately teleported over to where they were. "Well, well, well… what have you three been doing all day?" he drawled, casting an interested eye over the group.

"We were skydiving," said Shining Armor, "I haven't had so much fun for a while."

"And I haven't had that much fun since my visit with Twilight!" said Cadence, grinning in a rather un-royal fashion, "You remember Discord? The time when you got sick?"

Discord crossed his arms belligerently and gave a "humph" indignantly. Then he floated away to the opposite side of the hall.

"I must say, you two do look a sight," commented Rarity in surprise, "Why were you three… er… skydiving in the first place, may I ask?"

"Doxia invited us," explained Shining Armor.

"WOW! You do know how to have a fun time!" said Pinkie to Doxia as she bounced up to him.

Doxia struck a pose, "I do. It's a gift. So, are you three ready to cheer up Sapphire Anemone?"

"We most certainly are," replied Rarity, "We were actually just looking for Cadence so that we could ask for direction to this pony's house."

"I'll take you there myself," said Cadence.

Doxia shook his head. "I'll do it. You and Shining should spend some quality time together now."

Shining Armor gave Doxia a grateful glance and nodded.

Doxia then ushered Pinkie, Rarity, and a slightly disgruntled Discord out of the throne room.

"Follow me! Let's go!" exclaimed Doxia.

The group followed the Dimensional Lord out of the castle of crystal and through the sparkling streets of the Crystal Empire. It was most certainly an odd sight, and everypony moved out of the way to let the formidable form of Doxia pass without any obstructions.

"These ponies seem quite frightened of you, Doxia," commented Rarity as they walked.

Doxia chuckled and nodded. "That's a problem, but they will get used to me after a while if I choose to stay. You three have certainly warmed up to me."

"I suppose so," mused Discord dryly as they continued moving through the streets.

After a little longer, they group arrived at a small crystal house on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. It certainly stood out because of its absolute lack of luster. The crystal walls were rather tarnished and dull, and several hairline cracks lined the roof.

"Well… whoever lives here could really use some livening up!" said Pinkie happily, not at all fazed by the house's appearance.

Doxia nodded. "You guys do what you have to do. As for me, I need to go; I have some important things I need to do."

Pinkie waved a hoof. "Okie Dokie Lokie!"

Doxia shimmered, and then teleported away, leaving Pinkie with Discord and Rarity.

Rarity glanced at Discord, who rolled his eyes. "Pinkie, I think you should knock, since you are the pony who is going to be working the hardest."

Pinkie bounced up to door and knocked on it.

"Go away," said a voice from inside the house.

Discord threw an arm across his forehead in mock horror. "How did I NOT see that response coming?" he drawled, "The tragedy!"

Rarity shot Discord a look and then said to Pinkie, "Go, knock again."

Pinkie rapped on the door again and said cheerfully, "We're here to cheer you up Sapphire Anemone! Let's hear a cheer!"

There was a pause, then a clicking noise that denoted that the pony inside the building had locked the door. Pinkie blinked. Discord seized Pinkie and snapped a finger. Next thing they knew, he had teleported them inside the house. It was a shabby affair. Everything was dusty and in some form of disrepair. The shutters were closed, and only a couple beams of sunlight, thick with dust particles, were streaming through a crack in a window or two.

There was a pony sitting in a dark corner, disheveled and thin. She had a crystalline orange coat, with sapphire blue eyes and a sapphire blue mane. Her cutie mark was a picture of an anemone (the flower type) made completely out of crystal. Pinkie bounced over to her and exclaimed, "We're here to cheer you up!"

As Discord went to unlock the door, Sapphire glared at Pinkie and replied, "I don't want to be cheered up. I want to be left alone."

Pinkie laughed and threw open the windows, letting light stream into the dark building. As she did so, Rarity trotted in and said, "My, my! You could certainly use some renovations! I will start at once!"

"Why are you three doing this?" snapped Sapphire gloomily as Discord, Pinkie, and Rarity began to clean up the place.

"We were commanded to cheer you up! So we're going to… cheer… you… UP!" replied Pinkie cheerfully.

"Haven't I told you enough times already? I don't want to be cheered up! I want to be left alone," sighed Sapphire.

Discord, dressed like a hotel maid from the 1960's, floated over and said, "You've had enough time to be left alone, my dear. It's been, what, 6 years now? It's time for life to return to your shabby existence!"

"Why are you doing this?" asked Sapphire angrily.

"No reason!" exclaimed Pinkie, "We were asked by Princess Celestia to make you happy again! So we are going to make you happy again!"

Sapphire then just buried her head in her hooves and groaned.

Pinkie leaned close to Discord and whispered, "She's falling out! Quick! Execute code: Party Cannon!"

Discord snapped a finger and Pinkie's infamous party cannon came into being right next to Pinkie. She fired it. Bright streams and clouds of multi-colored confetti blasted to every corner of the room with a loud blast. Immediately the building looked a lot brighter… and a lot more pink.

Discord pulled a face. "Pink really isn't my color…" he muttered as he went back to cleaning the building. In no time it was back to looking like any of the other houses in the Crystal Empire. However, Sapphire Anemone hadn't moved an inch. She still lay on the ground, her face covered by her hooves, with streamers draped across her ears.

Pinkie blinked, a little confused by what was happening. Had she lost her touch? Not only had she failed to cheer up that one green pony the day before, but also she had seemingly failed to cheer up this pony! Rarity chuckled a little, nervously, and began to sidle out of the building. "I see that you need new drapes," she said, flustered, "I… I think I will make some. The color should be sapphire blue with a touch of light cyan, yes?"

When there was no reply, Rarity continued to sidle out of the building until she was outside. Then she disappeared. Discord rolled his eyes for a moment, muttered something about not having enough fun leading to derogative health effects, and then teleported, leaving Pinkie alone with Sapphire.

Pinkie moved up to Sapphire and sat next to her. She poked her with a hoof and said, with her tone lacking its usual happiness, "What can I do to make you happy?"

"I want my brother back," was all Sapphire said, with a sob.

Pinkie's hair flattened with the sound of a deflating balloon, and she sighed. The one thing that could make this pony happy was one of the only things she could not do: bring back loved ones.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Star Wars<em>

_Planet: Coruscant_

_Specific Location: The southern district_

_Time: 21 years before the battle of Yavin, a day before the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

"Are we there yet?" grunted Wild as he inched up the ventilation pipe.

"Now I know how annoyed Daniel was when I was flying with him over the Unicorn Range," muttered Franklin to himself irately. He then called down, "No, God no! I still can't see anything, and I think we've only covered half of the building's height."

Wild sighed. There was a pause, and then he said, "Why didn't we just use our control over the air to fly up there?"

"You've already suggested that, and as I already replied: we can't. This pipe is designed to expel air, and if we start sucking it all in, people will attempt to investigate, something we do not want. We will just have to continue to work our way upwards. You're not getting tired, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Sure."

There was a lapse in the conversation as the two committed to silently inching upwards. Finally, Franklin broke the moment of silence by saying, "Wild, is there a possibility this could all be a trap? I mean, Matthew Tricost knew exactly where we were, doesn't that mean others could too?"

Wild laughed quietly and said, "Possibly. But it doesn't really matter. I, like you, do not fear death anymore, so we just need to proceed and hope for the best. When we get up there, we will most likely be there before Evan Funsch arrives. I calculated our arrival to be a couple of minutes before he breaches security himself. What we need to do is get in there and assassinate the traitor first. It will be against the code, but we have no other choice. When Funsch arrives, we can explain what is going on. If Funsch is like the Funsch of old, he will agree to help us."

"All I hear is a giant 'IF,' Wild," sighed Franklin, "But I suppose that is all we have: unknowns. Oh well, I suppose it's not relevant."

"Yes, I suppose it's not relevant," snorted Wild. There was another pause, then Wild said, "Look at us, crawling up a vent looking for someone to help us find someone to help us find someone. And guess who our adversary is? It's the freaking Paradox. We are soooooo screwed, and what I think is even worse is that I couldn't care less. I think I've gone numb to it all."

Franklin sighed and said, "Same here. I really don't like this outlook, but we live in desperate times. We need to do what we need to do, principles and morals aside."

"Not exactly the kind of heroes that we thought we would be, huh?" said Wild with a guttural chuckle.

"This isn't a freaking fairy tale, so of course not. Doing evil to do good, and doing that over and over again. We are totally going to hell for this all."

"At least we will know we died trying to do the right thing."

"If I need a therapist, I'll call, Wild. Right now we need to decide how we are going to go about the plan. You were with Funsch when he planned this little fiasco, do you know the best way to approach this situation?"

"Ironically enough, I do. When we enter the penthouse, there are four sharpshooters stationed on four balconies in the corners. They usually look outwards, but they have camera-fed live feeds in their helmets HUDs, so we can either attempt to take out the four guards and the security tower, or attempt to take out the hundreds of hidden cameras."

"I advocate for killing the sharpshooters."

"I do too. I'll take the security tower, which is in a Beskar-laced steel vault. I can use my shadow abilities to take out the guard in there while you out-snipe the four snipers. Once that is over with, we will need to work past the seven grids of motion-sensing lasers. We touch a single beam, and the alarms in the entire building will go off and hidden turret emplacements will go live. However, that's the easy part. We need to get past a hundred-meter thick vault door that is sensitive to touch. We need to find a way to break into it without actually touching it. Once we're past there, we will have to deal with the two trained bodyguards that are stationed in the bedroom. Kill them, and we're home free."

"Well… This will be fun. Why would one person need so much protection in the first place?"

"He knows that he's a traitor, so he used his connections he had made previously here so that he could be safe from people like Funsch… and us."

Franklin then noticed that the time had passed a little quicker than he had expected, and that they were only a couple of meters away from the correct ventilation grid. It was crisscrossed with red beams of motion-sensing light. Franklin crawled passed it and signaled Wild to take a look at it. He did so for a moment, then he nodded at Franklin and whispered, "I can disable it."

He then extended a hoof. Shadow energy crackled around it like black electricity. The shadow powered counteracted the light beams, and cancelled each other out. The beams of motion-sensing light simply ceased to exist, and the security machine didn't register anything. Wild eased open the metal grid as he opened a telepathic link with Franklin.

"The moment we're out in the open, go outside. You can use your sniping skills to shoot all four sharpshooters while I go to the security vault," said Wild over the link.

Franklin was about to reply when the grid slipped and clanged to the floor loudly. The noise echoed through the entire room. Wild exploded into shards of shadows and vanished into the dark corners of the room. Franklin simply dropped down until his head was about a meter below the opening. As expected, a sharpshooter from an adjacent balcony entered the room. Holding a laser pistol, he scoped out the entire room. Then he noticed the fallen grid. He reached up with an armored hand to tap the intercom connected to his ear when he gave a soft, gurgling gasp. He fell over, a chunk of flesh missing from the back of his neck. Wild was crouching behind him, shadows trailing around his hooves. Franklin pulled a face at the gruesome sight, but pulled himself into the room anyway. Nodding silently to Wild, he donned the sharpshooter's top vest and put on the helmet. He then strolled nonchalantly onto the balcony as Wild dissolved into shadows once more.

Franklin sidled into his position on the balcony, trying to look covert. As he did so, the sniper on the opposite balcony called out, "What happened in there, Atarus?"

Franklin shrugged his shoulders wordlessly. The sharpshooter nodded and then began to scan the streets below with his sniper rifle. That was the last thing he ever did. Franklin whipped out his own sniper rifle and blew the other man away with a headshot. It was silent and precise; the sharpshooter fell back wordlessly, and collapsed against the railing. The shot was so well timed and aimed that it simply looked like he was leaning against the balcony, taking a breather.

Franklin began to scope out his surroundings. He could tell by the shadows cast to his left that the third sniper was right around the corner of the penthouse, on another balcony like the one he was standing on. Looking around quickly, Franklin scanned his surroundings again for a way to get at his target. He then noticed the angle of the passing hover crafts. A plan formed in his mind: if he loaded one of his rubber encased, titanium-tipped, curare-laced bullets and fired it at a passing vehicle, it would rebound. If he did this with perfect timing and perfect aim, it would bounce off the flat surface of a passing hovercraft and go straight into the throat of his target. Giving a deep sigh, Franklin loaded one of the special bullets into his sniper rifle. He took aim, and stood there for a good five minutes, waiting for the perfect time. Suddenly a flat-sided hover bus passed at the perfect angle as it prepared to make a right at an air-intersection. Franklin seized his chance and fired the bullet, the plan worked out flawlessly, and the shadow of the target sharpshooter tumbled over, denoting the fact that the target had indeed been hit with lethal accuracy. Sighing again, Franklin glanced upward. According to Wild's description of the place, he knew that the final target lay in wait on the absolute opposite side of the building. To get at him, he would need to find a way around without entering the penthouse, this meant hijacking a vehicle quietly. He glanced below him: a trail of hover vehicles caught in traffic passed sluggishly below him. It was a perfect setup, but he needed the right vehicle and the right driver for him to hijack something without an issue. Again he sighed and took a knee, waiting for the perfect time. Once again, five minutes later, he noticed a small hover bike, with a drunk driver, skidding along below. Not thinking twice, Franklin leapt from the balcony and landed straight on the driver, knocking him off. The driver didn't even scream as he fell off and landed on top of a hover bus, a few meters below him. Franklin ran his hands over the bike as he desperately tried to make sense of the controls, but to no avail. Soon a line of other hover vehicles began to gather behind him, and he noticed a security guard eyeing him sucpiciously a distance away. Growling in frustration, Franklin opened his traveler's database and checked how to drive the specific bike. He scanned the files quickly and then typed in the acceleration code into the bike. It growled to life once more and he sped away. Grabbing the controls, he eased it upwards and he inconspicuously drifted out of the line of traffic and into the sky. He then pulled a sharp turn and headed back to the penthouse, as he passed over it and the target balcony; he flipped off and fell down. Just as he was about to land on the balcony with the sharpshooter, he fired his sniper at point-blank range, practically beheading his enemy. He caught the sniper gently and leaned him against the railing, next to his rifle.

Chuckling in relief to himself, Franklin contacted Wild telepathically and said, "I did it. How goes you?"

Suddenly the form of Wild solidified from the shadows near him, and the wolf/pony emerged.

"I was wondering if I was going to have to take him out myself, Franklin," said Wild curtly.

Franklin rolled his eyes and said, over the intercom, "Yeah, whatever. Let's move."

They strolled, almost nonchalantly, into the building once more. The second they did so, they were surrounded by hostile forces. Twelve heavily armored soldiers with power blaster guns. The two guards in front parted ranks to reveal the target traitor and Matthew Tricost.

"Well, look who's here," said Matthew with a grin, "Guess you two just couldn't resist looking for trouble. Too bad this is it."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I put up my second story, "Days Gone By," just in case anyone was wondering. Now, I had a question... Would anyone object to another set of "Recollections" chapters? I decided that I should do some explaining about the events that transpired in between the death of Miranda and the arrival of Doxia. Anyone object to that? Yes? No? Cool. Now give me the reviews that I so dearly crave!<strong>


	55. Chapter 55 - Threats

**Note: Sorry for ****posting this so late! I had some things I had to do. Okay, so I got a fairly even amount of "yes" and "no" replies to putting up more "Recollections" chapters... Sooooooo... I suppose I will have to think about it for a bit. In the meantime, enjoy the latest chapter!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: A day after the arrival of Doxia_

Samuel pressed his ears against his skull and skulked behind Luna as they trotted into Ponyville. Samuel had fully expected to have been accosted by the pink party pony Pinkie Pie when they had entered the town, but nothing had happened. Seeing his surprise and assuming correctly the reason for the said surprise, Luna said, "Pinkie Pie is not here right now. She is off on a mission in the Crystal Empire."

Samuel blinked in acknowledgement and then looked away begrudgingly. He still didn't understand why Luna had taken such an interest in him, and hated her for it.

"Where are we going?" he said irately as they continued through the town. As he said so, he recoiled from an interested glance from Vinyl Scratch as she was passing by as if her vision had been laced with acid.

"We are going to Flaming Star. He should know what to do with you," replied Luna briskly, ignoring the surprised glances that were cast her way.

"Flaming Star? The firstborn… great," snorted Samuel derisively as he continued to skulk behind Luna.

"You know of him?"

"Sort of. I've been trying to avoid him like I've been trying to avoid everyone else."

As they passed by, Sweetie Bell and the Cutie Mark Crusaders passed by.

"Oh wow! Princess Luna!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell, "It's nice to see you here! Thanks for helping me out with those dolphins in that dream!"

Luna smiled and passed on by. Samuel tried to sneak by as well, but was immediately noticed by Scootaloo.

"Woah… Who are you?" she asked enthusiastically.

Samuel winced at the new amount of attention being heaped upon him, but he said, "I'm a no pony. Just ignore me."

Scootaloo then noticed his cutie mark – why must this sound so feminine? – And said, "Cool! You're ANOTHER dimensional traveler! What did I tell you, Apple Bloom? This is practically a hot spot for those guys now ever since that Paradox thingy showed up at the Tree of Harmony!"

Samuel sighed as Apple Bloom exclaimed, "Yeah, I suppose yer right. What are you doin' here, mister?"

"Please, don't call me mister," replied Samuel, "in fact don't call me anything at all. Right now I am being held hostage by Princess Luna here, so I really must be going."

He glanced at Luna, who understood that the attention was making him quite uncomfortable. She nodded and said to the CMC, "We really must be going now, little ones."

She turned tail and trotted off again, with Samuel following.

"What's yer name?!" yelled Apple Bloom in a last ditch attempt to learn something about the mysterious pony.

Samuel sighed and called back, "My few friends in Fillydelphia called me Caustic Rain!"

He then rounded a corner with Luna. The moment the CMC were out of sight, he exhaled deeply and said, "I really hope that doesn't happen again."

"It will not… we're here," said Luna promptly coming to a stop in front of Flaming Star's house. Samuel hadn't been looking where he was going, so he ran head first into her backside. He fell hard to the ground. He then staggered up, mumbling an apology of some sort, and shook his head to clear it. At that moment Twilight trotted out.

"Hello Princess Luna!" she said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"I am here to bring this young pony to see Flaming Star, Princess Twilight Sparkle," replied Luna, indicating Samuel with a glance.

Samuel grimaced but said, "Pleased to meet you."

Twilight gave him a huge smile and called into the house, "Dear! Somepony is here to see you!"

Flaming Star promptly trotted out of the house at the sound of his fiancée's voice. He immediately noticed Luna and Samuel.

"Greetings, Princess Luna," he said, "Who is this?"

"This is Samuel Dellor, or as we called him here before, Caustic Rain."

"Samuel Dellor? That work-crazy traveler? Er… I mean… hi!" said Flaming Star, a little confused.

Samuel just looked away, grumbling.

Flaming Star trotted off the porch of his house and stopped directly in front of Samuel, making it difficult for him to avoid eye-contact. He then said, "Samuel? What are you doing here? What is going on?"

Samuel sighed and sat down, saying, "Well, I lived here myself for a couple of years in Fillydelphia. I kept mostly to myself and hid my infinity-shaped cutie mark. However, after Sunset Shadow showed up and fought Abbadon, I thought the heat was on, so I left with my friend Tiffany. However, we were almost immediately caught in the crossfire of an interdimensional gang war with some demons, and Tiffany was killed. I would have been killed by a group demons myself if I hadn't been saved by Archangel Michael, who showed up out of nowhere. He then told me to come back here. I was then found by Princess Luna and brought here."

Flaming Star took in the information calmly, though his eyes had widened for a spell when Archangel Michael had been mentioned. He then nodded his head, almost sagely, as he said, "I see. Well, do you know where Archangel Michael is as of now? Do you know what he is doing?"

"I don't know where he is, but he did mention something about preparing to wage war against the Paradox or something stupid," snorted Samuel, "Can you believe it? Heaven against the Paradox, our leader? This is crazy. The only reason I did what he said was because he had just saved my life… and… well… because he's a freaking Archangel."

"Samuel," said Twilight Sparkle softly, "The Paradox IS evil. He tried to kill me and destroy everything."

"She speaks the truth," said Flaming Star, "I, Sunset Shadow, and the Brothers in Arms corps are right now staging a rebellion against the Paradox, and are in danger by doing so. Did you check your recent updates on your traveler's database?"

"I rarely check that idiotic and useless thing," said Samuel derisively as he opened it up and projected it front of his face. He then spotted the "wanted" update. He read it quickly and nodded his head.

"That's a valuable prize," he commented airily, actually in no way tempted by the reward for turning against the firstborn and his friends, "Are you worried?"

Flaming Star shook his head. "Not necessarily yet," he said, "We, as of yet, have… backup."

There was then an awkward pause that lasted a couple of minutes. Finally it was broken by Twilight who said, "Samuel… or, er, Caustic Rain… do you have a place to stay?"

"Please, call me Caustic Rain, that is what I respond to more since my time in the My Little Pony dimension," said Samuel, or Caustic Rain. Then he replied to the question by saying, "And… no. I do not have a place to stay, but I don't really expect to be here for long…"

"You could stay with me, Caustic Rain," interjected Flaming Star, quickly warming up to the new name.

Caustic Rain shook his head and said, "Oh, no, I think I will be fine…"

"He will be fine, thank you," interrupted Luna, "He will be staying with me."

There was a long pause.

"He is?" asked Flaming Star.

"He will be?" said Twilight.

"I will?" gaped Caustic Rain.

Luna nodded her head calmly. "You will. Come, we must go."

Caustic Rain immediately thought up a thousand different types of excuses, and was about to tell her to go to hell when he thought about the offer seriously for a moment. After a split-second of really struggling with his emotions, he sighed deeply and said, "Very well. I will go with you."

Luna blinked in acknowledgment, indicating that she had fully expected that response, and beckoned to Caustic Rain. Caustic Rain, a little numb mentally because of the news he had just received, followed her in a state of shock. Naturally he had heard of the great Princesses and their home in Canterlot Castle, and had seen the Princesses' pictures in the newspapers and on the Equestrian Internet, but he had never dreamed of meeting them… or even wanted to. And now he was following Princess Luna to Canterlot where he would be staying… Absolutely ridiculous and unreal.

He shook his head and sped up his canter so that he was soon moving through Ponyville side-by-side with Luna. As he did so, he said, "Why are you doing this? Why do you care so much about my wellbeing?! Why don't you just go bother some pony else?!"

Luna sighed as she said, "I worry about you, Caustic Rain. The things that you have suffered are unnerving, and they have changed you in terrible ways. I want to fix that… before you become something else… before you become something evil."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I became evil once because the seeds of discontent and anger had been sown within me as well. I can see those very sprouts bursting within you… but I can stop it."

"Has it ever occurred to me that I don't want your help?"

"It has, but I will not let it stop me. You are coming to stay with me in Canterlot castle, and I think you will do very little to stop that."

Caustic Rain opened his mouth to retort harshly when he realized that she was right: he was mad, and he hated her for what she was doing, but he probably couldn't stop following her even if he tried. He closed his mouth tightly for a moment, and was about to open it again when a blast of pure light blossomed forth before him and Princess Luna on the road they were trotting towards where she had her chariot parked. It was Archangel Michael. Despite the absolute awe and terror that any angel of the Celestial Heaven inspired, Luna fought her urge to flee and actually placed her defensively between Michael and the absolutely stunned Caustic Rain.

"You are protecting Samuel, young mare… I am deeply impressed by your care and bravery," commented Michael lightly, not even close to being fazed by Luna's weak but heartfelt attempt to protect Caustic Rain.

Caustic Rain recovered from his momentary bout of shock and shook his head vigorously to clear the bright spots blinking in his vision. He trotted up to Luna, who was still eyeing Michael and looked at her. She had literally confronted an angel to protect him, and it touched him more than he had probably been touched before in his life. He put a hoof on her shoulder and whispered, "Thank you."

He then turned to look at Michael and said, "Sorry, I was a little shocked by your sudden arrival. What is it that you need?"

Michael didn't immediately respond. He was still looking at Luna with an air of interest and compassion. "Stay with that young mare, Samuel, she is more wonderful than you yet know, I can see it."

He continued to look at Luna with an interested air as his angelic eyes blazed into her from the shadows of his great gold and silver helmet. He was still looking at her curiously when he said to Caustic Rain, "You go by Caustic Rain now, do you not? It is not relevant, I suppose. I want to let you know that there are about four Elite Phasetroopers running amok on the planet, three of the here in Equestria. The Paradox probably knows by now that I have arrived from the heaven dimension, and will try to perceive my intensions using his agents placed here. I need you to keep a lookout as you continue to dwell here. I will return momentarily to Heaven to report my current findings, but I will most certainly be back. You will be my ambassador between Heaven and the mortals. Do you understand?"

Caustic Rain shook his head as he said, "Why me?"

"Why not you?" said Michael, "You perhaps have your shortcomings, but Heaven has chosen you to do it. I will not slow you any longer…"

Michael suddenly was surrounded by bands of light energy that encompassed his whole body. Then he was gone.

Caustic Rain was about to turn around when a portal opened up and Doxia stepped through. Once again Luna readied herself to protect Caustic Rain. Once again, the entering being was impressed by her heart-felt attempt to defend her ward.

Doxia looked at Luna for a moment, a little surprised that anyone ever would be idiotic enough to try and pose a threat to a Dimensional Lord. Then he said, "Lulu… It's me. Doxia."

Luna's eyes suddenly widened, and she rushed forward to hug him with an exclamation of pure joy. Doxia held the hug for a moment, and then let go.

"Where have you been all these years Doxia?" exclaimed Luna, her eyes wide with joviality, "I have missed the times we explored Equestria!"

"I've been really busy, trying to defeat the Paradox single-handedly and all," Doxia replied, "I'm really glad that some pony is happy to see me. I visited your sister earlier, and she was all like, 'Guards! Stop him!' and stuff like that."

"Well, my sister was never one for your roguish behavior, Doxia," said Luna with a tad of amusement in her tone of voice.

Doxia chuckled, "Yes, I suppose so. But you were ALL about it when you were little, and that's what made you so fun!"

Caustic Rain piped up at that moment. "Um… excuse me?" he interjected, "But… who are you? Are you… the Paradox? No, you don't sound like him."

Doxia turned to Caustic Rain and said, "Oh! Hey! Wassup? My name is Doxia. I am a former member of the Paradox's brotherhood. We're called Dimensional Lords. You are Samuel Dellor are you not? Ah… you were originally called Caustic Rain here, though."

Caustic Rain snorted as he said, "My God… Was EVERYONE watching me when I hid out here a couple of years ago?"

Doxia nodded in mock agreement. "We most certainly were. Your daily life was broadcasted across 153 different radio and TV stations in a reality show. It had higher ratings then Hasbro's… well… you know."

Caustic Rain gaped at Doxia. What had he just said?

Doxia then began to laugh. "I'm just kidding! Sorry. I just wanted to ask you if Michael was just here. He said he needed to talk to you, right?"

Luna answered for Caustic Rain. "He was," she said, "However, he left, saying that he needed to report back to the Celestial Heaven."

Doxia nodded slowly. "Okay. That is fine. It seems that he has chosen you to be something of an ambassador, though, Caustic Rain, so I would appreciate it if you could give me call if he shows up again. We are collaborating on something important right now, and I will need Heaven's full cooperation when the time comes."

Caustic Rain nodded wordlessly. He had only been there for a day, and already he had been visited by two of the most powerful beings in all of the multiverses.

"Thank you my young lad!" exclaimed Doxia dramatically as he opened a portal back to the Crystal Empire a meter away, "I shall now be off!"

With that, he exited. Both Luna and Caustic Rain just stood on all fours in the road for a moment or two. Then Caustic Rain turned to Luna and said, "You… you were protecting me. Thank you… I mean…"

Luna nodded her head gently. "You are my ward now, Caustic Rain, I will not let harm come to you when I am about."

Caustic Rain smiled wordlessly. He decided that he should take Michael's advice and continue to follow her.

"Follow me to the chariot, we will be in Canterlot in a thrice," Luna said as she continued down the road.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Amethyst<em>

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: Summit Meeting room 8, floor 9853171_

_Time: Unknown_

Pictor entered the room with several holographic projections hovering around his helmet. He strolled into the meeting area and sat down in a chair, but was too busy multitasking for a moment to notice that the Paradox, too, was in the room, staring off into space through the large crystal window. After a couple of minutes, Pictor did notice, however, and was about to say something when the Paradox began to talk calmly.

"You know why we're going to win?" said the Paradox calmly, though his voice was obviously laced with deadly intent.

Pictor eyed the Paradox warily. He understood that his leader was absolutely insane, so he was always careful when he discussed anything with him. "Because the Great Plan is so complex and well set?" he said slowly.

"No. It is because we can cut corners."

"What do you mean?"

"When I recruited beings as dimensional travelers, I instilled in them a sense of righteous purpose. I told them that if they did what was good, right, and heroic, they would live to see themselves victorious over the evil that they were destined to fight. To them, it seemed like I was giving them the tools that would pave their way to a gloriously moral victory, but in reality I was dooming them to absolute defeat."

"I still don't understand."

"You see… With principles, you are obligated to take the hard way. You need to do things that easily place you and your mission in jeopardy. For example: I could be confronted by Flaming Star and Princess Twilight Sparkle, and Flaming Star could be a moment away from destroying the Crystal of Harmony. All I would need to do is point a weapon at Twilight's head, and I would be safe. Flaming Star would have to back off, and his mission would end in shambles. And then you know what I would do next? I would shoot both Flaming Star and Twilight viciously, killing them instantly. The Great Plan would proceed as normal, and two potential enemies would be dead in pools of life blood at my feet."

"Why are you talking about this?" snapped Pictor, still unsure of the reason for the Paradox's ramble.

The Paradox ignored him, still looking off into the distance. "Heroes and their principles… damn them all. The only reason they ever won anything was either by sheer luck, or the help of the Celestia Angels… who seem to have some stupid appreciation for such foolish morals. And if it is neither of these, it is because the so called 'heroes' have only won because they have given into their basest and most primitive emotions of fear or desperation. But, nevertheless, in the end they will fail ultimately. In the end, it is pure brutality, pure cunning, and pure immoral objectiveness that wins. And that is what we are, we are the brutal, we are the cunning, we are the objectiveness that adds the cold, heartless steel of the understandings of life and death in this multiverse. We are gods… why should we not determine who lives and who dies? We have the ability and the understanding... We deserve to be able to kill at a moments notice. We should not even have to think twice about it. And that… my friend… is why we will win."

"Is there a reason why you are talking about this, Paradox?" persisted Pictor again.

Finally the Paradox snapped out of his trance. He glanced quickly at Pictor and said, "There is a reason. For my plan to proceed, I need several things to play out just right. However, for now, I need you to do something relatively important, Pictor."

Pictor sighed. He then straightened up and said, "What is it that you need?"

Without looking at Pictor, the Paradox said, "I need you to goad Doxia into fighting you. Nothing terribly huge, but I need you to fight him long enough for footage to be shot. With this, I can brand Doxia as a rogue, and we can sway a couple more Dimensional Lords into mindlessly helping us… which is exactly what we need. Additionally, with Doxia gone fighting you, and Archangel Michael returning to the Celestial Heaven, we will be safe to star relocations and using our Elite Phasetroopers stationed in Equestria.

"Dimensional Lord Mattimeo will see right through the deceptions, Paradox," snapped Pictor harshly, "He's been Doxia's best friend, along with Meadolax, for a trillion years now. It will not work."

"You will find Mattimeo no longer here, Pictor," said the Paradox airily, "He's been sent on an important mission on the other side of the multiverse. We will not be worrying about him for a little longer. However, this is a reason why you must hasten with your task."

Pictor grumbled momentarily as he struggled with himself. It went against literally every nerve to agree to openly combating Doxia, who was pretty much the most powerful Dimensional Lord in existence at the moment, but it seemed the only way to sway more Dimensional Lords to the Paradox's side without raising any suspicions about the Great Plan.

After a long pause, Pictor finally said, "Very well. I will do it immediately."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: You know what would be really awesome? If someone decided to take a chunk out of their weekend to read all 55 chapters and do a review per chapter run-through. 55 reviews! Well, I'll stop projecting upon you all my wistful thinking now. Anyways...<strong>


	56. Chapter 56 - Combat

**Note: Sorry for posting so late! I was on a jet for forever. Yes, it is my spring break! However, I will still post chapters regularly! Anyways... This is the longest chapter I've written yet! And guess what? This chapter is absolutely jam-packed with action! I really hope you guys enjoy this one! If you do, please leave me a review! I would appreciate it!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Star Wars<em>

_Planet: Coruscant_

_Specific Location: The southern sector_

_Time: 21 years before the battle of Yavin, a day after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

Franklin put his hands up slowly as he said, "Well… how did you guys find me?"

"Are you really that stupid?" snapped Tricost, "Your database. The moment it goes live, we know exactly where you are."

Franklin blinked. "Ohhhhhh… I guess I probably shouldn't have googled how to drive a hover bike then. Oops."

Tricost blinked at them. There was a pause, and then he snapped a finger. "Kill them."

Suddenly Wild exploded into a massive cloud of pure shadow. It pressed chokingly close around everyone, and blinded all within the mist of black. Franklin seized the moment. Slamming a fist to the ground, he expended a massive amount of energy releasing a shockwave of pure energy. It sizzled through the air, and beheaded all but the traitor and Tricost. Immediately Wild solidified again and leapt upon Tricost, baring his teeth at the dimensional traveler's throat. The traitor turned around and prepared to run, but Franklin shot the man in the right leg, severing his sinews and tendons in a single attack. The man screamed and fell to the floor. Franklin slowly approached the man, and was about to say something to him when he heard a crunching noise: Wild had torn out Tricost's throat. Franklin's own throat caught in horror. Slowly he turned around to look at the mauled form of Tricost, with Wild over him… but Wild was no longer there. He was now Feral, the mad wolf-side version of himself. The taste of blood had thrown him over the edge or self-control. Growling low, the pony-now-turned-wolf turned to gaze upon Franklin with rabid eyes.

Franklin slowly began to back up, unsure of what to do against his enemy. He knew for a fact that he couldn't take on Feral in such close corners. He was a sniper, not a brawler, so he lacked in a position where his new enemy excelled. Franklin cursed silently as he backed up, his palms facing skyward in the universal sign of peace.

"I don't want to hurt you, Wild… I mean Feral," said Franklin, desperately trying to appear calm, "Just take a few deep breaths and come back to your sense."

Feral stopped for a moment, as if he was actually considering what Franklin had just said. Then he hissed in a deep, deathly quiet voice, "Too late."

Snarling, Feral leapt towards Franklin's throat to tear it out. However, as Feral flew through the air, time seemed to slow down. Suddenly, Evan Funsch dropped his invisibility shield from nowhere and hurled himself at Feral. As he, too, flew through the air, he conjured up a large battle mace of steel. Just as he passed over Feral's head, he brought the mace crashing down upon the wolf's head, knocking him out cold. He then somersaulted in the air and landed on his feet. He tossed the mace aside and strode up to Franklin.

"That was a close one," Funsch said. Franklin blinked, despite the state of things, Funsch seemed completely calm… he was even chewing bubble gum.

Franklin shook his head wordlessly and approached the unconscious form of Feral, who was slowly transforming back to his regular, more reasonable, self, Wild. Kneeling down, Franklin checked Wild's pulse, and then pulled back an eyelid to make sure his unseeing eyes were not dilated. Satisfied that Wild was in no way seriously hurt, Franklin turned back to Evan and said, "Thanks for the save."

Funsch, who was standing over the traitor, turned around and said, "No prob. Give me a sec." He then turned around and shot the traitor in the face with a laser pistol, killing him before he even had a chance to plead for mercy. Franklin shut his mouth tight in shock… had every traveler turned into a heartless killer?

Funsch checked the pulse of the man to make sure he was dead, and then turned back to nod his head to Franklin, "Franklin, tell my why you, Wild, and Daniel are here, please. We don't have much time before reinforcements arrive."

Franklin nodded his head slowly, but instead asked, "You know Daniel is here?"

Funsch nodded, "I knew you all were here the second you entered the southern sector and started to climb the ventilation. Clever. I decided it would be best if you two took out all the guards, making it easier for me to finish off the traitor without him ever contacting the Paradox or another traveler."

"You used us as bait, basically," said Franklin flatly.

Funsch nodded his head once more. "I suppose you could put it that way. However, I am sure there is another reason other than proffering yourselves up as bait for you guys to be here. Care to explain?"

Franklin sighed. "Yes. We are looking for Finnian Jones."

Funsch just chuckled derisively as he said, "Nope. Sorry. I can't help you three find a fairy tale. He doesn't exist."

At this moment, Wild groaned and opened his eyes. He was back to normal.

"What happened?" Wild asked.

"You killed Tricost and then turned into Feral," Franklin explained as he helped the pony on to all fours, "You then attacked me, but Evan Funsch saved me by knocking you out. Are you okay?"

Wild rubbed the back of his head ruefully as he replied, "Yeah. I suppose. Greetings Funsch, sorry we had to meet in such a way."

"Same here," said Funsch curtly. He then looked at Franklin and said, "Is there anything else you wanted to see me for other than that? Because if that is it, I need to get going."

"There is," said Franklin, "I said we needed you to help us find Finnian Jones, but you would not need to help us search directly. We actually just need to know where the Dimensional Traveler Transformer Jetfire is."

"Oh, okay," said Funsch slowly, "I see. I actually do know where Jetfire is, but it will probably be difficult to find him."

Wild cocked his head to one side and said, "How so?"

"Jetfire has gone into incognito mode within his home dimension. It will be very difficult to locate him," explained Funsch.

"Care to help us?" said Franklin hopefully.

Funsch just stood there for a full minute, chewing his bubble gum. Then he said, "Yes. I will help you. This guy was my last target before I planned to go into hiding from the Paradox and his evil plans with Jared DeWhite in his home dimension. However, if you guys are looking for Finnian Jones, and are on the wanted list of the Paradox, than no doubt you guys are planning some sort of fiasco against the Paradox, so I'm in."

Both Wild and Franklin nodded their heads gratefully. Franklin was then about to comment on their next move when the window behind them shattered, and several strike troopers from the Coruscant protection guard jumped through, guns ablaze. Wild threw up a wall of shadow, blocking the attack. He then hurled the wall straight at the attackers. The wall collided with the troopers and blasted them, and most of the wall behind them, out into the street below. However, soon more troopers were jumping through the hole, firing shots.

"We're going to have to jump!" yelled Franklin over the din of battle, "Funsch! You with me?"

Funsch was expertly picking off the attackers as he said loudly, "Sure! Whatever."

Franklin opened a telepathic link with Daniel and said, over the intercom, "Okay dragon boy! Time for your extremely quick and extremely devastating extraction!"

"Acknowledged," came Daniel's voice, "And don't call me dragon boy."

"Wild!" shouted Franklin, "Clear a path to the window! We need to jump!"

Wild nodded wordlessly and exploded into shard of shadow. Black tendrils then shot forward and wrapped around the troopers blocking their path, disarming them and hurling them aside like leaves in an autumn wind. Franklin signaled to Funsch and they rushed the space where the window had once been. They shot through it and jumped, immediately going into a freefall, with the street thousands of feet below. The moment they made it thorugh, Wild solidified from shadow once more and he jumped as well.

The three fell in perfect formation, headlights of hover cars, windows full of light, and flying street lamps all flashed by them in a colorful stream of light and noise as they blasted through the cold night wind to the ground far below. Suddenly the massive form of Daniel appeared as he caught them on his back. Spreading his wings, Daniel then shot through a small passageway formed by two adjacent buildings and took off into the night sky. Immediately several trooper cruisers took chase.

"Poor choice, my friends," said Franklin grimly. He flipped out his sniper rifle and turned around. He immediately scoped out his targets: the drivers of the five cruisers giving chase. In seconds he had fired off five bullets. All five shots found their marks, and the cruisers began to spin out of control, hurling laser bolts randomly off into the air as they began to spiral to the streets. A few simply crashed into building sides and exploded into bright plumes of flames, illuminating the dark sky.

"That's going to be a beacon for more reinforcements," commented Funsch dryly as he watched the third cruiser explode into a massive blast of heat and fire as it rammed into the side of a building, causing the whole floor to buckle and crumble.

"Point taken," said Wild. He leaned in close to Daniel's ear and yelled, "Open a portal! Now!"

"No!" Funsch shouted suddenly, "You can't! The portals are watched! We're going to have to hijack a ship!"

"Are you kidding me?" roared Franklin over the howling wind, "We have, like, an eight-star wanted level! They'll be sending the whole army after us soon!"

"It doesn't matter!" yelled Funsch, "Who would you prefer to fight: an army of Coruscant police troopers, or several dozen armed dimensional travelers?"

"Neither!" shouted Franklin, "Well… I suppose killing a bunch of Star Wars soldiers would be easier… Fine! Where to?"

Funsch turned to Wild and said, over the wind, "Wild! Tell Daniel to head to his left at this upcoming turn. Then he is to dive straight down. No veering, just straight down."

Wild blinked in surprise, but nodded. He quickly relayed the instructions to Daniel, who preformed them without question. He folded in his wings and they shot straight down. Franklin almost lost his life as he slipped from his perch on Daniel's broad, scaly back, but saved himself at the last moment as he snatched the tip of Daniel's dragon tail. Clinging on for dear life, he yelled, "That was scary! Are we almost there yet?!"

Funsch nodded wordlessly, and suddenly he shouted loudly, "Pull up! Pull up! God! Pull up!"

Daniel's wings snapped open and they shot forward, heading straight for a small tunnel. Once again Franklin almost flew off, but he held on tight. As they continued to accelerate towards the tunnel, Franklin's sniper rifle suddenly slipped off his back and flew away. However, by some miracle, Franklin flicked out a foot and managed to snag the strap around it, keeping it from vanishing into the cold black night. Franklin actually closed his eyes as they continued to barrel towards the tunnel. A hundred meters, then fifty, then ten, then five, then one. Daniel folded his wings in close to his body and they shot through, with his scales grazing the sides of the hole. They abruptly found themselves in a massive hangar, filled with large transport ships. With the random appearance of a massive dragon, the hangar was quickly vacated, and Daniel, Funsch, Wild, and Franklin got their choice of ships without any form of obstruction. Funsch's eyes quickly scoured the different models as he muttered to himself. Then his hand shot out and he pointed to a medium sized, red and white, cargo carrier.

"That one is a sturdy and fast model. Let's grab that one," he said briskly.

They sprinted towards it and were in it in no time. Funsch quickly hacked into the systems and had control of the whole ship and the whole docking area in less than a minute. However, even before they had begun the launch sequence, troopers had begun to stream into the hangar.

"They're trying to override the docking release sequence," growled Funsch as his fingers flew over the control panels, "Wild, Daniel, I need you two to keep us from being boarded. Franklin, help me take off."

Wild slammed a hoof against the ground and commanded shadows from every corner of the large hangar to fill every square centimeter. Soon the place was shrouded in an eerie darkness, and the troopers had to slow their pace. Daniel quickly followed this up by releasing a focused stream of fire at the metal supports of the hangar above him. Flaming debris began to rain down upon the heads of the attacking troopers, and they had to dive for cover behind cargo boxes and small ships. At this time, Funsch and Franklin completed the docking release and the ignition sequences, and the ship slowly lifted above the ground. It hovered in place and then began to float towards the slowly closing metal double hangar doors.

"We're going to have to floor it if we want to beat out that closing door," muttered Funsch. Without waiting for a confirmation from Franklin, and without giving a word of warning to anyone else... Funsch floored it. White and blue fire blasted from the jets, and the thermal shockwave sent every unsecured object behind it skimming backwards. The ship lurched forward as it accelerated dangerously and blasted through the door at the very last microsecond. It was so close, in fact, that the metallic doors literally scraped off the top layer of paint from the side of the cargo ship. Yelling soundlessly, Funsch yanked back on his controls and sent the ship spiraling upwards, through the sky, and into the atmosphere. In a couple of minutes they were out of orbit and preparing to hyperjump.

"That was a close one," sighed Franklin. He was about to say something else when his voice caught in his throat. Wild glanced at the screen that Franklin was staring at. A large fleet consisting of several Jedi Starfighters was just on their tale. A well known voice crackled over the intercom of the ship. It was Anakin Skywalker.

"Surrender yourselves, or I will destroy you and scatter your debris across the system."

Funsch snorted in laughter, but then turned to Daniel, Wild, and Franklin and said, "We are at a disadvantage, technically. If we had a Dimensional Traveler-grade fighter cruiser, we'd be set, but we don't. We are in their dimension playing by their rules… and we're outnumbered twenty to one. And to top it all off, their ships are better in every possible aspect. We have two choices now: surrender, or open a portal and hope we're not killed by an army of reward-obsessed dimensional travelers on arrival to some dimension."

Wild simply rolled his eyes, and Franklin bit his lip hard. Suddenly, however, Daniel said, "We should use a portal."

Franklin glanced at Daniel and said, "Really? Where to? There is no place safe."

"We should jump to the My Little Pony dimension. Something tells me that no one will follow me there," said Daniel calmly.

"I would like to agree on disagreeing, Daniel," snapped Franklin, "There has to be another way…"

"Nope," interjected Funsch, "We're out of time. We're opening a portal. Wild, get on it."

As Wild mentally searched for the My Little Pony dimension to open a portal, Funsch leaned over and turned on the cargo ship's intercom.

"Anakin, we would really like to surrender and all that, but I really don't like your face, or the traitorous things you may or may not be doing in a couple of years. So, we're going have to decline your invitation for our unconditional surrender. Go screw yourself over," said Funsch curtly as he continued to chomp on his bubble gum.

He then turned to Wild and nodded. Wild quickly opened a large portal, and the four began to leap through it, just as Anakin's Jedi Starfighter opened up on them. Just as Funsch dove through the portal, the ship collapsed. Immediately the portal was exposed to pure space and it became a vacuum, and it began to suck Funsch back through. However, Daniel reached forward with his great head and seized Funsch by his jacket. He dragged him back into the My Little Pony dimension just as Wild slammed the portal shut.

Breathing heavily, Funsch nodded towards Daniel and said, "Thanks."

Wild glanced around the area, almost with a cheerful air. "It's good to be back where I truly belong," he said airily, "I believe we've landed in the Crystal Mountains, just northwest of the Crystal Empire."

Funsch immediately realized his body was shimmering, preparing to transform into a pony, so he cancelled it out.

"What? You don't want to be a pony?" chuckled Franklin as he glanced around the brightly lit landscape.

"No. And apparently neither do you," was all that Funsch said.

"Follow me," said Wild, "We're going to the Crystal Empire."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: A day after the arrival of Doxia_

Rarity was pouring over a couple of sketches for a sapphire and cyan drape in her room when Doxia abruptly appeared in her open doorway.

"Knock knock! Anyone home? Are you okay?" Doxia said jovially.

Rarity glanced over her shoulder and smiled weakly. "Oh, I'm fine darling… I'm just having a tad bit of trouble."

Doxia strolled over and crouched down next to her. He placed a hand over one of her hoofs and said, gently, "You're treating that moderate cyan silk as if it is a semi-sheered fabric. See the edges? It's a sheer fabric, and you should use a French seam over here to fuse it properly."

Rarity sighed, but nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, darling, I… I utterly forgot. As you can see, I am a little flustered."

"Do you want to tell a friend about it?" asked Doxia slowly.

Rarity paused in her work as she thought about his question for a moment. Then she said, "It is that Sapphire Anemone character. I've… I've never seen such an unhappy pony! Even Pinkie Pie is unable to cheer her up, and it makes me rather depressed."

Doxia nodded his head slowly. "That being suffered a terrible wound. Her brother betrayed her, and enslaved her. Those kinds of hurt don't go away quickly, if at all. However, despite the wound, and their attitudes in dealing with them, they are still sentient beings, and deserve to be treated with love and respect like everyone else."

Rarity nodded her head. "You are right, Doxia."

Suddenly Rainbow Dash shot through their window.

"THERE you are! I've been looking everywhere for you guys!" exclaimed Rainbow indignantly. Then she noticed Doxia. Her eyes widened a massive amount.

"Wow."

Doxia got up and looked at her for a moment. Then he said, "You're Rainbow Dash! Element of Loyalty."

Rainbow nodded her head slowly. "Yyyeeaaahhhh… And you are?"

Doxia continued to gaze on her with a kind of compassion that befuddled her. "Oh," he said, "I'm Doxia. Rainbow Dash… this may have been a different timeline but… you are much loved. I just want to thank you for the love you brought back into a man's life once upon a time, little Dashie."

Rainbow eyed Doxia, still unsure of how to react. She was being thanked by a terrifyingly powerful being for something that had never happened to her… in this dimension at least. "Well… thanks… I think."

Doxia then returned to his usually cheerful attitude and gave her a flourishing bow. "I am sorry for not having introduced myself to you before! I've busy with other stuff, but I do look forward to meeting the rest of the Mane 6. That being pretty much only Applejack now."

Rainbow, who was starting to warm up to Doxia now, nodded her head, "Cool! Sorry for asking but… what are you?"

"I'm a Dimensional Lord. I am a former member of the Paradox's brotherhood. I'm here to help bring him down."

Rainbow grinned. "Well then, you've just won yourself a new friend."

Doxia gave her an exaggerated hoof-fist bump as he exclaimed, "Score! Awesome. Hey… do you want to race?"

Rainbow immediately brightened up more and exclaimed, "DO I EVER? Totally!"

Doxia got up and snapped a finger. Suddenly bright wings of pure light spread out behind him, making him look like an Archangel of the Celestial Heaven.

"Nice look," said Rainbow, "But you'll have to do better if you want to beat me."

Doxia laughed heartily, "Totally! I'm going have to hope that I will lose by only a couple of minutes!"

Rainbow grinned more as she revved up her powerful wings. "Readysetgo!"

Rainbow blasted out of the window. Doxia, however, just stood there for a moment.

"Um… Doxia? Are you going to… er… race?" said Rarity, blinking at him.

"Three Mississippi… two Mississippi… one Mississippi… Bye Rarity!" exclaimed Doxia. Then he blasted out of the window with such force that all of Rarity's sketches fluttered around the room.

Rainbow was sure she had a jump on him, but when she glanced over her shoulder, she could see the vibrant wings of pure light of Doxia gaining on her with ease. Gritting her teeth, she pushed her strength to the limit. Nevertheless, Doxia slowly caught up to her until he was flying side-by-side with her. With floated alongside her on his back as he commented airily, "Nice day for a flap around the planet, eh Rainbow Dash?"

"Gotta… go… faster!" yelled Rainbow. She strained her wings… and then she broke the sonic rainboom barrier. A massive circular ring of pure color exploded behind her. The microsecond she did that, Doxia flipped around her and took a picture of her and him, with his thumbs up, using a camera he had conjured out of the air.

"Best… selfie… EVER!" yelled Doxia as both he and Rainbow slowed down. As they landed, Doxia gleefully exclaimed, "If I had a Facebook account here, I would probably get more likes on this picture than any picture ever posted ever."

"You probably would," said a voice behind him.

Doxia stopped and audibly groaned. It was Pictor. He turned to Rainbow, "Rainbow… run."

Rainbow Dash didn't even stop to question. Despite the fact that she hadn't known him for more than five minutes, she felt like she could completely trust him. She just blasted off towards the Crystal Empire to get help. As she did this, Doxia turned to gaze upon his enemy.

Pictor stood a dozen meters away. In his right hand, he held Cadence by her throat. In his left hand, he held Shining Armor by his throat.

"Put them down," said Doxia. His voice was calm, even airy, but even a fool could tell that if Pictor did anything to harm them, he would probably die the worst death possible.

"I might… if you do something for me," laughed Pictor.

"I don't do things for a murdered such as your esteemed self, Pictor," said Doxia.

Pictor slowly tightened his hold on both Cadence and Shining Armor. "Look at their faces," said Pictor in a friendly, yet sadistic, voice, "Look at their eyes. They fear death. Are you willing to let them die by not answering to me?"

Doxia looked at Cadence, and then at Shining Armor. "You two will be okay," he said, "You two will be fine."

He then looked at Pictor. "What do you want?"

"I'm going to kill you Doxia… But I want to do it elsewhere. You will willingly leave here so that we can finish this in a different dimension."

Doxia stared at Pictor for a moment. Then he said, "Done."

Doxia opened a portal and said, "I'm going to wait for you on the planet Mars in the Trumpeter of Krakow dimension. If you don't show up… or you hurt Cadence or Shining Armor… I will kill you… quite slowly I'm afraid."

Doxia stepped through the portal slowly and closed it behind him. Pictor threw both Cadence and Shining Armor away from him. "You fools," he said, "How can any of you agree to be heroes when beings like me can use you and your friends as leverage any time we choose with ease? Fools."

"No," gasped Cadence as she massaged her bruised neck, "You're the fool. We 'heroes' have something worth fighting for… loved ones."

"Those 'loved ones' will be your undoing," snarled Pictor as he opened a portal, "They are simply triggers for your most primitive and most violent emotions. They are simply nothing more than objects that I can use to achieve my own goals."

With that, he entered the portal and closed it. However, as he closed it, Cadence called out, "Good will always win. Love is more powerful than all the hate in the world."

Pictor laughed as he slammed his portal shut.

"She's right, you know," said Doxia nonchalantly from behind, "Now… tell me, why is the REAL reason you're doing this?"

"You punched me in the face; you knocked me out; you humiliated me," hissed Pictor, "I am going to make you pay."

There was a pause as Pictor and Doxia stood facing each other on the desolate landscape, a hundred meters apart.

"Well, I suppose things are going down right now, then," said Doxia. He didn't even sound close to worried.

Pictor snarled as he said, "Yes, I suppose."

Doxia shrugged, "It doesn't have to end this way, you know. You could just surrender. After all, you know what you are doing is bad."

Pictor laughed harshly, "I don't care about what you think is 'bad,' Doxia. We are the ones in control, we set the standards."

Doxia shook his head dramatically. "Ah, my friend, and that is where you go astray. You could have been a beacon for the Crystal Empire with Mattimeo. So, here is your last chance… do you surrender?"

Pictor put up his fists, "Nope."

Doxia stood there for a moment. Then he hurled a bolt of pure power. It was relatively small in size, but the earth beneath the bolt cracked, crumbled, and disintegrated as the beam passed over it. Pictor threw out a fist and it smashed into the bolt, dissipating it, but the subsequent shockwave literally shattered the whole planet into nothing.

Now floating in space, Pictor flung his arms wide. He then slammed his palms together. Suddenly, two red supergiants appeared beside Doxia. The two celestial bodies collided and went supernova. The blast cleared out the whole solar system. As the energy cleared, Doxia was still floating nonchalantly in the same position, charging up his next attack. He hurled a stream of energy, and it lanced toward Pictor.

This bolt was thin, but extraordinarily powerful. Rips in time, space, and dimensions began to form in the wake of the bolt of power, denoting the pure ferocity of the attack. Once again Pictor threw up his hands and caught the bolt. He then attempted to use his powers to dissipate the attack, but the power of the energy within the stream was too great. Soundlessly screaming, Pictor began to draw power from the surrounding stars. The heavens went dark as Pictor drew quintillions of joules worth of energy from his surroundings, all in an attempt to dissipate Doxia's attack. Suddenly Pictor forced back the beam for a split-second. He then opened up two portals, one next to Doxia, and the other in front of the beam. The beam passed through the portal and rocketed out the other, straight towards Doxia. Doxia simply caught the stream of power with his free hand, and then slammed his two fists together, connecting the stream from start to end, creating a power-loop. The beam of energy exploded. The blast was so great that everything within a million parsecs simply ceased to exist, as their matter was extinguished into nothing. Now only Pictor and Doxia remained, floating in space.

"Well," said Doxia telepathically to Pictor, "You might want to follow up with another attack, big guy, or this could end up being the shortest Dimensional Lord grudge match in the history of the universe."

Pictor was breathing heavily. However, he snapped a finger and a blast of pure time energy bubbled towards Doxia. Immediately space itself was distorted and twisted as the multiple planes of the dimension were mashed together, scarring and disfiguring the time-space continuum horribly. Doixa slammed a palm into the wave of power and separated it. Doxia grunted harshly in exertion as he forced the stream around him. As it passed him by, he retaliated. Doxia threw a fist forward, as if to punch Pictor. Another bolt of power left his hand, and it lanced toward Pictor. As it flew towards him, massive tears in the dimension began to appear as the presence of the energy bolt dissolved the whole structural integrity of the universe. Pictor blasted towards the attack and smashed into it head-on, still drawing power from his surroundings, draining stars of their power from as far away as a few million parsecs. Doxia's attack ruptured as Pictor struck it… and the whole universe warped. Physics shattered, molecular chemistry went haywire, and the universe began to slowly cease to exist. As for Pictor… the blast sent him spinning away at about three times the speed of light. However, Pictor quickly recovered and he teleported back to his original position, a hundred meters from Doxia. His armor was badly damaged, and there was a hairline crack on his helmet, which was now dented in multiple places. He breathed heavily as the universe around them roiled and ruptured.

"This… isn't… over… Doxia…" gasped Pictor. He then shimmered and vanished, no doubt having evacuated to the phantom dimension of Amethyst. Doxia sighed sadly as he watched the universe around him simply ceased to exist.

"Such a waste… and for what? This is not how the multiverse should go. There should be love, peace, acceptance, compassion, mercy, and hope. But where that should be, only hate and mistrust dwells. The Paradox must be stopped. The demons must be stopped. The multiverse must be given a chance to prove that despite the outlook of things, good has always been stronger than evil… always," murmured Doxia to himself. Giving the dying dimension one last mournful glance, he opened up a portal to the My Little Pony dimension once more and floated through.

Cadence looked up from where she sat with Shining Armor, in the exact spot where Pictor had left them. They were with Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and several crystal pony guards.

"Doxia!" exclaimed Cadence joyfully as he stepped through his portal. Doxia waved to her and said, "Hey everyone! I hope you're all fine!"

"We are!" said Rarity, "But what about yourself, darling?"

"A little shaken up, perhaps, but overall I'm fine. However, I could use a good cheering up from a group of best friends right about now," replied Doxia promptly.

No sooner had he said that then Cadence had seized him in a hug.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I cannot tell you guys how much fun I had writing up the fight between Doxia and Pictor. I had to throw every possible caution to the wind when describing the battle because of the immensity of the raw power of the two beings. Anyway, don't forget the R&amp;R stuff!<strong>


	57. Chapter 57 - Moving Right Along

**Note: I made a couple of changes to chapters 52, 54, and 55; mostly just spelling changes (though on 52, I wrote a little bit on what Cadence and Shining's worst fear was when they were hit by Sombra's dark magic). I've also made a couple of changes to the Franklin section of the guide. Additionally I uploaded an awesome picture of Twilight Sparkle and Flaming Star to the wikia page. Anyway, enough with the updates... on to the story!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Amethyst<em>

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: Summit Meeting room 8, floor 9853171_

_Time: Unknown_

Pictor strolled into the meeting room with purpose. His armor was now repaired, and his masked helmet had been fixed and polished.

"I got everything on video," he said briskly, "It's ready… to… go… What are you doing?"

This was specifically addressed to the Paradox, who was standing at the window, with one of his armored hand pressed against the glass.

"I've tried so hard, Pictor," sighed the Paradox as he stared out into space, "I've tried so hard to show everyone that good will always outlive evil… but there is too much. There is simply too much."

Pictor slowly began to back out of the room, realizing that his leader was slowly becoming more unstable. "I thought you were damning them all earlier," said Pictor.

"Perhaps I was. How can I not when they are all too weak to quench the evil that dwells in this multiverse?"

"Well… how can you?"

"They are fools, Pictor. They have to stare into the abyss, and be strong enough to pull themselves out of it, changed but victorious. They have to become monsters to fight the monsters. That is the only way evil will be destroyed. But then… but then all that will be left are the new monsters, the new heroes-turned-horrors. This is why they must all die."

"Why?"

"They are not strong enough to fight the evil, and if they are, they only live long enough to see themselves turn evil. Only a person in authority, with a sound mind and a sound conviction, can see this end. That person will be me."

"Are you sound of mind, Paradox? Truly… are you?"

The Paradox turned his head to look straight at Pictor. "Maybe I am, maybe I am not," was all he said at first. There was a pause, then he said, "Once again, madness is only a definition determined by those in authority. We are the gods now, Pictor, we determine what the norm is."

Pictor growled under his breath and then snapped, "Cut it out, Paradox! I have the damn video you wanted!"

The Paradox turned to Pictor again and said, "Excellent. Are you airing it?"

On a telepathic signal, Pictor pulled up a holographic projection. A light went from red to green. "It is now," said the Pictor, "It is on live-feed on every update alert for every Dimensional Lord."

The two stood side-by-side as they watched the edited version of the video feed. According to this, Doxia viciously attacked Pictor, who was trying to convince him to return to his people.

"You cannot keep killing people!" exclaimed the Pictor in the video, "We know what is right and what is wrong. You know for a FACT that that is wrong!"

"Ah," replied the Doxia on the screen, "my friend, and that is where you go astray. You could have been a beacon for the Crystal Empire with Mattimeo. So, here is you last chance… do you surrender?"

The Paradox stiffened. "Is this airing?" he snapped harshly.

Pictor nodded, a little confused.

The Paradox sighed in resignation and relaxed, almost mournfully. Pictor glanced at his and said, "What is it?"

"Doxia said, 'You could have been a beacon for the Crystal Empire with Mattimeo.' Does that phrase even make any sense?" asked the Paradox slowly.

Pictor shook his head wordlessly. Then he stopped… and then he facepalmed.

"It was a code," muttered the Paradox, now ignoring Pictor, "He was relaying a code. He knew it was a setup, and decided to play right into it so that he, in turn, could spread a code to all of his allies. So now there is some good new and some bad news. The good news is that we've probably convinced several more Dimensional Lords that Doxia needs to be brought down. The bad news is that Mattimeo, and probably Meadolax, will be returning from where they are in the multiverse to lend aid to Doxia. Need I remind you that both Mattimeo and Meadolax are exceptionally powerful in their own right?"

"No," snarled Pictor, absolutely livid with anger. How the hell had Doxia known about the setup? How the hell could he have been smart enough to turn it back onto them with such ease?

"Well, no matter, we need to proceed with the plan. We need to find out where the beacon crystals are, and we need to do it soon. Is there any word about the Brothers in Arms corps?" said the Paradox.

Pictor nodded as he opened up several holographic screens. "Yes. They have found Dimensional Traveler Evan Funsch. They have returned to the My Little Pony dimension."

The Paradox rocked back and forth in his large white chair slowly as he said, "Good. The pony that holds the secret to the location of the mysterious vials is Sapphire Anemone, correct? She's the sister of the former King Sombra, I believe."

Pictor nodded his head.

"Very well," said the Paradox, standing up decisively, "I have another addition to the Great Plan. Get word to Elite Phasetrooper number four hundred. I have a task for her."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Mountains_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of Doxia_

"We're lost," said Franklin as he twirled his sniper rifle in the air, not at all sounding worried about their predicament.

"Of course we're lost!" snapped Wild, "I said that five minutes ago, and I am the one who's leading you guys around!"

Evan glanced at Daniel, who was lumbering behind them quietly. "Why haven't we sent Daniel into the air to look for landmarks?"

Wild stopped in his tracks momentarily. Then he said, "Because we totally forgot. That's why. Daniel, could you take to the air and look for landmarks?"

As Daniel nodded and blasted off, Funsch laughed, "I'm surprised you guys survived this long as a team. You three are terrible at working together, really."

"We've had better times," muttered Franklin as he strapped his sniper rifle to his back.

"No doubt," said Funsch briskly.

At that moment Daniel touched down. A bright red female crystal earth pony was on his back.

Wild immediately began to growl, and shadows began to curl around his hoofs in black tendrils of power.

Both Daniel and the pony ignored Wild as Daniel said, "This is Ruby Blossom. She was lost as well."

Wild, who was still making it obvious that he was adverse to the additional company, snapped, "How did you get lost… Ruby Blossom?"

Ruby, still acting oblivious to his hostility, smiled at him and said, "Oh, I had a message from this pony named Pinkie Pie addressed to someone named Rarity. However, she ran off to help Princess Cadence with something, so I tried to follow them. Unfortunately, unlike them, I got lost. I really appreciate the lift, mister dragon."

Daniel dipped his head respectively as he said, "Please… call me Daniel."

Ruby gave him a bright smile and patted him on the back as she got off. Franklin nodded his head to her and said, "We're friends of both Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Could you tell us the message, please?"

Ruby looked a little unsure, but then she caught the hostile glare coming from Wild and nodded her head. Looking a little flustered, she said, "Well… They were trying to cheer up my friend, Sapphire Anemone. She supposedly knows something really important or something like that. Anyway, Pinkie Pie wanted Rarity to come back for some help. I really need to find Rarity."

Daniel said, "I'll find them. We're in open country, I should be able to locate her and Princess Cadence in no time." He took to the air again.

Both Wild and Funsch were eying Ruby suspiciously, so Franklin slowly sidled over next to her, trying to make her less uncomfortable.

"Have you seen humans before?" asked Franklin, "I mean, you seem quite calm."

Ruby nodded and smiled, "No, I've never seen your type before, but our world is filled with many wondrous things. As for me being calm… well… I was always good at that."

Franklin blinked. "Okay. Well… anyways…"

There was a long and awkward pause, as Funsch and Wild continued to eye her with distrust. Luckily for both Ruby and Franklin, Daniel arrived.

As he landed, he said, "I've found them. Both Rarity and Princess Cadence are with some group farther up north. Everyone onto my back. I'll take you guys there."

"I remember when you threated to maul me if I touched you scales… a long time ago? Remember, Daniel?" chuckled Franklin as he clambered on.

"Shut up," snapped Daniel. He then spread his great wings and took off with massive flaps.

In moments they were high above the ground, rapidly approaching the area Daniel had claimed he had spotted Rarity. In moments more, they were circling the area. Franklin pulled out his sniper rifle and scoped out the ground below.

"It most certainly is Rarity and Cadence," reported Franklin, "They are with Rainbow Dash, a couple of guards… and it looks like the Paradox. Guess they're all going to be dead in a couple of seconds. Fancy that."

Without waiting for Franklin to say more, both Wild and Funsch leapt from Daniels back and began to dive, in freefall, towards the group on the ground far below.

"Was it something I said?" chuckled Franklin as he, too, leapt off Daniel's back.

After several seconds of falling through the air unobstructed, Franklin conjured up a parachute pack, which he swiftly strapped to his back. He pulled the cord, and the cute opened in the nick of time, decelerating him just enough that he was able to land without breaking or bruising anything. He threw away the chute just as Daniel, Ruby, Funsch and Wild joined him. They sprinted towards the group as Franklin yelled, "Paradox! Get away from them!"

The giant being, who was Doxia, straightened up and turned around to face the oncoming group. He threw up his hands in mock horror.

"Oh noes!" he declared, "I've been caught! Just as a quick note: why does everyone I meet automatically assume that I'm the Paradox and then subsequently try to kill me?"

"You do look a lot like the Paradox, darling," commented Rarity as she trotted up to stand next to him.

Franklin skidded to a stop in front of Doxia and quickly looked him up and down. He then turned to Wild and gesticulated wildly, "In my defense, he TOTALLY looks like the Paradox. Don't get mad."

Wild was too intrigued by Doxia himself to really be mad. He just ignored Franklin and said, to Doxia, "Who are you?"

Doxia gave Wild a flourishing bow as he said, "I am Doxia! Former member of the Paradox's brotherhood and professional stunt double for him apparently. I also like ice cream."

"My apologies, Doxia," said Funsch briskly, "But, as I am sure you know, we are a little at odds with your leader."

"My former leader," corrected Doxia, "I understand that you are trying to bring him down… and so am I! So, I guess Franklin can put his sniper rifle down before I turn it into a gerbil, and we can talk like civilized beings who haven't had too much beer. Except for Wild. He always acts like he's had too much beer."

Wild rolled his eyes, but said, "You know of us?"

Doxia nodded. "Of course! I was the one who told the firstborn to tell Daniel to let you on their team. I was also the one to tell you guys to ask Funsch where Jetfire is. Jet fire should know where Finnian Jones lives."

"Wait, you are the one who set them on the path of this wild goose chase?" interjected Funsch, "Don't you know Finnain Jones is a myth?"

"I would normally agree with someone as illustrious as yourself, Evan," said Doixa, "If not for the fact that I was the one who gave Finnian Jones his dimensional traveler powers. Thus… I have to disagree: he does exist."

Funsch blinked, a little shocked. However, he then nodded and took a step back.

"Rarity! Pinkie wants you to know that she needs your help with Sapphire Anemone! She cannot help her alone!" said Ruby after a pause.

"Who is this Sapphire Anemone anyway?" asked Wild, "Why is she so important?"

"She holds the location of something that I hold rather dear. Imagine that you lost your favorite teddy bear. That is like me and my, um, something," said Doxia cheerfully, "Perhaps you guys could help?"

Franklin straightened up and stretched for no reason whatsoever as he said, "Nope. Nope. Nope. We are fighters, not clowns in pink tutus."

Doxia leaned in close and said, "You know, you guys do look like clowns if I squint my eyes."

Doxia then dropped his cheerful attitude. "Franklin... Sapphire Anemone won't talk to other ponies. You know why? It's because she lost her brother. She lost a family member that she dearly loved, and it hurt her. It is still hurting her."

Franklin slowly crouched down as Doxia talked. He stared off into space as he said, "She lost somebody close to them…"

He then stood up and said, "I guess I will talk to her. Perhaps I can make her understand how to cope with the loss of a sibling."

Doxia nodded his head and then turned to the rest of the group. "We should go now, fellow ponies, and dragons, and humans!" he exclaimed dramatically.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of Doxia_

Caustic Rain shook his head as he and Luna flew in the chariot over the city of Canterlot to the castle.

"This is NOT going to turn out too well," he mumbled to himself. This statement seemed to become more and more real as they drew closer to the castle and began to land in the courtyard of the castle.

The second they set down, Caustic Rain was surrounded by Luna's infamous Night Guard. Caustic Rain pressed his ears against his skull and began to slowly draw forward his control over acids. However, before he was provoked into an attack, Luna said, "Stand down, guards. He is with me."

The Night Guards actually blinked in surprise, but they did back down. At this moment, Celestia actually trotted up to greet her sister. She smiled as she said, "Greetings Luna! Who is this?"

Caustic Rain looked away belligerently, so Luna answered for him. "This is Caustic Rain. He is a dimensional traveler."

Celestia cocked her head to one side. "A dimensional traveler, you say? Why is he not with Flaming Star or Sunset Shadow?"

"Because he is with me," was all that Luna said.

Celestia eyed her sister in silent surprise, but nodded her head. "We have the guest wing," Celestia said, "He can have his choice of rooms."

"I want him to have the secondary royal bedroom, Celestia," interjected Luna, "the one adjacent to me. This way I can find him easier."

"So, what, you can make sure I don't run away?" snorted Caustic Rain, "I really don't like what's happening, but I trust you Luna, you don't need to be suspicious."

"It is not that, Caustic Rain," replied Luna, "You will see shortly."

Caustic Rain eyed Luna with bemusement, but then sighed, "I suppose… I suppose being in the next bedroom won't be too bad."

"I do not know about that," said Celestia, "Luna, could I talk to you for a moment?"

Caustic Rain narrowed his eyes at the two princesses as they moved away to talk.

"Why are you doing this, Luna?" whispered Celestia.

"I want him to feel loved!" replied Luna.

"What do you mean?"

"I was in his dreams. This poor colt has suffered terrors beyond imagination. It has torn out his heart, just like how Sunset Shadow when he first came. However, he is not yet over the brink, he has not yet become a killer. I think I can pull him back."

"I do not wish to seem cynical, sister, but why do you care?"

"I care because I see a little of myself in him, and, as I said, I want him to feel loved. He is very important to Equestria's future."

"What do you mean?"

"A wondrous, winged human called an Archangel visited him. Almost immediately afterward, Doxia showed up as well, looking for him. Something is going on, and he is directly involved."

"I see. However, it would seem to me that being visited by such powerful beings only brings chaos, something that I understand we both wish to avoid. You risk being embroiled in this said chaos if you continue to stand by this colt. I am sorry sister, but it just… you have never acted in such a manner before… except for when you first met Regal Crescent. Are you okay?"

Luna looked away, nervous and slightly perturbed as strange emotions bubbled inside her chest. "I… I do not know. I just want him to feel loved."

Celestia looked at her sister curiously for a couple for seconds. Then she sighed and smiled. "Very well. He can stay."

Luna smiled back at her sister and dipped her head. She then turned to Caustic Rain and placed a hoof gently on his shoulder. Caustic Rain actually looked shocked by the gesture, but did not do anything to stop it.

"Come," said Luna, "Follow me. I will show you to your room. Then I will take you on a ground tour of the castle. I am quite sure you will enjoy it."

Caustic Rain, still a little unsure of what was going on, nodded his head numbly and went to follow her. They slowly trotted away side-by-side. Celestia chuckled to herself as the two disappeared around a corner of the castle.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Oh, I have decided to write another set of "Recollections" chapters. I understand that one of you really wants me to proceed with the story without any more flashbacks, but I think this set is very necessary. I realized I needed Franklin's personality developed a bit more before he went to talk with Sapphire Anemone. Additionally I left both Twilight and Flaming Star "in the gulch" so to speak with their initial proposal for marriage. They are what is going up next. Again, I want to add that this flashback set is very relevant to the story. Anyway, don't forget the R&amp;R stuff!<strong>


	58. Chapter 58 - Past Days (Part 1)

**Note: So... many... awesome... reviews! Yes! Anyway, I was seriously considering putting some form of an April's Fools joke somewhere in this chapter, but then I opted not to, because it was not really worth it. So you guys will not have to worry about it! Here is part one of the new set of "Recollections" chapters that will observe the events unfolding in Ponyville after the death of Miranda. Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Hospital_

_Time: A couple of days after the death of Miranda_

Twilight opened her eyes groggily. She was in a hospital. Her room was cozy and small, with a picture frame of a mountain range to her left, a window to her right, and the door to her front. Just beside her was a heart monitor that gave off a fait "beeping" noise. Next to her head, fast asleep, was a disheveled and absolutely exhausted Flaming Star. She smiled a little, still a tad bit detached from reality, as she patted his head absent-mindedly. Suddenly the door to her room creaked open, and Rainbow Dash peeked her head in. She noticed that Twilight was awake, and was about to exclaim something when she also noticed the unconscious form of Flaming Star. She bit her lip for a moment, stifling her acclamations of joy. Then she trotted in, motioning to some ponies behind her to follow. It was her, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy. The Mane 6 were reunited. Twilight smile grew a little bit larger at the sight of her best friends, and she motioned with her head for them to come closer.

"How are you?" whispered Rarity, "You were really hurt. Is it true? Were you actually cut open?"

Twilight shivered a little bit as she nodded her head wordlessly.

"If I find the one who is responsible for that… he's in for some rump-kicking!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash in not-so-hushed tones.

"Woah there. Rainbow Dash," whispered Applejack, "Let's not go a-gettin' ourselves all riled up now."

Pinkie Pie bounced up and lightly poked the sleeping form of Flaming Star. "Ooooooh… he's sleeping like a baby. Should we wake him up!?"

For the first time that day, Twilight spoke. "I don't think we should, Pinkie. He spent every bit of energy healing my wounds."

"So it was HIM. He was the one who fixed you all up and the likes!" said Applejack.

"He was always a chill guy," chuckled Rainbow Dash.

"We owe him a bigger debt than we can ever repay," breathed Fluttershy.

"Something tells me that we won't ever need to worry 'bout that," said Applejack.

Twilight sighed dreamily and stared off into the distance. Rainbow Dash lifted into the air and floated upside-down in front of her line of vision. "Um… Twilight? Are you okay?"

Twilight continued to stare off into the distance. "Huh? Oh… yes. I am…"

"Don't look like that Twi, are you sure?" said Applejack, concern in her voice.

Twilight closed her eyes and said, "Flaming Star asked if I would marry him. I said yes."

"He said WHAT?" burst out Rainbow Dash. She fell from the sky and landed on top of the bed with a crash. Flaming Star's eyes snapped open and he fell over backwards.

"What? Who? Where?" He exclaimed as he scramble up.

"You're getting married Twilight? What happened to letting your best friends know? I mean, this is literally the worst possible time to get married!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, leaping from the bed.

"I don't know… I think this is wonderful," murmured Fluttershy, smiling shyly.

"Of course it is, darling!" said Rarity, "It's just that Equestria and all the surrounding countries are in absolute chaos!"

Flaming Star rubbed his eyes. "So… I don't have your guys' blessings?"

Applejack trotted over and put a hoof on his shoulder and said, "Of course you do, sugar cube. We couldn't be happier. I guess we're just shocked and all."

"I'll begin working on the wedding schematics," said Rarity, rather gleefully.

Rainbow Dash scuffed a hoof on the ground, and then smiled. "I'm sorry. I was just surprised. You two would be awesome together."

Pinkie nodded her head. "Oh yes indeedie! I LOVE wedding parties!"

There was a pause, then Rainbow Dash said, "We will give you two space."

With that, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie left. Fluttershy stayed for a moment longer. She gave Twilight and Flaming Star smile. "I'm so happy for you two!" She then left with the rest.

Flaming Star hopped onto the bed next to Twilight and said, "How are you doing today?"

Twilight sighed as she settled back in her bed and said, "My stomach is really sore."

Flaming Star grimaced as his mind flash backed to the time when he had to seal up her belly. "You were pretty much dissected. I swear… I will find the one who did this to you and make him pay."

Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder and said, "Something tells he already paid for a little bit."

Flaming Star glanced at her. "What do you mean?"

"The being that had me tortured, he was attacked by someone. They strolled straight up to him and punched him so hard in the face that the walls cracked and crumbled."

Flaming Star massaged his temples for a moment. "Wait… are you telling me that you were rescued?"

Twilight nodded. Then she gave him a bright smile.

Flaming Star momentarily forgot his questions and worries and grinned back. "Twilight… your smile is absolutely amazing. It brightens my whole day."

Twilight reached up and lightly touched Flaming Star's cheek. Flaming Star brushed back a stray strand of mane from her face and said, "It is time that I go, dear."

He got up, but just before he left, Twilight grabbed a hoof. She pulled him close and kissed him.

They held the kiss for a moment, before Flaming Star eased away, blushing profusely. "I've never done that before…" he muttered.

Twilight giggled a little. "Neither have I…"

Flaming Star scratched the back of his head nervously, then said, "I… I… I guess I should be going. You need to rest. I love you."

Twilight smiled dreamily as she closed her eyes. "I love you too."

Flaming Star closed the door and pressed his back against it. He slowly slid down to the floor, where he sat on his haunches. He sat there for a moment as he thought over what had just transpired. Was he even ready for such a commitment? What did marriage even mean? Could he even trust himself? He immediately marked the last question as a negative. For all his life, all he had ever thought about was himself. Naturally he had been a good teammate, but that was because he only wanted to be seen as the greatest that ever was, the leader of the whole show. Whenever a teammate got in the way of his title of "greatest traveler ever," he didn't hesitate to leave them behind. Now… now he was in Equestria, betrothed to a sweet mare who had unconditionally loved and comforted him from the beginning. And for the last year they had dated and spent time together, trying to get to know one another. He knew Twilight pretty well now, of course. He knew her favorite color, her favorite food, and her favorite book (actually, it was favorite books). He knew how messy an eater she was when it came to fast food, and how thunderstorms during the night made her subconsciously drool into her pillow. And he knew how much she loved him. Of course, she knew a lot about him as well. She knew his favorite color, his favorite food, and his favorite book. She knew how he ate, and how he slept. And she knew how much he loved her… or did she?

Flaming Star groaned, almost audibly. Could he trust himself to love her unconditionally like she unconditionally loved him? If he didn't, then that poor mare would suffer pains in her heart far beyond the pain of the torture she had endured, and he would never be able to live with himself afterwards. The risks were so great… but so were the rewards. However, just because one pony truly loves another does not mean that they are meant for one another. This last thought caused Flaming Star to bite his lip until it bled. After a moment more of frantic thought, he got up shakily and galloped off to Sunset's house. He would know what to do.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: A couple of days after the death of Miranda_

Franklin sat on a tree stump overlooking the cave where the tree of Harmony stood. From where he sat, he could see Celestia, Luna, and Sunset Shadow looking over the tree, their horns glowing with magic as they ran diagnostics on it. Franklin shook his head as Celestia turned to Sunset and shook her own head. Sunset looked at his hoofs for a moment, and then turned away. He trotted away from the cave and made his way up to where Franklin sat.

"No luck?" muttered Franklin as he looked away.

Sunset shook his head. "No luck. Whatever that tree was made of, it does not match anything. Magic has no effect on it, and no components match the database. It literally is not of this universe… or this multiverse. The materials are completely unknown to us."

Franklin ground his teeth. "And my sister gave up her life to keep the Paradox from touching that useless piece of junk."

Sunset put a hoof on Franklin's shoulder, but he shook it off viciously. "No, Franklin," said Sunset, "She gave up her life for me. She sacrificed all that she had to protect me… and I don't understand why."

Sunsets voice broke then, and he, too, looked away. He was overcome by emotions. Why had Miranda sacrificed her life for him? She barely even knew him, and all the memories that she did have of him were when he was the "madman of the multiverse." Usually, Sunset rather prided himself on his ability to help others come to terms with their issues and losses, an ability that Fluttershy had taught him over the years they had lived together… but now he too was at a loss.

"I've… I've got to go," mumbled Sunset, feeling like a failure. He got up and just left Franklin, just sitting there.

Head down, Sunset slowly trotted to his house. Fortunately, he met Fluttershy on the way there.

He smiled a little at the sight of her wonderful face. "Hello dear," he mumbled, "How are you? Where is Starlight?"

Fluttershy lightly nuzzled his cheek. "I'm fine, thank you. Starlight is with Mrs. Cake. She agreed to watch her while I visited Twilight."

"Twilight! That's right! How is she?"

"She's doing well. Did you know that she agreed to marry Flaming Star?"

"She did? That's wonderful! How are the rest taking it?"

"They're a little surprised, I suppose, but I guess it is because of all the trouble that has been happening in Equestria. But, if two ponies love each other, and they understand what love means, then they belong with one another."

"And that is why I consider you the wisest being in the multiverse, dear. Speaking of wisdom… I was wondering if you could help me with something."

"Yes?"

"Well… We've been married for three years, and in those three years, you have taught me more about empathy, compassion, love, and kindness than I think I have learned in all my life. I consider you my role model, basically. Whenever some pony comes to me for advice about an issue, I think to myself, 'what would Fluttershy say'?"

Fluttershy blushed and looked down at her hoofs, hiding her face within her long, flowing, pink mane.

"I need your help, Fluttershy," continued Sunset, "I don't know what to do. Both Franklin and I are deeply hurt and confused by Miranda's death. I mean… why did she sacrifice her life… for me?"

Once again, Sunset's voice caught in his throat, and he took a deep, shaking, breath. Fluttershy looked up at Sunset and gazed into his eyes. They held the stare for a moment, and then she said, "That is simple: she did it because of us."

Sunset blinked.

Fluttershy continued. "Remember how she was so insistent with placing herself in danger in order to protect you? This was because of me, and Starlight Amber. She knew that we were a family, and that we would be a broken one if you died. She valued our wellbeing, and our happiness far above her own life."

Sunset shook his head, unable to speak. Tears began to well up in his eyes as his throat became raw with emotion.

Tears, too, began to flow down Fluttershy's cheeks as she continued to talk. "She never asked for anything in return. All she wanted was for us to be happy. She loved other ponies so much that she didn't care if she died… as long as the people she cared about could be together."

Sunset finally found his voice. "That is what makes a true hero. If there ever was one, it would be Miranda. That is why the Paradox will never prevail."

Sunset bowed his head. "She deserved that speech when she was buried."

Then he straightened up and gave Fluttershy a hug. "I'm going to talk to Franklin now," he said, "I think I know what to say."

He then trotted back into the Everfree forest. He found Franklin still sitting on the tree stump where he had been since the break of dawn. Sunset sat next to Franklin wordlessly. There was a pause, then Sunset started speaking.

"Franklin… what do you think Miranda's last thoughts were?" asked Sunset slowly.

Franklin shrugged derisively. "I don't know. Probably how cold she felt, and how much the hole in her side hurt."

Sunset shook his head. "I may not be Miranda's brother, Franklin, but I am pretty sure she died thinking of all of us."

Franklin glanced at him for a moment. Then he looked away. Sunset continued, "She was one of the kindest beings I have ever met. She was selfless, loving, and kind. She sacrificed herself for me because she didn't want Fluttershy to be widowed. She willingly gave up her life so that I could live on in happiness. She wouldn't want us mourning, she would want us to celebrate the life that she gave through her death."

Franklin shook his head. "I lost my sister. My only living relative. I lost my last connection to my past… and my future," he said belligerently.

"No," said Sunset, "You haven't. As long as you remember Miranda for who she was, she will be with you. What was the last thing she ever said directly to you?"

Franklin closed his eyes. "She said that she loved me, and that we would never be truly separate."

Sunset nodded his head. "Remember that. Remember those words. Honor her and move on. She is not really gone."

Franklin nodded. Sunset smiled and patted him on the back. He then got up and left, feeling a whole lot more at peace with himself than before. As he trotted through the quiet Everfree forest, he wondered what the future held in store for them. The Paradox seemed quite bent on destroying everything, and he possessed the firepower to do it. Without any effort, he could strip them of their powers, and leave them defenseless. They would need great amounts of help if they could even hope to take him down. Sunset was slowly beginning to brood over their dire predicament when Flaming Star joined him.

"There you are, Torrus," said Flaming Star briskly, "I really need to talk to you."

Sunset shook his head. "I really should be with my lovely wife right now, firstborn."

Flaming Star pulled ahead and turned around, blocking Sunset's path. "I really, really, really, really, really need to talk to you."

Sunset cocked his head to one side. Then he sat down on the road and motioned Flaming Star to do the same. "I suppose here is as good a place to have such a discussion as any."

Flaming Star sat down next to Sunset and said, "I need help. It's about me and Twilight."

Sunset grinned. "That's right! I heard you finally pulled yourself together enough to ask your fillyfriend to marry you!"

Flaming Star grimaced. "I did. And now I am beginning to think it was a mistake."

Sunset glanced at Flaming Star with raised eyebrows. "You think? What seems to be the problem?"

"I don't trust myself, Sunset!" burst out Flaming Star, "I've spent about eight thousand years of my life thinking only of myself, and only a year and a half thinking about others. The difference is too great, can I really make myself believe I can put other beings' needs before mine? Even if those needs are from a sweet, loving, beautiful, kind, wonderful mare like Twilight…"

Sunset smiled. "Look at what we have here. Here am I, a twenty-two-year-old who has a wife and a filly, and I am giving love advice to an eight-thousand-year-old who is terrified of females."

Flaming Star glared at Sunset. "This isn't funny. I really am having a crisis here."

Grinning, Sunset nodded his head. "Of course you are. Do you know what love is?"

Flaming Star opened his mouth, then closed it. Not in all his life had he been asked such a question, nor had he ever had time to pursue such answers.

Sunset smiled sagely. "Love is what you said: putting someone other's needs before your own willingly. True love is when you can do that over and over again for eternity. Love has no record system, no past can effect it. You are who you are today, not what the past made you originally out to be. It doesn't matter if you were a selfish, moronic, idiot in the days of the past, what matters is the Flaming Star of today. So I will ask you right now, are you willing to love Twilight with all your heart?"

Flaming Star thought about it for a moment. "I am. But what if I falter?"

"It's only natural that you will falter, it is part of our nature. But your love for Twilight will let you overcome those issues time and time again in perfect harmony. If you truly love Twilight, as you claim, then you will not fear the past, but will look to the future with hope of many years together with your beloved. I can tell you from experience, if you love somepony, and they love you back, nothing will ever be able to separate you two."

Flaming Star stared quietly at the ground, processing everything that Sunset had just said. After five minutes had passed and still he had said nothing, Sunset just smiled and got up.

"I cannot think of a better husband for Twilight in any timeline, alternate or otherwise, than you, Abimael 'James' Sethson."

Sunset then left, as Flaming Star's eyes filled with determination. He loved Twilight, and he was not going to let his doubts get in the way of what he knew he could do.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: That is it for part 1! Now on to part 2! Well, by now you guys know the regular routine... give me feedback! Oh, I would like to comment on how AWESOME all you guys are. I don't think this story would be what it is now without all the encouragement, corrections (100% of them being of the relevant type), and OC travelers you guys have given me! Thank you sooooo much! Okay, we are moving on now...<strong>


	59. Chapter 59 - Past Days (Part 2)

**Note: Here is part two! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Outskirts of Ponyville_

_Time: A couple of days after the death of Miranda_

Night Shade sat on a swing set in a small park. Franklin was somewhere in the Everfree forest, and Daniel was with Celestia, trying to calm the uproars in Bray, Saddle Arabia, the Crystal Empire, Irrum, and Equus. He was alone, and, for the first time, he felt completely abandoned.

His foster father, the Paradox, had openly denounced him, and had tried to kill Sunset, and then killed Miranda. Night Shade had no parents now as far as he was concerned. For eight years he had thought himself finally detached from the little orphan boy's world that he had been born into, but now here he was, a colt in a distant dimension… and yet he was still an orphan. He didn't cry, he had run out of tears to expend, but he did feel very numb. To be so young and have your entire world demolished in a single stroke was devastating, and he had felt the full blast.

He was so lost in brooding thought that he did not notice four figures approach the playground: Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, and Button Mash. Apparently they, too, did not notice him at first, for they were talking amongst themselves.

"And then they told Jan, 'Mister, you have to stop making Button Mash seem so awesome on the web! Here is a cease and desist letter, have a nice day!' Can you believe it? Absolutely outrageous! I am just glad they backed off a little bit. Let's hope more comes back as time goes on…" said Button Mash vehemently as they trotted onto the grounds.

Scootaloo just chuckled. Then she noticed Night Shade. At first she was confused by the fact that a dimensional traveler, even one as young as Night Shade, was sitting on a swing all along, not out saving the world or something relatively similar. Then she remembered what had happened to him between him and the Paradox.

"Um… hey…" said Scootaloo to Night Shade. Then Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, and Button Mash noticed him as well.

"I really don't want to talk to you all right now. Please go away," muttered Night Shade, more to himself than anyone else.

Sweetie Bell blinked, but then motioned to the rest to follow her. She understood. However, while both Button Mash and Apple Bloom followed her Scootaloo stayed behind. She wasn't quite sure why, but she felt really sorry for Night Shade. Perhaps it was because he was a young Pegasus like her, perhaps it wasn't. She was unsure. However, she had felt drawn to admire and like the black Pegasus the moment he had shown up. She had always felt an interest in the dimensional travelers, and even play-acted as one sometimes when no pony was watching, but Night Shade was truly even more interesting. And right now she didn't want anything else but to see him happy. She had always admired him because of the control he showed. He had been through so much, and it gave him qualities that she wish that she had. Of course, she admired her adopted big sister, Rainbow Dash, but even she lacked the haunted wisdom that Night Shade had inherited on the terrifying battlefield. But could anything help the colt come out of the stupor he was currently in? It really didn't matter, because she trotted straight over anyway and sat down on the adjacent swing. Night Shade didn't even glance her way. He continued to stare off into the distance and brood.

"A while ago, I would have done what you are doing now if I had troubles," said Scootaloo, "I would have just sat and not said anything. But one day, Rainbow Dash said that she would be like my bigger sister, and everything changed. Now when I am sad, or worried, I can talk to her, and she can help me through things. That is what friends and family are for."

"Well, perhaps I would consider your advice if I was a family member, but I'm not. So go away," sighed Night Shade.

Scootaloo lapsed into silence for a moment, then she said, "Well… maybe… maybe you could pretend for a moment that I was part of your family... then perhaps you could tell me about it?"

Night Shade actually thought about it for a moment. Then he said, "I was an orphan for the first three years of my life. I have no idea how I managed to survive, but I did. Then the Paradox took me in. He raised me like I was his son. He taught me how to fight, and how to protect others. He gave me a mission: to spread justice throughout the multiverse. Well… then I discovered that it was all a lie. He never really cared about me, all he really cared about was his stupid master plan to destroy everything. Now I am once again without a family."

Scootaloo looked down at her hoofs. Then she said, "Are you going to leave?"

Night Shade shook his head slowly. "I don't know. I have no place to go now. I guess the only thing I have left to do is follow my teammates to wherever they go. But the truth is… I don't want to go with them anymore."

Scootaloo glanced up from her hoofs and looked at Night Shade. Night Shade sighed deeply and then started talking.

"You see, Scootaloo, I am only eleven. I suppose you could tell that by my physical attributes. Anyway, I've been fighting to survive for my entire life, but now… I'm sick of it. I want it to stop. I want a home. But… I guess I'm never really destined to have one."

Scootaloo thought about what Night Shade had said. Then she looked at Night Shade again and said, "You have no family and you have no place to go?"

Night Shade nodded and buried his face in his hooves. Then Scootaloo said, "You could come live with my family and me!"

Night Shade looked up and blinked. Then he shook his head. "I couldn't. I am sure your family wouldn't want a liability… especially one who has become an enemy of the greatest power ever."

Scootaloo got up and took Night Shade by the hoof. "Nonsense! I am an only child! That is… if you don't count Rainbow Dash. I am sure my parents would love to have one more family member. Another pony who could love them, and watch over me."

Scootaloo blushed a little as she said the last part, but she meant every word of it. She wanted a big brother, she always had. Night Shade did not know what to think. Could he really bring himself to allow people, or ponies, back into his heart? He struggled with himself, but after a single glance at Scootaloo's innocent and hopeful, he knew that he could.

"I don't know. I really don't know…" was all he said, however. Nevertheless, he knew that he really meant yes.

"Come on! If I know my parents, they will accept you quicker than you could possibly imagine. I look forward to calling you brother!" Scotaloo said cheerfully, hoping with all her heart that this Pegasus, this dimensional traveler, could be someone that she could feel close to and look up to, just like Rainbow Dash.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Hospital_

_Time: A couple of days after the death of Miranda_

Flaming Star sighed deeply as he approached the door to Twilight's hospital room. He reached up and knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Flaming Star pushed the door open a crack and peeked through. Twilight was lying in her bed, with Spike beside her. Spike was drawing something on a pad of paper while Twilight was reading a large book. The moment Twilight caught sight of Flaming Star, her eyes light up and she gave him a bright smile.

Spike looked up as well and chortled. He jogged Twilight lightly with an elbow and said, "Hey Twi! It looks like your coltfriend is here."

Twilight smiled. "Spike, he's not my coltfriend anymore."

Spike blinked. He looked at Twilight, and then at Flaming Star, and then back at Twilight.

"I… What? Who?"

Twilight patted the baby dragon on the head as she said, "I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you this earlier… but we're getting married!"

Spike blinked again. Then he fainted.

"That baby dragon has really got to work on controlling himself," chuckled Flaming Star as he conjured up a glass of water from thin air. He quickly doused the unconscious Spike into wakefulness. Spike shot up and said, as if he had never passed out in the first place, "You're getting MARRIED? Why didn't you tell me? Am I always the last one to know?"

Twilight sighed and said, "I'm really sorry Spike, but it was sort of last minute. I thought you would understand. We've been dating for a year now, and we were waiting for the perfect time!"

"Yes," said Flaming Star, "And it turned out that the perfect time was when I realized how much I cared for Twilight: when she was hovering just above death and I was pouring my soul into my healing powers."

Spike looked like he was going to cry for a moment, but then smiled a little. "I couldn't think of anyone better for you, Twilight."

Twilight gave a little exclamation of joy and seized Spike in a tight hug. As she continued to hug him, she said, "You accepting him means the world to me, Spike."

Spike smiled, a little roguishly. "Yeah, I know. I'll leave you two lovebirds now. I'm going to find Rarity."

As Spike left, Flaming Star jumped up onto Twilight's bed and sat next to where she lay.

"I cannot believe that everything turned out so well," said Flaming Star, almost dreamily, "Our friends don't seem to have a problem with anything! Even at such short notice."

Twilight chuckled and rolled her eyes good-humoredly. "I don't think it was really short notice, Flaming Star. We were dating for about an eternity and a half as you got your nerve up."

Flaming Star's face turned pale for a moment as he said, "Wait… you KNEW I was too scared to ask you?"

Twilight giggled a little. "Of course I did, silly. I could see it in your eyes."

Flaming Star looked down at his hoofs. "Then… then you know why I was so scared then," he mumbled.

Twilight kissed him on the cheek as she said, gently, "I knew that too, but I also knew that you would overcome your doubts one day. And you did."

Flaming Star sighed as he flopped down, his head next to hers. "What are we going to do now, Twily?"

"I suppose wait until I get better," chuckled Twilight with a rueful wince, "I still feel sore. My stomach feels like it has been stabbed."

Flaming Star grimaced. "It's because it WAS stabbed. Here: let me see what I can do."

Twilight pushed back the covers, and Flaming Star inspected the thin white scar that ran from her collarbone to her pelvis. The place where Pictor had slid his blade along until he had been blasted into unconsciousness by Twilight's mysterious rescuer. Flaming Star placed a hoof over her belly and released a healing aura. Twilight sighed as it dulled the pain.

"I used this same technique when I comforted you when you broke your leg during that one demon attack at Canterlot," explained Flaming Star as he continued to willingly expend energy to make sure that Twilight was in every way comfortable.

Twilight nodded her head. "What happened to all the demons? I mean… it seems like they all have disappeared."

Flaming Star sighed. "It's because when Legion died, the Paradox forced him to tell the Infernal Hive Mind that the My Little Pony dimension had been crushed, and that the Grand Devil's plan was running smoothly. This way the Tree of Harmony would be free from danger so that the master plan could go unopposed."

Twilight frowned. "From what I understood… the Paradox might have had a reason for all of this."

Flaming Star looked at Twilight in confusion. "What… what do you mean?"

Twilight looked up into Flaming Star's eyes. Her own eyes began to water slightly as she recalled when the Paradox had visited her. "Do you know of Reavers? They are monsters from the Firefly/Serenity dimension."

Flaming Star's face darkened. "I know of them. I have even fought them. They are monstrosities that are unquenchable… a cancer dug so deep into the dimension that it is incurable. But it doesn't matter, as long as they are contained, most innocent people can live their lives in peace."

"That's what the Paradox said: that it was a caner dug so deep that it is incurable. He seemed distraught, ever terrified, over the situation. He's desperate for a lasting peace, but it seems that that desperation has grown too great inside of him."

Flaming Star cocked his head on one side as he listened to Twilight speak. When she finished speaking, he said, "Does this warrant him any form of mercy? He tried to kill you, he tried to kill me, he tried to kill everyone who ever existed, and he successfully killed Miranda."

Twilight shook her head, looked down at her hoofs, and said, "It doesn't, but I understand what's driving him. If we understand him, than perhaps there is a chance that we can change him. I am sure he doesn't want this to be how things turn out any more than we do!"

Flaming Star looked at Twilight's now distraught face and said, "Perhaps. But then again… perhaps not. Only time will tell. And you know what I intend to do with that time while we wait? I intend to spend every microsecond with you."

Twilight looked up again into Flaming Star's face lovingly and smiled her bright smile.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: The Last of Us<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Salem, Oregon, United States of America_

_Time: Thirteen years after the outbreak of the human-targeting strain of Cordyceps fungus, seven years before the arrival of Sunset Shadow in the My Little Pony dimension_

Evan Funsch stood at the edge of an abandoned parking lot, staring out at the vast, forest-consumed city. The landscape before him was abandoned, void of human life, with decimated buildings, crumbling sidewalks, and rusting cars. The land was deathly quiet save for the gentle breeze wafting through the trees that were beginning to grow higher than even the cracked concrete towers that stood as a last testament to the once thriving civilization of the dimension.

Funsch shook his head. Of all the meeting places that could be possibly chosen, it had to be this god-forsaken planet.

Suddenly a faint rumbling echoed from behind him, like a roar of flames muffled behind a sound-proof wall. Funsch whipped out a Star Trek phaser with his right hand, and conjured up a fireball with his left. He then whirled to face whatever was approaching him from behind. A grounded Blackbird spy plane pulled off from the abandoned and dilapidated main road before his eyes into the dusty old parking lot. It slowly rolled up to Funsch until it was only a few meters away and then it stopped. There was a pause. Then the jet suddenly began to warp and twist, with a sound that was a cross between the screeching of rusty breaks and the metallic buzz of a hovercraft passing overhead. The jet was none other than the ridiculously famous Dimensional Traveler Transformer Jetfire.

Funsch shook his head and holstered his weapons as he waited for Jetfire to complete his transformation from jet to Jetfire.

"You picked a hell of a meeting spot, old geezer," snorted Funsch as Jetfire stood before him, leaning on his walking stick.

"Look at this place, Funsch, there is not a human soul in sight. There are very few sentient things even moving within a ten kilometer radius! There is not a chance that our conversation will be heard! But it does not matter! And it doesn't matter that I'm old! I have experience! Now tell me… what planet are we on?" snapped Jetfire as he slowly sat down, causing the already decimated parking lot to crack and crumble further.

Funsch facepalmed. "We are on the planet that you chose. You called me here for a meeting."

"That's right! The meeting! Funsch, listen: The Paradox has been lying to us. I've been lied to before in such ways, but not so well disguised before. Our leader knows what he is doing, and I do not think we can stop it easily. In fact… we probably cannot stop it at all! I know, I've tried. I killed Matthew Tricost's sister, Caroline. She was always working closest to the Paradox since Night Shade joined Joseph Torrus. After I killed her, I hacked into her traveler database and withdrew some choice information. However, I only saw a little before someone, probably the Paradox, closed the database and locked me out!"

As Jetfire spoke, Funsch's eyebrows began to rise. After the transformer finished talking, Funsch nodded and said, "Jared DeWhite and I suspected that the Paradox might have been a liar. Tell me, what is this choice information?"

Jetfire shrugged. "I don't know! It was all retracted the second I uncovered it. All I know is that it involves the Tree of Harmony in that stupid pink-filled world of My Little Pony. I can tell you that I wouldn't be caught dead in that place. All sparkles, butterflies, rainbows, pies, crystals, and apples! I hate apples. And it's pink! My God, I would blow a gasket if my visual receptors were hit with that many colors!"

"Stop it Jetfire!" snapped Funsch, "What about the Tree of Harmony?"

"Stop interrupting me, you little whippersnapper! I am older than you by many years. My father, why, he was a wheel! The FIRST wheel! Do you know what he transformed into? NOTHING! But he did so with honor! DIGNITY, damn it!"

Funsch facepalmed again. "Jetfire, do you realize you have probably said that a hundred times to a hundred different people? That's the first sign of aging, I might add."

"It's been one hundred and twenty-three! And it's the SECOND sign of aging! Stop interrupting! So… where was I… Um… er… Oh dear…"

"You were telling me about the Tree of Harmony."

"Ah… that thing. Hidden in a land so pink and colorful that it could give a Decepticon a stroke… if they could get a stroke. Ah yes! So, all the information mentioned before it was pulled away was that it was involved in some sort of scheme to cleanse the multiverse, those exact words. It also mentioned something about some creature named Vaporis. I don't know. It doesn't matter. What matters now is that I need to leave."

Funsch massaged his temples with both of his index fingers as he said, "What? You need to leave?"

Jetfire slammed his walking stick on the ground, adding another crack in the pavement to the multitudes already existing. "That's what I said, damn it! Keep up! When I pulled the information in the first place, I was identified by the server thanks to my unique power system. Thus, when the information was pulled from me and locked away, I know for a fact that I was identified! I'm a wanted being now, Funsch. I need to… disappear!"

Funsch bit his lip as he realized what was going on: his only truly active ally was leaving him. "What? What am I supposed to do?"

Jetfire slammed his walking stick to the ground again and snapped, "Stop interrupting young man! No respect these days. Where was I…? Oh yes! I need to leave. My mortal enemy from the transformer dimension: The Fallen, is going to return. What I am going to do is go to my homeplanet to battle him and fake my death. This way I will be out of the big picture. If you need me… I will be there."

Funsch sighed heavily, but nodded. "Very well. If I need you, you will be in the transformer dimension. What should I do then? You and DeWhite are my only allies in this little rebellion against the Paradox!"

Jetfire waved his walking stick in the air as he shouted, "It doesn't matter, by God! You are clean! No one suspects you! Act normal… but why you are at it, I do have a mission for you. Before I killed Caroline Tricost and turned 'rogue,' my last mission was to kill a group of specially trained demons. I did so, but in the process found that a traveler had been falsifying information in the traveler database for the Paradox. The Dimensional Traveler is Dennis Creevey. He is a traitor, and he needs to be stopped. I believe he is right now taking refuge in his penthouse in the Star Wars dimension. A penthouse in the southern sector in Coruscant. Go there and take him out… finish the job."

Funsch nodded wordlessly.

Jetfire nodded back and then stretched. The noise of him moving his joints sounded like fingers on a chalkboard, and several rusty screws and old springs leapt from his metal plating. Jetfire then got up and opened a portal. As he prepared to exit, he said, "Good luck, Evan Funsch. You know where I am. Look out for this scheme surrounding the Tree of Harmony… and look out for this Vaporis thing. Good luck in your future endeavors! I am old and I am out!"

With that, Jetfire stepped through the portal and closed it behind him, leaving Funsch all alone. Funsch sighed and glanced around at the planet one more time before he too, opened a portal and left. Now the parking lot was empty… alone to crumble and degenerate at the hands of Mother Nature. Undisturbed as plants and trees claimed a hold over the abandoned technological discoveries of the human mind. All alone…

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><p><strong>Note: Okay! We're done with the "Past Days" chapters! Time to move on! Oh, and I am sure more than a few of you are quite happy to have seen Jetfire make an appearance! I can tell you guys that I really enjoyed writing that part! Anyway... Don't forget the R&amp;R stuff!<strong>


	60. Chapter 60 - Located

**Note: I will have to admit that the "Past Days" chapters contained a mixture of foreshadowing elements coupled with some loose-end fixing. Some of it was directly relevant, and some of it was not. To those who wanted me to proceed with the story without the "Past Days" chapters, I do appreciate your patience. We are moving on now!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of Doxia_

"…And this is the hall of thrones," said Luna as she led Caustic Rain into the throne room of the Sun and Moon sisters.

Caustic Rain cast a genuinely interested eye over the beautiful stained glass windows that lined the hall of thrones and the hallways leading up to the hall. They were massive, colorful, and elaborate. Each window told the story of a very special event. From where he was standing, Caustic Rain saw the nearest windows picture things from the sisters defeating Discord for the first time (though Caustic Rain noticed that both sisters had grown beards and mustaches in the picture, no doubt thanks to a little prank by the former god of chaos), all the way to the release of Luna from Nightmare Moon by the Mane 6. Caustic Rain then noticed at the very end of the hall, there were several more glass windows lining the walls. These depicted Sunset Shadow casting down Abbadon, Flaming Star defending Canterlot from the demon attack, Regal Crescent slaying Legion, and all the famous ponies of the Modern era facing off the Paradox as he stood moments away from activating the weapon of mass destruction that is the Tree of Harmony. As his eyes scoured the last one, he gave a little gasp of wonderment: had he really missed this much? Was it even true? Did any living traveler even care enough to sacrifice their life to fight the most powerful being ever created simply to protect a single, lonely, dimension? It seemed like the answer was actually yes.

Luna looked at Caustic Rain and said, "Do you… do you like it?"

Caustic Rain glanced at Luna, still feeling very nervous around the regal mare. "Um… yes, I do. The beauty of this hall is breath-taking, almost to the point where it is not even proverbial. It's astonishing."

Luna actually nuzzled his cheek as she said, "I am so glad."

Caustic Rain gasped at their skin made contact, and he fell straight over. Scrambling up and blushing vehemently, Caustic Rain looked at Luna with shock. Luna gazed at him in a mixture of embarrassment, confusion, and surprise. "I am truly sorry, I overstepped my bounds. Are you well?"

Caustic Rain could not help but inadvertently brush his cheek as if he was trying to brush off a particle of dust as he said, "No, no… It's fine… It's all wonderful in fact. I've just… As it seems… Well… I've never had someone ever do that before… EVER."

Luna, who was still blushing, sat down next to him and said, "There is a first time for everything, Caustic Rain."

Suddenly a voice like a choir of trumpets blasted out from every corner of the room. "Indeed there is, Princess Luna of Canterlot of the My Little Pony dimension."

A portal bloomed forth and opened as a majestic being stepped out: Archangel Michael. Directly... behind him was Archangel Hadar. Hadar, like Michael, was dressed in full body armor. His armor was a mixture of silver and blue. His belt of truth streamed with an eerie blue light, he wore a breastplate set with obsidian stones, his helmet was large with immaculate engravings of sweeping wings on its side, and a his sliver gauntlets shone like they emitted their own white light. His face, like all angels, was hidden in the shadows cast by the helmet that he wore.

Luna gave a little gasp of terror, as the appearance of angels always struck mortal terror into the hearts of mortals and demons. Caustic Rain couldn't stop himself, and he reached forward with a front hoof and wrapped it around Luna's shoulder. Luna didn't acknowledge the gesture, but she seemed a little less terrified.

"Samuel, there have been some grave developments in the courts of the Celestial Heaven," said Michael. He motioned for Hadar to step forward.

The angel did so, and then said, in a voice like thunder, "The Grand Devil has asked permission of Heaven to declare war on the Paradox. He has been given leave to do so, but Heaven forbade us angels to do anything to aid or slow this new conflict. However, Archangel Michael has been given permission to assist his mortal allies to ensure their safety. I will now leave with a word of warning: be careful mortals, the portal ways and empty dimensions of the Earth Multiverse's outer rings are no longer safe. War is here, and it will rise… it most certainly will rise."

With that, Hadar disappeared, leaving Michael alone with Luna and Caustic Rain.

Caustic Rain shook his head slowly as he said, "Wait… let me get this straight… There is a WAR going on now between the Paradox and Hell?"

Michael nodded. "It has begun. Even as we speak, Dimensional Lord Pictor and several other Dimensional Lords are being ambushed by a host of Arch-demons."

Luna blinked as she processed this information. Then she said, "Do we know what the outcome of this one fight will be?"

Michael nodded. "Demons are powerful, but even they are no match for the might of the Dimensional Lords. The Arch-demons will be slain, at no cost to those who have been ambushed. In fact, this very ambush worries the hosts of heaven. The Grand Devil is no fool, he is cunning, intelligent, and twice the age of the Paradox… Something more is going on here and we have yet to see what it is."

"But you guys are freaking angels!" burst out Caustic Rain, "You guys are supposed to, like, know everything!"

Michael shook his head. "We do not know everything. Only a choice few of us in heaven know the absolute truth of the future, but they cannot divulge the information. It is not what they have chosen."

Caustic Rain shook his head in frustration. He did not understand how any of that even worked. After a pause, he sighed and said, "Are my friends and I in trouble?"

Michael looked at Caustic Rain directly, but did not, at first, answer the question. "Friends? Tell me, Samuel, were you not explaining to me earlier how you were alone, and how due to your introverted nature you were unlikely to ever have friends? What has happened?"

Caustic Rain looked down at his hoofs. Michael had not spoken with any form of discernable emotion, but he felt the sting of the reproach nonetheless. "I guess… I guess I met Luna."

Michael nodded. "She is a special mare, willing to protect you. That is good. Now relay this information to Celestia, and I will do the same to Joseph Torrus and Abimael 'James' Sethson. They must be warned that due to the significance of this dimension, a battle or hostile encounter might occur here."

With that, Michael shimmered and disappeared, undoubtedly having teleported to someplace else. Caustic Rain turned to Luna, who was still staring, a little shocked, at the place where the Archangel had stood moments ago.

"Let's go," murmured Caustic Rain, "We need to do as he says."

Luna nodded wordlessly and got up.

"We have to hurry," explained Caustic Rain as he trotted out of the hall, "If there is a war, I can only assume that the Earth Multiverse will be paying the full price for it."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: Two days after the arrival of Doxia_

Pinkie sighed and gazed down at her hoofs as she just sat next to the distraught Sapphire Anemone. Neither of them said anything as they contemplated their own sorrows, new and old. Suddenly, a knock came at the door. Pinkie's eyes brightened a little, and she went to the door and opened it. It was Doxia and Franklin.

Pinkie gave them a sad smile. "Hi. Where's Rarity? I sent for her… Is she here?"

Rarity and Ruby Blossom poked their heads from around Doxia. Rarity said, "Oh, we're here, Pinkie Pie."

Pinkie blinked in bemusement. "What's going on?"

Doxia ushered her out of the house as he said, "Oh, you're going to take a break. We can have ice cream together again. Rarity, could you go find Discord for us? I believe he is somewhere near the Crystal Empire Train Station, pretending to be a bench. Franklin, you know what to do."

Pinkie Pie's hair inflated again at the sound of "ice cream."

"Oh boy! I LOVE ice cream! Bye Sapphire Anemone! Bye everypony!" she exclaimed as she waved a hoof enthusiastically.

Franklin turned to look the house up and down as he said to Doxia, "I won't be a while."

Doxia nodded and turned around with Pinkie Pie in tow. Franklin took a deep breath and stepped into the building. Sapphire Anemone looked up and saw Franklin, but despite his strange appearance, she did nothing.

Franklin went over and sat down next to her. "Do you know what I am?"

Sapphire Anemone shook her head.

"I am a human. I am sure you don't see many humans around here, do you?"

Once again Sapphire Anemone just shook her head. Franklin chuckled. "Yes, well, my name is Franklin. And you are?"

There was a pause, then… "My name is Sapphire Anemone. Why are you here? Is this some sort of trick to cheer me up?"

Franklin patted her on the back lightly. "You are right and you are wrong. This is not a trick, but this is an attempt to cheer you up."

"Why do you all want to cheer me up?"

"Because we need the location of something. However, from what I recall Princess Cadence telling me about the curse of Sombra, you cannot remember past his dark rule. The location we need is before then, but you will not remember it until you have regained your crystal luster once more."

Sapphire Anemone covered her face with her hooves as she said, "I don't want to cheer up. I don't want to remember anything. I lost my brother. He became… he became that monster. And then he died. However, I don't except you to know anything about something like that. Everypony else seems to always be blessed with a perfect life."

Franklin sighed as his forced smile dissolved into nothing. "Actually, Sapphire Anemone, to tell you the truth… I've suffered in the same way you are right now."

Sapphire Anemone removed a hoof from one of her eyes as she gazed up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I lost a sister. She was murdered brutally by someone I once trusted more than anyone."

Sapphire Anemone sat up and, for the first time in forever, looked at Franklin with empathy. "That sounds terrible!"

Franklin nodded his head. "It was terrible. But I came to terms with it thanks to the help of my friends."

Sapphire Anemone looked mournful once more as she said, "I wish I had friends who would help me like that. However, all I have is Ruby Blossom, and she rarely spends time with me anymore."

Franklin smiled a genuine smile this time as he said, "Well. You have another friend now. Let me help you."

Sapphire Anemone sniffed, but managed to smile a little as Franklin gently brushed a tear from her right eye. Then she nodded.

Franklin nodded back. "Think hard and reach back into your mind… What was the very last thing your brother Sombra said before the darkness consumed him and he died to you? What was it?"

Sapphire Anemone closed her eyes and strained her mental muscles, forcing her way past the black magic that shrouded her oldest memories. Despite the extraordinary amount of resistance, she pushed through and recalled it. "He said… he said, 'Sapphire, do not think ill of me. When I am gone… just think of me at my best. I beg of you. It is too late for me to save myself, but you can save the memory of me. Think of me at my best'."

Tears once more began to openly flow down her cheeks as she began to sob. Franklin could not believe what he was about to do, but he did it anyway. He slowly wrapped his arms around the crying mare and squeezed her tight to his chest in a hug as he said, "I understand what you are going though. A sense of betrayal, a sense of loss. I too have suffered such tragedies, but we need to move on. Perhaps all we have of them are memories, and perhaps we cannot let those memories define who we are, but we still can use those memories to honor those who are gone. For you, it would be to honor and mourn for the stallion who spoke to you then, not the stallion that all fear now. Remember him as he once was, your brother, and love him for the qualities that he had. Celebrate the memory of the one who loved you back as a brother. Do as he said: remember him at his best. Honor him at his best."

Sapphire Anemone stopped crying. She was still clutching at Franklin, but her hooves had become less shaky. She looked up at Franklin with a tear-stained face and she smiled. "I understand now. Thank you."

Suddenly the luster returned to her crystalline coat, and she became a true crystal pony once more. Her eyes brightened as she exclaimed, "I remember it all now!"

Franklin grinned as he hugged her again, now out of joy. "That's wonderful!"

Not even thinking about what the mission of cheering up Sapphire Anemone was all about, Franklin got up and prepared to take his leave when she herself said, "Was there something that you wanted located, though?"

Franklin nodded. "Oh yeah… There was supposed to be a set of vials or something, Doxia told me, that Princess Celestia had given them toyour wonderful brother."

Sapphire Anemone gave a little bounce of joy as she said, "Oh yes! I know where those are!"

Franklin patted one of her front hoofs and said, "That's wonderful. However, don't you want to rest first?"

Sapphire Anemone shook her head. "I'm fine. I want to show you and your friends where they are right away!"

With that, Franklin and Sapphire Anemone exited the house. Doxia, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Daniel, Funsch and Discord were awaiting them outside. At the sight of Doxia, Daniel, Funsch, and the other ponies, Sapphire Anemone leapt behind Franklin. She peeked around at them with a slightly scared and worried expression until Franklin got down on one knee and said, "Oh, they're okay. I'm sorry about the big guy, Doxia. I know he's scary, but he's a friendly being."

Doxia got up and bowed elaborately. "Greetings m'lady! It is such a dandy pleasure meeting an illustrious mare as yourself. I do presume you have the location of the vials? They are rather important, you know."

Sapphire Anemone, who had immediately begun to warm up to Doxia, nodded her head vigorously. "I do! Follow me."

Ruby eyed Sapphire worriedly and motioned for Doxia and Daniel to follow her. The two wordlessly followed around the corner of a couple of crystal buildings to a small clearing.

"What is it Ruby?" asked Daniel.

Ruby wrung her mane for a couple of seconds before saying, "I don't know... but I've never seen Sapphire act in such a happy way. Can we... can we trust this Franklin person?"

Daniel gaped, almost unbelievingly, at Ruby. "What?"

Doxia patted Daniel on his scaly shoulders and said to him, "She doesn't know he is a part of your team."

He then turned to Ruby and said, "Yes. You can trust him. On my honor as a totally-wicked-awesome-cool-wizard Dimensional Lord."

Ruby bit her lip for a moment, but then nodded wordlessly. The three then moved back to where Sapphire was. Franklin was grinning happily as he talked to Sapphire.

Sapphire, too, was smiling brightly.

"What's this?" chuckled Doxia as he strolled up, "Two frowny-faces turned upside-down? I thought so! What happened?"

Sapphire gave a little hop of excitement. "I said 'hello' to a pony! I haven't done that in years. They passed on by, gave me a smile, and I then said hello!"

Franklin, feeling her joy as his own, continued to grin, "It was wonderful."

Doxia nodded his head sagely. "Saying hello is absaloutly wonderful. In fact, I remember this one time when I said hello to my Aunt Mildred..."

Wild cleared his throat loudly and said, "I believe it would be best if we get moving. Am I wrong?"

Sapphire giggled a little, but then nodded. "No, you are right. Follow me!"

The group then set off for the Crystal Mountains.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I do not think I will be able to post at all on Friday. Sorry... But I think I can make up for it by posting it on Saturday instead! So, look out for it then! Don't forget to review!<strong>


	61. Chapter 61 - Stolen

**Note: Here we go! Sorry for not being able to post this yesterday, but I had a lot of stuff that needed doing. Anyway... Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The frozen foothills preceding the Crystal Mountains_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of Doxia_

Daniel glanced at Doxia as they strolled nonchalantly up a snow-covered hill to a small grove of white pine trees in the distance, "Why are we walking?"

Doxia looked at Sapphire Anemone, who was trotting alongside Franklin up the hill. "Because Sapphire Anemone wants it this way. I don't think she liked Ruby Blossom's heart-felt description of riding the back of a dragon."

Daniel snorted, "I don't fly scary! At least… I don't think I do. It's not relevant. Why don't you just glean the exact location using telepathy, then, and teleport there?"

Shaking his head, Doxia chuckled, "Because it is ridiculously rude to read someone's mind to understand the true location of the vials, even with their position. Reading the mind is not clean, because a sentient being's brain is never perfectly organized. You have to shift through lots of stuff to reach your wanted information, and you see a lot of… private stuff. It's not really worth it, and I respect Sapphire too much to even think about it."

Daniel nodded and lapsed into silence. The group continued to trudge up the hill. The only sound was the crunching of snow, the wind whistling through dead and snow-covered branches of trees, and Pinkie Pie talking incessantly to a livid Wild and an annoyed Rarity.

After a bit, Doxia said, "I suggest you take your team and prepare to find Jetfire. I can sense that Wild is moments away from killing Pinkie Pie, and that would be bad… I think."

Daniel glanced at the face of Wild, who looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel, and nodded, "We will leave now."

Daniel then stopped thundering up the hill and called out, "Franklin! Funsch! Wild! To me!"

Franklin stopped. He then turned to Sapphire Anemone, who was looking at him in bemusement.

"Are you… are you leaving?" said Sapphire.

Franklin bit his lip. He had to admit that he most certainly had developed feelings for this being, but as always, duty came first. That was how his life had gone in the past, and that was how his life had to continue in the future. He nodded his head slowly, "I have to go."

Tears welled up in Sapphire's eyes. A couple spilled over and fell to the snowy earth. The droplets froze into crystals shards that spiraled through the air, refracting beams of colorful light as they tumbled to the ground. Franklin sighed and got down on one knee. "It's my duty. I need to go. I understand that I helped you through one hard time, but that doesn't mean you need me every second… God… I am terrible at this."

Franklin faceplamed for a moment. He then looked up and scratched the back of his head as he sighed. "I… I have to go. I'm sorry." He the stood up and turned to leave.

Sapphire looked at him straight in the eyes and said, "I love you."

Franklin stopped and stared at her. He smiled a little, absolutely unsure of what else to do. He then nodded his head slightly and whispered the first thing that came to his mind, "I love you too."

He then turned around, his hardened eyes softening a little. Doxia took Franklin's place beside the now distraught Sapphire Anemone and whispered something in her ear, trying to convince her to move on and comfort her. After a bit, Doxia and his group continued to move up in the snow as Daniel and his team stood in a circle.

"This is probably going to be very dangerous," explained Funsch as he pulled out a little device. When Daniel gave the object a curious glance, Funsch said, "This is a holographic micro-projector from the Star Trek dimension. This is what we're going to be using from now on, since our traveler databases are rigged. This thing has the Federation database, which is fairly extensive, though nowhere near what we usually have at our fingertips; nevertheless, it will have to do."

"Understood," said Wild calmly, "What is going to happen?"

Funsch nodded decisively and said, "The moment we enter the Transformers Dimension, we are going to be attacked. I am assuming it is either going to be Arthur Health's old gang, or, if we are really unlucky, Alyss Heart."

Daniel nodded his head sagely, "Alyss is someone we do not want to cross swords with… but we have nothing to lose now, no one waiting with baited breath for news of our survival, and that makes us doubly dangerous."

"Someone is waiting for me," muttered Franklin to himself, "I have something to live for now."

The only one to hear the whispered words was Wild, but if he even comprehended what was said, he did not acknowledge it. He simply flicked an ear in Franklin's direction before saying, to Daniel, "I agree. However, we will need to be very covert, we cannot have our attackers calling for reinforcements, because that would most certainly seal our demise in the most violent way possible."

Funsch dipped his head in agreement. "I agree."

Daniel grinned suddenly, his ferocious face lighting up momentarily, "I have an idea. We need a decoy."

Wild raised a hoof. "Choose me. I'm not afraid to die. I look forward to it, really."

"Enough of that talk," snapped Franklin, "No one is going to die."

Daniel nodded his head in agreement. "Franklin is right," he said, "None of us will be slain if everything goes according to my plan. Wild, you are going to enter in first. The second you do, open up your traveler database. This will draw your hunters straight to you. Engage them in the messiest way possible. Put collateral damage on the highest scale you can. While you are doing that, I will net the whole area with EMP energy rings, disabling our enemies' ability to communicate. Then we kill them."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," said Franklin, waving a hand, "We are going to break the Traveler's Code?"

Funsch shrugged, "I've done it, and it wasn't that bad."

Wild nodded bellicosely, "I've done it dozens of times."

Franklin crossed his arms wordlessly and blinked. Daniel sighed and then said, "I understand that this is not how you want things to go, Franklin, but we really have no other choice now."

"We always have a choice," snapped Franklin.

"No, not this time. It's eat or be eaten," replied Daniel evenly.

"If we kill them, then we are simply confirming the Paradox's claims about us being criminals," replied Franklin.

Daniel shook his head, "That is not why we were declared criminals. We were declared criminals because we pose a threat to his plan. A plan, might I add, that has the potential to kill every single living being, traveler or not, ever."

"And besides," added Wild, "Since we're criminals now, and there is not a single chance that we will ever be redeemed in the eyes of the Paradox, we might as well take advantage of it by declaring us exempt from the Traveler's Code now."

Franklin opened his mouth, and then closed it. Then he said, "Peer pressure… I freaking hate it. I don't care. You guys are wrong… you'll see."

Funsch, who had been standing off to one side with his arms crossed, listening to the argument, then said, "Right. Great. Whatever. Are you all ready to move?"

Franklin sighed and said, "Yes. I am. Let's do this."

Funsch blinked in acknowledgement and then nodded to Wild. Wild nodded back and opened a portal to the Transformer Dimension, the hiding place of Jetfire. He then stepped through.

He was in a small forest. The grass was clean and crisp, and the air smelled like it had just been washed clean by a spring rain. The sky was blue, with only several small, immaculate clouds hovering and drifting across the trackless sky. Birds twittered in the air, bumblebees buzzed in the morning heat, and a cool breeze ruffled the branches and the grass. Wild frowned… this was probably the only time he really was going to loath creating an excess of collateral damage. However, he shook the feeling aside and opened up his traveler database. First thing he did was check his location. He was in the Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, United States of America. The time was two years after the death of Megatron. After this, Wild chuckled to himself as he opened up the database search page. He then proceeded to google "Chances of getting a date with Alyss Heart." The moment he began his search, he heard a crunch of a branch behind him. He shut off the database and whirled to see who was approaching him. Nothing was there. Suddenly, on instinct, he shattered himself into shards of shadows. It was just in the nick of time, for a couple of long, nasty looking spears tore through the air where his head had been. Now knowing where the attacks were coming from, Wild solidified into himself again and looked at his attacker. It was Alyss Heart. Wild grinned. "You caused a branch to break so I would turn my back to you… clever."

Alyss stood there, eying Wild almost truculently. "What were you looking at, Wild? No doubt trying to achieve some sinister plot of yours?"

Wild grinned. "No. Ironically enough, I was trying to figure out the chances I had of getting you to go out on a date with me. I originally thought I had a fairly good chance, but now if we factor in the fact that you threw two spears at my head, I would have to say it's really just a fifty-fifty now."

Alyss shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry Wild. It's going to be zero soon."

She said the phrase rather mournfully, but it did not stop her from raising her hands and conjuring up a manner of different types of projectile weapons. She then took a deep breath and prepared to hurl the lot straight at Wild.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The frozen foothills preceding the Crystal Mountains_

_Time: Three days after the arrival of Doxia_

"Are we almost there?" gasped Rarity as she trudged up the snowy hill, trying to simultaneously ignore Pinkie Pie and not fall over at the same time.

Sapphire shook her head wordlessly. She was still troubled by Franklin having to leave her, though she was set in her belief that he would return to her alive.

Doxia had not said anything to her after convincing her to move on, deciding that it would be best to let her think over her feelings for Franklin herself. However, her attitude did worry him. She no doubt was struck by the wisdom and kindness of Franklin, but did Franklin love her in return? Despite the vast ages Doxia had lived, and the myriad of things he had seen… he was unsure of the answer.

Rarity stopped and then threw a hoof across her brow in despair. "Oh, the tragedy! I do not think I can take this any longer! Someone be a dear and get me a fainting couch… pretty please?"

Doxia chuckled and strolled back to where Rarity had stopped, refusing to take another step forward. He then picked up Rarity and continued to move forward with her in his arms.

"Oh my… Doxia, you're so strong," breathed Rarity.

Doxia shook his head and chuckled, "Nice try, charmer, but a trillion years has given me a long time to overcome such weaknesses as susceptibility to flattery."

Rarity blushed in embarrassment and mumbled an apology.

Doxia just laughed a little more and set her down after a minute. "I think with the amount of blood pumping through your cheeks right now," chortled Doxia, "you will be warm enough to continue without my help."

Rarity, still blushing, mumbled something unintelligible, and continued to trot on. Pinkie, however, leapt upon Doxia's back and yelled, "Piggy back ride!"

Doxia threw up a hand dramatically and yelled, "FOR NARNIA!"

With that, he blasted into the air and disappeared over the horizon, leaving an amused Discord, a surprised Ruby, a confused Sapphire, and an exasperated Rarity behind.

"What happened?" asked Sapphire, truly unsure of what had just happened.

"Oh, they went for a little trip around the bay," snorted Discord good-humoredly, "They will be back, never you fear."

Sapphire nodded and continued to lead them upwards. After several more minutes, they arrived at the top, where the grove of trees filled the area. Sapphire and the group pushed forward through the frozen, white pines until they hit a clearing. In the center of the clearing was a little log cabin. It was obviously abandoned, but was still in perfect shape. Leaning against the door frame was Doxia with Pinkie Pie perched upon his shoulder like a parrot. Sapphire smiled and said, "This is the place!"

"There you guys are!" laughed Doxia, "I noticed this as we were flying over, though I would have never guessed this was actually the place we were looking for in any event. Nevertheless, we are all here, so we might as well get moving!"

With that, the group entered the building. The cabin had only one single room, and every single side of said room had massive bookshelves filled with books packing the walls. The only real comforts the place had to offer was a small table, a small couch, a candlestick holder with a used-up candlestick, and a fireplace. Doxia immediately threw himself upon the couch. Due to his size, he came nowhere near to actually fitting in it, but he seemed quite content.

"Right, Sapphire! Where would those vials be hidden?" exclaimed Doxia as scratched the back of his helmet. He gave a slight nod to the fireplace, and a set of logs materialized within it. The second they finished molecularly constituting, they burst into flames, filling the room with heat and light.

Sapphire trotted around the room, scanning the bookshelves. After a moment, she turned around, looking rather distressed. "There is a book I need to find… Where is it?"

Doxia straightened up slightly and glanced around. Then he pointed to a small green book named "A short history of Paleo-Pony era crystal magic."

"That should be it. I should have known that there was a trap door. I really need to work on my observation skills," commented Doxia airily.

Rarity, who was the closest to the book, pulled it out. It was attached to a thin string. Rarity gave the book a sharp tug, and click resounded through the air. Suddenly a trapdoor swung open just next to Doxia. He glanced down it and began to laugh.

"My Lord! Guess what? There is a STAIRCASE leading down! I should have known! I bet ten vials of Revetahw that little Sombraro's cutie mark was a staircase or stairwell!"

Sapphire smiled quietly as she said, meekly, "Actually, it was a single black crystal."

Doxia stopped laughing abruptly. He stared at Sapphire for a moment, and then shrugged. He extended a hand and snapped a finger. Ten vials of Revetahw came into being. He then conjured up a gold-embossed case and placed the vials in it. After that, he tossed it to Sapphire.

Discord's jaw literally hit the floor the moment he saw Doxia conjure up the Revetahw. He swiftly picked up his jaw and reattached it and said, "You… you can conjure up Revetahw?"

Doxia nodded. "Yeppers!"

Discord crossed his arms and grumbled, "One of the only things we cannot conjure up, and it has to be the second most valuable material in all of the Earth Multiverse… figures."

He then floated over Sapphire, who was eyeing the vials with interest and said, in a pleading voice, "Sapphire, m'dear… would you be so kind as to give me a vial of that precious… stuff?"

Sapphire gave him a sweet smile and handed him one. Discord kissed the vial and then gave Sapphire the "Bambi eyes."

"Could I, perchance, have two?" pleaded Discord once more.

Sapphire nodded and handed him three, for good measure. Discord then conjured up a large black suitcase that said, on a sticker on the side, "I love Mission Impossible." He opened up the suitcase and dropped the vials inside, he then teleported the thing away.

"I'm rich…" sighed Discord dreamily.

Doxia gave him a side-long glance and said, "I should have mentioned that the value of Revetahw dropped 32.7 points recently."

Discord just rolled his eyes and turned his back indignantly on the Dimensional Lord. Doxia, however, just chuckled a little to himself and motioned for Rarity, Sapphire, Ruby, and Pinkie Pie to draw near. They did so, and Doixa said, "Hold on."

He snapped a finger and the group teleported to the bottom of the stairs within the trapdoor. Discord floated, alone, at the top for a minute or two longer before teleporting himself down as well.

Doxia was standing in front of a large marble table, the only piece of furniture in the small circular chamber at the bottom of the stairs. It was empty.

"The Paradox got here before us and took the vials," said Doxia, calmly. In fact, he didn't sound that bothered at all.

Discord blanched. "Is that… is that bad?"

Doxia nodded his head. "Yes. If they took them, they know that they are important. However, they probably have no idea what it is yet, and they probably will never figure it out."

"Why is that?" asked Rarity.

Doxia shrugged, "The material technically isn't even supposed to exist. But that does not matter. They will not be able to use it against us."

"What are you going to do about them taking it?" asked Discord.

Doxia shrugged again. "I will tell you in a moment. But first…" Doxia beckoned to Ruby.

Discord slapped a palm to his head. "Of course! Ruby must be an Elite Phasetrooper! Why did I not see it before? Clap her in irons!"

Ruby's eyes widened in horror as Discord conjured up twelve different sets of handcuffs. "What? No! It's me! I don't know what you are talking about!"

Doxia waved Discord down. "I don't think she is a Phasetroopers. There is a genetic signature that generally gives them away."

He then motioned for Ruby to come closer. He got down on one knee and said, "I do beg your pardon, I hope this won't embarrass you."

He began to run his hands over the length of her body. His palms crackled with green and orange lightning as he did so. He ran his hands back and forth twice before he stopped at the nape of her neck. He reached forward and tapped a small spot hidden by her mane. A loud snapping noise resounded and Ruby leapt into the air as if she had been shocked. Doxia pulled back his hand, holding his palm face-up as if it was holding something. His palm then sent out an EMP surge and a little device, which had been originally cloaked with an invisibility shield, appeared. Doxia inspected it before crushing it to dust with no effort at all.

"Brilliant," commented Doxia, "They knew I would recognize a deception if they sent in a Phasetrooper as an imposter, so they played off the events that were already happening. They must have known that Pinkie sent for Rarity using Ruby. Knowing that I was with Rarity at the time, a Phasetrooper must have tagged Ruby with this bug. It is a very well designed device, called an Audio-Video receptor and Subconscious Director, or AVRSD. It has the ability to record video and audio as seen by the victim's point of view, and also has the ability to gently make the victim feel certain emotions. It is generally undetectable in any circumstance. What must have happened was that, after they tagged Ruby, she went and found us, and then Franklin proceeded to help Sapphire recall her memories. After she did that, the bug concinved Ruby that she was suspicious of Franklin so that she would call me and Daniel away to ask us about him. With us momentarily gone, another pony, obviously the Elite Phasetrooper, passed by and gained eye contact with Sapphire. Elite Phasetroopers, with physical or visual contact, can read a being's mind to a certain extent. Anyway, the eye contact allowed the Phasetrooper to gain access to the location of this place far before we did. Daniel and I returned to the scene and the Phasetrooper got away… case closed for them. If I am right, which I probably am, I must say I rather like how they performed this operation… not bad."

Ruby burst out crying. "I didn't know! I'm so sorry! Don't kill me…"

Doxia chuckled and threw and arm around her as he sat down. "Not to worry! It wasn't your fault. However, now that I know that my assumptions were correct and the AVRSD bug is gone… I can tell you all my plan: I need those vials with the beacon crystals. I know for a fact that my secret message to my allies was sent out thanks to Pictor foolishly broadcasting it out all across the multiverse, so when they arrive here, I am going to raid the Amethyst dimension. I will raid it and take the crystals back."

"A daring plan, senior commodore," said Discord, rather dramatically, "But how do you intend to preform this operation if you do not even know where the vials are going to be kept?"

"That is a good question to which I have a good answer to, young padawan… or ensign… or whatever," replied Doxia. He then turned his head to look at Sapphire, "Can you describe to me what the pony you talked to looked like?"

Sapphire nodded. "She was tall, with a green coat and blue eyes. Her mane, which was curly like Rarity's, was also blue. She had a cutie mark of a blue crystal vial."

Doxia closed his eyes as he thought over what Sapphire had said. Then he said, after a pause, "Got it. Her name is supposedly Diamond Lake. If I am not mistaken, she is Elite Phasetrooper number four hundred… I believe that that color scheme is her signature design. I know where she is, and I can get the information I need in seconds without any trouble. However…"

Doxia then turned to Discord. "Discord, I need you to conjure up a Dimensional Traveler-grade scrambler interface net. That will make it impossible for her to hail the Paradox. I know where she is, so I am going to jump on her in thirty seconds. The second I do that, conjure up the needed device and follow me. Set it and activate it before I hit the ground."

Discord nodded, his eyes filled with determination.

"Three Mississippi… Two Mississippi… One Mississippi," said Doxia slowly, "NOW!"

He opened a portal. Just through it, everyone could see a pony sneaking along a passageway.

"That's not her!" whispered Sapphire frantically.

Doxia shook his head. "That's her. She shapeshifted again in hopes that we would not be able to trace her… but the description gave me the idea that she was Elite Phasetrooper four hundred, and I was able to trace her using her genetic signature. I don't need a physical description to track her down now."

With that, Doxia and Discord leapt through the portal and it shut tight.

Discord pulled out the device that Doxia needed from thin air and activated it. Bright bands of energy blasted form it and netted the area in beams of light. The Phasetrooper looked up to see what was happening… but it was too late. Doxia grabbed her roughly, gazed into her eyes for a second, and then ran her through with a blast of power from point blank range. She crumbled to nothing in less than a nanosecond as the molecules that made up her body simply ceased to exist.

Discord shut down the scrambler device and gazed, a little saddened, at the spot that once held the Phasetrooper. "You… you killed her."

Doxia shook his head. "She was never truly alive."

Discord gave Doxia a side-long glance. "What did you glean from her?"

"I found that the team that extracted the vials sent it directly to Amethyst Labs, a secure sub-basement facility on Capitol Prime in the Amethyst dimension. I know exactly where it is."

"Well? What do we do now?"

Doxia shrugged as he opened a portal and helped Ruby, Sapphire, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie through. "We wait. There is no point in doing anything else. If I'm right, we should soon be visited by my allies: Dimensional Lord Mattimeo, Dimensional Lord Meadolax, Dimensional Lord Atraka and Dimensional Lord Vaporis."

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><p><strong>Note: Huh... Didn't Jetfire say something about a Vaporis dude? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Now give me some feedback! If you do, I think I have some cookies or some form of a delicious pastry lying about here for you...<strong>


	62. Chapter 62 - A New Ally

**Note: Yes! More reviews! Awesome! Okay, who is ready for the next chapter? Here we go!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Amethyst<em>

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: Summit Meeting room 8, floor 9853171_

_Time: Unknown_

The Paradox stood, gazing at the stars once more, as he waited for Pictor to arrive. He was late, which was rather unusual, but the Paradox was sure that his comrade had a plausible excuse for such tardiness.

Then Pictor strolled into the room with purpose. The way he held his posture alerted the Paradox that he was quite satisfied with something.

"You seem quite pleased, Pictor," commented the Paradox quietly, "Could you explain the reason why you are, as well as why you are late?"

"Demon attack," said Pictor, "The Grand Devil has declared war on us. Two other Dimensional Lords and I were ambushed by four hundred Arch-demons while we were recalling the extraction team from the My Little Pony dimension."

"They attacked you, you say," murmured the Paradox, "What was the outcome of the battle?"

Pictor laughed sadistically, "It was fun! We shredded those creatures as if they were unarmed children! They didn't stand a chance. It was almost as invigorating as killing innocents!"

The Paradox sighed. Pictor thought that the Paradox had lost his mind, but the Paradox also contemplated the fact that Pictor, too, could be insane. The way Pictor took delight in torturing innocent beings was most certainly a sign of an unhealthy mind, was it not?

The Paradox shook his head and said, "The extraction team… were they successful?"

Pictor nodded and extended a hand. A box materialized on his palm. He then set the box down and opened it up for the Paradox to see its contents. Seven crystal vials sat in neat rows within the container. The Paradox deftly levitated one out. He rotated it, spun it, and even shook it as he inspected the contents closely.

The Paradox began to run diagnostics on it as he said, "Has anyone been able to run scans on it?"

"That's the scary part," replied Pictor, "They have."

"And?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Extraction claimed that they ran every possible diagnostic scan on the material, and everything came up negative. According to the scans, the crystalline contents is technically not even in existence."

"Do you think they were lying to you? Is it not some sort of Imagination Energy?"

"Phasetroopers do not lie. And no, it is not. We thought it looked like it from the photos you dug up, but it is, in truth, nowhere near to that material. What have you come up with, Paradox?"

The Paradox set down the vial that he was inspecting and said, "They were telling the truth. I will mournfully admit that I cannot figure out what material this is… but in the end, it is not really relevant, is it?"

Pictor shook his head. "I don't understand."

The Paradox nodded his head patiently. "I know you do not. Let me explain. The reason why I decided to proceed with stealing the vials without trying to force Ruby Blossom to get the truth behind their contents from Doxia was because I decided on another amendment to the Great Plan. I know Doxia needs the vials for some reason or another. Now that he has allies coming to him, he will become strong-headed, and will no doubt attempt a raid on Capitol Prime. That is exactly what we need: for him to leave the My Little Pony dimension."

"Understood. However… are you sure this will work? Doxia is, by far, the most powerful Dimensional Lord of our time since the retirement of the Leader of Amethyst and the disappearance of Kytax."

"Do not speak of Kytax to me, Pictor. But yes, he is. But it is not relevant."

"The hell it is, Paradox. He could rip you to pieces with ease."

"Perhaps he could, perhaps he couldn't. As I said, it is not relevant."

"Damn you! Speak straight for once!"

"He is a hero, Pictor, and he is playing right into a trap that involves his friends. The moment he enters the trap, he will have no other choice to stay in it… or watch his friends die. He is powerful, but he is also weak. Weak because of his morals and his principles."

The Paradox suddenly turned away from Pictor and approached the large crystal window again. He placed an armored hand against it and muttered, "Morals… Principles… They are nothing but chaff before the scythe. Intangible wistfulness in a land echoing with the despondent and sepulchral cries of the suffering. Evil… evil must be destroyed… it ALL must be destroyed… I must destroy it all… I must…"

Pictor slammed his fist hard against the table, causing the thing to explode into nothing. He yelled, "Snap out of it, Paradox! Hell has declared war on us! We must retaliate!"

The Paradox turned slowly around and said, "Prepare to go to the Kamina Dimension. The old shipyards of the Maelstrom war should still be there. Prepare to re-commission the Amethyst and the Sapphire Armadas. However, we will need a decoy. Prepare a billion Phasetroopers and Dimensional Lord Pimboli and send them out against the dimension of Quinto Præsidium. The dimension is teeming with demons. As they are drawing fire, bring the two armadas of warships here. We will begin to prepare the Amethyst Armada to lead a strike against the Infernal Realm. All available Phasetroopers and all available Dimensional Lords will join you in a strike against our new enemies. As for the Sapphire Armada, they will wait on me and my command… for the new development of the Great Plan to click into place."

Pictor nodded. Then he cocked his head on one side as he said, slowly, "This invasion against the Infernal Realm… We will not be able to destroy or occupy it, you know that right? It would be against Heaven's decrees."

The Paradox nodded. "Heaven seems to have made it clear that they will not get themselves involved in any form of hostile contact, but we must not provoke them yet. Pictor, when you reach the Infernal Realm, burn everything you can to the ground, but do not do not make it appear that we are, in truth, taking it over. If you tread carefully, Heaven will not suspect a thing."

Pictor nodded. "There will be resistance. There will be a lot of resistance."

The Paradox began to laugh, for the first time in over a billion years. "Pictor! You know what the Amethyst Armada is, right? They will CRUSH EVERYTHING. Nothing can stop it. The Maelstrom Forward Guard could not, the Maelstrom itself could not. We will lay waste to the Infernal Realm."

Pictor stroked the place on his helmet where his chin would be as he said, "I am still unsure, Paradox. The Grand Devil was the most brilliant of Angels in the Ancient Ages before the First Heaven War, and he is twice your age. He will obviously have a counterattack planned out."

The Paradox shook his head. "The Grand Devil and I are quite similar, I must admit. But there is one minor difference that makes all the difference. This difference is why I will rise and he will fall. You know why that is? We both have stared into the Abyss… but when he did it… he blinked."

Pictor slowly backed out of the room. He felt an icy chill run through him. The Paradox was most certainly insane. There was no doubt about it. But all Pictor could do now was either help the Paradox complete the Great Plan, or run, and die trying to hide.

The Paradox once again turned his back and looked out of the window. He began to mutter to himself again, in a somewhat haunted voice, "The ages have been filled with a see-saw of control. Good and evil both trying to find a way to control the Earth Multiverse as all that is good crumbles into nothing. But now the final age is here, and it has the apricity of hope... But the frosty coldness of the malice within the ranks of the mortals overcomes the ardor of those who thought they could do good. Now it will all end at the crepuscule of reality… And I will be what is left standing as it all goes dark."

Pictor raised a hand and called charged up a blast of pure power, capable of blasting a galaxy into nothing. He continued to charge it until it reached its maximum potential, and then he aimed his fist at the back of the Paradox's head. He held his pointing fist there for a moment, contemplating an attack against this sickly monster that had once been his leader, but then he put his fist down and dispersed the charged power. He too was a monster. It was too late for either of them.

Shaking his head, Pictor left. After he did, the Paradox telepathically opened a link to an unknown operative. "We are setting the plan into motion," said the Paradox, "Doxia should be making his move soon. Set the trap for Archangel Michael."

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><p><em>Dimension: Transformers<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, United States of America_

_Time: Two years after the events of the Dark of the Moon, three days after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

Wild blasted himself into shards of shadow once more as spears, swords, axes, bullets, and mortars shrieked through the spot he had once stood. He then solidified again directly in from of Alyss. He leapt for her throat with a roar, but she simply conjured a brick wall in front of him. He slammed head-first into the wall, shattering the thing to dust. However, as the dust settled, Wild found Alyss behind him, hovering a massive tank above his head, a Maus. She snapped a finger and the Maus dropped. Wild dove out of the way just in the nick of time. Unfortunately, he being on the ground put him at a disadvantage. Alyss capitalized on this disadvantage and began to hurl razor-sharp playing cards at him. Wild snarled as several whizzed by his muzzle, cutting deep gashes in it. Wiping away blood from a cut above his left eyebrow, Wild roared, "Throwing cards? Is that the best you can do?"

With that, he slammed his front hoofs (which were slowly transforming into paws as Wild became Feral) into the ground, and spikes made of pure shadow erupted from the earth. Alyss managed to dodge the attack, but found her dress caught on one of the spikes. Growling with triumph, Wild approached her, saying, "Remind me why morons like you wear dresses to battles?"

Alyss snapped a finger, and suddenly Wild was surrounded by card soldiers from the Looking Glass Wars dimension. Turning his attention from Alyss, Wild proceeded to viciously murder his new enemies. The second he had finished with them, he turned to see Alyss again. However, she was no longer caught on the shadow spike. Now she was hovering a couple of meters off the ground, with an armada's worth of guided missiles surrounding her.

Wild cast an unworried and unappreciative eye over the host of deadly weapons as he said, "Touchy, are you not?"

Alyss slammed the palms of her hands together and the weapons hurtled towards Wild. Wild closed his eyes and conjured up a bubble shield of pure shadow. The projectiles hit the shield and exploded with rending blasts of fire, heat, and kinetic energy. As the dust cleared, Wild coughed and dropped the shield. He was considerably more exhausted now, but still alive and fighting.

Alyss simply conjured up another wave of missiles and hurled them at him again. Once again Wild threw up a shield, and once again the shield held. Alyss did it again, and again, and again. After the fourth time, Wild was barely able to stand due to exhaustion. He glared up at Alyss and gasped, "Too… scared… to fight me?"

Alyss blinked, her expression something between sadness and complacency, as she prepared another wave of missiles. She rose her hands high to prepare her final attack. Then Wild leapt into action. He used every last ounce of his strength as he hurled himself forward. He smashed into her and dug his teeth deep into her right shoulder. Alyss let out a cry of pain as Wild sent lances of shadow power through her body, poisoning her blood. Alyss tore Wild off of her and hurled her away. Wild smashed into a tree where he lay, just above unconsciousness. Breathing heavily, Alyss limped toward him. Usually she could easily heal wounds, but a shadow-poisoned wound was pretty much fatal without the help of a Dimensional Traveler Healer.

"It looks like we're both going to die now," gasped Alyss as she limped straight up to Wild. She conjured up a long spear, and prepared to drive it into Wild's face.

"What, you don't fear death, Alyss? That makes two of us," chuckled Wild as he resigned himself to his fate.

"No, I fear death," said Alyss between coughs, "But if I know that my death is for a noble cause: to bring down monsters like you, then I am willing."

She raised the spear high, and thrust it forward. Suddenly a gunshot went off and the spear Alyss was holding flew out of her hand as a bullet smashed the weapon into splinters. Alyss gave a gasp as she fell backwards. Funsch, polishing a six-shooter from the Indiana Jones dimension, strolled towards Wild and helped him up. He then glanced at Alyss, who was slowly dying.

"So. I guess you're the unlucky soul who decided to cross swords with the last hope for the multiverse. Too bad," said Funsch with little to no remorse. He pointed the gun straight at her head.

Suddenly a whizzing sniper bullet knocked Funsch's gun out of his hand. Now Franklin strolled forward. Giving both Funsch and Wild a warning glance, he looked Alyss straight in the eyes as he slowly kneeled down next to her prone form.

He pulled back her upper garment to expose the bloody wound and pressed his right hand against it. His hand suddenly began to glow an eerie blue as he said, to Alyss, "Take deep breaths. For this to work, you need to be calm."

"I poisoned her with shadow energy," said Wild curtly to Franklin, "She's dead already."

"Miranda taught me a thing or two about healing shadow wounds. I used to do a lot of work in the Lord of the Rings dimension, and she thought that I could use training on how to deal with a Morgul Blade wound," was all that Franklin said at first.

Alyss gave a shaking sigh, and then closed her eyes.

"I guess that training was not enough," muttered Wild.

Abruptly Alyss gave a gasp and her eyes snapped open. She tried to get up quickly, but Franklin held her down. "Hush now, Alyss. You need to rest for a moment. Lay there for a second."

Alyss eyed Franklin suspiciously, but did as he bade. Franklin nodded to her and then turned to Funsch, who was eying them both truculently.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Franklin?" snapped Funsch in not-so-hushed tones.

"I'm saving her," replied Franklin simply.

"She tried to kill me," snarled Wild, "Why are you trying to save the woman who tried to kill me?!"

"She didn't kill you, you were saved," said Franklin harshly, "She, however, was going to be killed by you if no one did anything. I will not stand by while you guys blatantly break the Traveler's Code. There may be very little honor in the Earth Multiverse today, but that makes a single good act shine all the brighter."

Funsch opened his mouth, and then closed it. He opened it again, and then closed it again. After a pause, he finally said, "He has a really good point."

Wild grumbled and turned pointedly around, muttering something about killing Pinkie Pie in the name of Rainbow Dash or something related to that.

Alyss was now watching Franklin with grateful eyes as he got down on one knee and helped her sit up. "You wound is still laced with shadow, but it is no longer poisoned. However, due to the presence of the shadow, you will have to let nature heal it for you."

Alyss grinned, rather ruefully, as she replied, "Thank you Franklin. No outlaw would ever do that for another… it is apparent that there has been a mistake with this warrant for you all."

Funsch facepalmed as Franklin cast a rather smug glance over in his direction. He then turned to Alyss and helped her onto her feet. "I am glad you think so, because you are right, there has been a mistake: we are not criminals."

Daniel then arrived on the scene. He glanced at Alyss, and then grinned. "Well… Franklin, I think you were right after all. One point for stupid-yet-relevant principles!"

Alyss looked at Wild, Funsch, Franklin, and Daniel and said, "What is going on?"

Franklin pulled a face. "Well… The Paradox has been lying to us. Fifteen years ago, he started falsifying traveler database information and scrambling our interdimensional sensors. This sowed dissent and distrust in our ranks, thus setting off the Era of Anarchy. Thanks to this, he was able to proceed with his real plan without any opposition from heroes. This plan involved setting off a weapon of mass destruction hidden in the Harmony Units. This weapon is capable of destroying everything within the Earth Multiverse."

Alyss held up a hand as she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to drink all of this information in. "So wait… are you telling me that the crazy conspiracies that Jetfire, Funsch, and DeWhite were constantly spewing were and are correct?

Franklin nodded. "They are correct. Just recently the Paradox attempted to set off the weapon, but was stopped by me, my team, the firstborn, Joseph Torrus, my sister, and one of the Paradox's former allies. That is why there is a price on all of our heads."

Alyss grabbed Franklin roughly by the shoulders and gazed straight into his eyes. They held eye contact for a moment before she released him and declared, "I believe you are telling the truth. Count me in. What are we doing next?"

"What… you want 'in' just like that? How do we know we can even trust you?" snorted Wild, still gazing ferociously at Alyss.

Franklin waved Wild down as he said, "We can trust her. I've known Alyss from the old days, she is not like Matthew Tricost."

Daniel looked Alyss straight in the eyes as well. She stared right back at him unflinchingly. The two held the gaze for a second or two longer before Daniel slowly nodded his head, not taking his eyes off her. "Yes… yes… I think we can trust her. And if we find out we cannot in the end… we can kill her."

Alyss glared at him. "If you find that you cannot trust me, I will have ruined the honors I have built up over the decades and I will kill myself."

Funsch clapped his hands together loudly as he said, "Okay! Wonderful. Now let us get a move on. If I am not mistaken, Jetfire is pretending to be a Blackbird Spy Plane in the Smithsonian Museum again. He has something for being a spy plane, though I have no idea why. What we need to do is sneak in there and wake him up. We wake him up, explain the situation, and then get the hell out before more travelers come looking for us."

"We are going to have to be careful," interjected Alyss, "There are two other travelers here that accompanied me. They are right now scouring the globe, still looking for you four. We will need to avoid them."

"Can you draw them away?" asked Funsch.

Alyss nodded. "I can, but distracting them will not be enough."

Daniel nodded. "Very well. I have a plan. Franklin, pretend to be Alyss's prisoner. She will call in her allies, and they undoubtedly will come. Then you two attack. Between you two, you guys should be more than a match for them. Take them out."

Franklin nodded, but could not help but add, "I agree to this plan, but I will not be killing anyone."

Alyss nodded as well. "Yes, I agree to this plan, but I will not kill either."

Wild rolled his eyes. "Awesome. Great. Whatever. I couldn't care less. Let's move! The sooner we move, the sooner we find Jetfire, the sooner we find Jetfire, the sooner we find Finnian Jones."

Alyss looked at Wild in surprise. "You all are looking for Finnian Jones?"

Funsch sighed. "Apparently we are. What, are you going to tell us that he doesn't exist?"

Alyss shook her head. "No, I know he exists. I've never seen him personally, but we used to write letters to each other when I was dealing with the loss of my husband."

Funsch blinked, then shook his head and muttered, "I guess I'm the only one still set on believing that he doesn't exist… Whatever."

"We need to move… NOW," said Daniel, "Funsch, open a portal."

Funsch nodded wordlessly and did so. At the same time, Alyss opened another portal. Alyss and Franklin stepped through one, and Funsch, Wild, and Daniel stepped through the other.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I do not have much to say right now other than that I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that I would appreciate some feedback! Thanks!<strong>


	63. Chapter 63 - Summit Gathering

**Note: Where did all my reviews go? Just kidding, I'll stop that. Anyways, the time for the appearance of Jetfire draws near! The suspense! And guess what? More Dimensional Lords show up!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of Doxia_

Rarity sighed dramatically as everyone sat around in a large crystal lounge room in the castle of the Crystal Empire. "Oh my," she said, "We've been waiting for ages!"

"One hour, twenty minutes and ten seconds approximately since we left Ruby and Sapphire back at their houses, a day ago" said Doxia. "Come! Join Pinkie, Cadence, and me! We're about to play charades!"

Rarity shook her head. "That would ruin my look."

"Drama queen," chortled Doxia. He then motioned to Cadence, "You go first, m'lady!"

Cadence grinned and got up. She held up two hooves and nodded. Then she began to pretend to be a wolf pack.

"Two words… pack! Ice pack! Six pack! Pack of bacon! That's three words… Pachyderm! Oh, that's one… Um…" Doxia scratched his helmet. "Man… this is tough…"

"Cake! Frosting! Ice cream! Kit kats! Cupcakes!" squealed Pinkie Pie as she hopped up and down in excitement. At this point, Discord and Shining Armor joined in to play.

"Oooohh… this is difficult…" muttered Shining, "Is that a fox? A wolf? A cow? A wolf!"

Cadence beamed at him as she continued to act it out.

"Oh wait… What was the first one then?" mused Discord, "Group? Was it a wolf group? A team?"

Suddenly a voice rang out. "It's a wolf pack, straight out of the Ice Age dimension."

Doxia whirled. There was a portal, and stepping out of it was Dimensional Lord Atraka, Dimensional Lord Mattimeo, and Dimensional Lord Vaporis.

Dimensional Lord Atraka was a little shorter than Doxia, and was dressed in orange full-body armor. His helmet, which was also orange, was masked, and had a visor shaped like a sword, pointing down.

Dimensional Lord Mattimeo was a little taller than Doxia, but also a little less broad as well. He was dressed in white full-body armor, and his masked helmet had a visor shaped like a diamond, and there were triangular markings on either side of his helmet.

Dimensional Lord Vaporis was just about the same size as Doxia, though also less broad. He was dressed in grey full-body armor, and his masked helmet had a visor like that of a motorcycle helmet: long, straight, and pitch-black. He too had the triangular markings on either side of his helmet.

Doxia laughed heartily as he gave them firm handshakes. "Atraka! Mattimeo! Vaporis! My gosh… I haven't seen you guys in ages! That being less than four days for you, Mattimeo."

Atraka strolled around the room, looking about with interest. "So this is the place that the Paradox chose to hide that cursed weapon, eh? Unique. Very… unique. And quite pink, it's almost as if Lauren Faust invented this place." Atraka then proceeded to open up a diagnostic holographic projection as he began to scan the past and present timeline for information.

As he did that, Mattimeo, Vaporis, and Doxia discussed their plans while everypony else stood off to one side, absolutely awed by the group.

"Where's Meadolax?" asked Doxia.

"He finally decided to give up his powers. He is living his life out somewhere as a super-rich merchant in the Marvel Universe now, I think," replied Mattimeo. Doxia nodded and chuckled a bit.

"What's the plan?" said Vaporis, "What is going on?"

"Well… The Paradox got the beacon crystals," said Doxia, rather apologetically, "Their plan was performed flawlessly."

Mattimeo shook his head. "That's too bad… I can only assume then that you have a plan to get them back. They are very important."

"That's what I said!" called Atraka. He then turned back to his holographic projection screen and said, "You know… Quite a few of these alternate My Little Pony timelines have extradimensional beings in them as well. Look at this one! This one has a soldier from Earth Prime here! This one has another soldier! This one has some random dude! This one has an S.W.A.T. officer! Weird… It looks like most of them tragically died so that they could be transported to Equestria to fight Sombra or something. This is ironic."

"Atraka!" snapped Mattimeo, "Stop messing with the alternate timelines, this is important!"

Atraka bowed elegantly to Mattimeo as he said, "As you wish, monsieur Mattimeo. I will do as you say."

"Doxia, you rubbed off too much on Atraka," muttered Vaporis.

Doxia just chuckled. "It was all those beers we had when we commanded the E.D.D. forward guard in the Maelstrom war."

"Beers?" asked Mattimeo, glancing at Doxia, "What are you talking about…? Never mind, that is not important. You want us to help you retaliate against the Paradox so that we can steal back the beacon crystals, right?"

"What are the beacon crystals for, anyway?" asked Vaporis, looking genuinely confused, "Did I miss an agenda or something?"

"No, it's a secret. Only Mattimeo and I are supposed to know what they are, sorry old buddy," said Doxia, apologetically.

"Hey, I'm cool," interjected Atraka for Vaporis. Vaporis just nodded his head wordlessly.

"So, do you know where the beacon crystals are held?" asked Mattimeo.

Doxia nodded, "They are held in the sub-basement Amethyst Facility. Sector 009. Left hangar, if I am not mistaken."

Mattimeo stroked his helmet-covered chin as he said, "Ahhhh… Top-notch security there. That was the place we held the Kanohi Ignika for a time, correct?"

Doxia nodded. "Yep. And now they have the beacon crystals there. We need those crystals, and we are going to get them."

Mattimeo shrugged. "How do you propose we do that? I mean, sure, we as a team could punch through the whole area with ease, but that would make you look more like a criminal than you already are branded, and it will also blow my cover. We need to think rationally about it."

"Rationally-smationally… But I see your point," chuckled Doxia. He stood there stroking his chin for a full five minutes. Atraka just shook his head and strolled over to Rarity.

"My, my… It's a good thing I brought my library card, 'cause I'm checking you out," said Atraka as he sat down next to her and threw and arm around her shoulders. Rarity just gaped, unable to say or do anything out of shock.

Mattimeo faceplamed, and turned his back pointedly on Atraka. Vaporis glanced at Cadence and whispered, "I do not know who he is, nor am I related. Who is that guy, anyway?"

Doxia, who had been oblivious to everything for a moment, suddenly snapped a finger and said, "I've got it. Mattimeo, you can still access the dimension of Amethyst without tripping the phantom systems that hide it because you are a Enigma leader. So, I need you to get into the security system and force it to run debugging program number 98.23 on Sub-basement Sector 009. I wrote debugging program 98.23 as an April Fool's joke about three hundred billion years ago. It will do the debugging for the system like usual, but it will also shut down all forms of security, and will make all screens play a looping clip of 'What Does the Fox Say?' on them. No one is ever allowed down in Sector 009, so no one will notice the latter of the effects, but with the security down, I will be able teleport straight into it without being rejected by the dimensional defense system and without being caught on camera. You are a trusted senior Dimensional Lord, Mattimeo, so you will be able to go straight to the automated security systems and command them to run the program without and other Dimensional Lords suspecting you."

"That is a brilliant plan," commented Vaporis dryly, making a show of ignoring Atraka and his indecent advances on Rarity, "But why do you need the rest of us here?"

"I will need one of you to guard the My Little Pony dimension while I am gone," replied Doxia, "I do not trust that the Paradox will be idle while we steal back the crystals."

"I'll guard it! Me! Me! Me!" exclaimed Atraka enthusiastically.

"If he guards it… then I will stay as well," said Vaporis, giving Atraka a disapproving glance.

Doxia thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. He then said, to Vaporis, "Very well… You and Atraka will guard the My Little Pony dimension while Mattimeo and I go and breach Amethyst."

There was a pause, then Mattimeo said, "There is another issue."

Doxia glanced at Mattimeo and motioned for him to continue.

"We still have to reckon with Dimensional Lord Mapaxa, who has been heavily guarding the Amethyst computer systems since you planted that one virus a week ago, Doxia. He doesn't stand a chance against either of us, but he is skilled enough to withstand a direct attack for at least a couple of seconds, more than enough time for him to raise an alarm. We need a distraction… any distraction. Unfortunately, it looks like we have no men to spare."

Doxia thought about the predicament for a moment, and then beckoned Discord to him. "We have Discord. He can cause a good distraction. Discord, are you up to helping your old buddies stop the mean old Paradox?"

Discord stroked his chink for a moment. Then he said, "Well… yes. I most certainly will. I understand that there might be a bit of an issue with me when it comes to fighting, but a distraction… THAT I can do."

Doxia stretched and straightened up. "Cool. So, I will explain what is going on one more time: Vaporis and Atraka are going to stay here. Mattimeo, Discord, and I will go the Amethyst to steal back the beacon crystals. Everyone else is going to sit tight. Discord, you will be responsible for distracting Mapaxa long enough for Mattimeo to get around him and take him out without raising any alarms. Mattimeo, you will then set off program 98.23 in the Sub-basement Sector 009. With the security systems disabled down there, I can teleport directly into the place and steal the beacon crystals. Remember, Mattimeo and Discord, Amethyst is the most secure place in the Earth Multiverse. The only advantage we have is that you are trusted officer, so we have the element of surprise. Well? What is everyone waiting for? Let's move!"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Transformers<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Middle of nowhere, Wyoming, United States of America_

_Time: Two years after the events of Dark of the Mon, four days after the arrival of Doxia_

Franklin glanced at Alyss nervously. "Are you sure this will even work? I mean… What are the power tiers of the two other travelers?"

Alyss handed him a pair of Dimensional Traveler-grade handcuffs. "I've altered these cuffs, you can break free of them at a moment's notice. As for the power tiers… both are power tier 2s."

Franklin nodded his head slowly. "Okay… Cool. I think we can deal with that."

"We will have no other choice," commented Alyss dryly as she pulled up the traveler database and opened a telepathic link with her former teammates. "I've caught Franklin Montgomery. The rest got away."

After a moment, she turned around and said to Franklin, "They're on their way. Get ready."

Taking a deep breath, Franklin got down on one knee so that his handcuffed hands were a little bit closer to the sniper rifle on the ground. He glanced at Alyss and nodded his head. Alyss returned the nod. Suddenly a portal opened up and two travelers stepped through. One was dressed in grey body armor, the other was dressed in red.

"Is this Montgomery?" snapped the one in red. Alyss nodded.

"I caught him when Grey and I split up, Red," she explained.

Grey pulled up his traveler database and checked the update that had contained the warrant for the Brothers in Arms corps arrest.

"It says here that he is wanted preferably dead. Let us make sure we preform everything for the Paradox's maximum satisfaction," he said airily. He whipped out a gun and aimed it straight at Franklin's head. Franklin flicked his wrists and the handcuffs flew off into the face of his attacker. Franklin then dove to the ground, grabbed his sniper rifle, and rolled. The moment he was on his feet, however, he was blasted back by a kinetic blast from Red.

Grunting in pain, Franklin flipped through the air so that he would land feet-first after blasting backwards. He landed, skidded a couple of meters, and then came to a stop. Whipping out his sniper rifle, Franklin began to shoot at Grey and Red. They threw up an energy shield and Franklin's bullets bounced harmlessly off its surface.

Turning to Alyss, Red shouted, "What the hell are you standing there for? Help us!"

Alyss nodded and turned to face Franklin. Then she suddenly whirled on her former allies and conjured up a spear. She hurled it at Grey. Grey, by some miracle, saw the spear coming and flicked his head out of the way. Unfortunately, he still managed to take the spear in the shoulder. He staggered back with a yell, and began to hurl hails of lacerating energy bolts at his new adversary. Grey and Red went back-to-back, desperately trying to stave off the waves of attacks from Alyss and Franklin.

Franklin continued to back up, firing rapidly at the energy shield that Red still held in place. The shield slowly began to buckle and crack as the shells continued to ricochet off of it. Red suddenly shouted something to his comrade and dropped the shield. Both dove out of the way of a flying school bus, which for some strange reason Alyss had decided to hurl at them, and switched directions and advesaries. Now Grey began to fire crackling lightning bolts at Franklin while Red began to smash away at Alyss's attacks with streams of dark matter. Those two travelers were a good and organized team.

Gritting his teeth as he barely ducked a lightning bolt, Franklin attempted to open a telepathic connection with Alyss. After a pause, she accepted the link.

"What is it, Franklin?" asked Alyss over the link.

"We need to start working together," replied Franklin. He paused for a moment as he ducked under a lightning bolt and quickly did a backflip to dodge the flash of shadow energy that directly followed. He then quickly dove behind a rock and began to retaliate with his sniper rifle again.

"I agree, we need to start working together. I am going to conjure up a meteor large enough to scatter them. However, I will need cover while I pull together the necessary molecules to create it. Can I count on you?" said Alyss as she continued to hurl spears, swords, missiles, vehicles, and other projectiles at her enemies, all the while swiftly conjuring up titanium or steel walls to protect herself from their attacks.

"You sure can. On the count of three, I am going to rush them. I don't usually use my powers directly for attacks, but this time I will make an exception. When I am rushing them, I will couple my sniper bullets with bolts of explosive energy. The overall attack will not be able to hurt them, but it most certainly will be enough to grab both of their attentions. Got it?"

"Understood. Good luck."

Three seconds later, Franklin leapt from his hiding place. With a roar, he rushed Red and Grey, hurling energy bolts and firing off bullets with fairly good accuracy. Grey hurled up a large earthen wall to protect himself from Alyss as he whirled to help Red face off Franklin. Franklin's rush-attack soon petered out in the face of this double retaliation, but it most certainly had gained their needed attention for the required amount of time. Now at a huge disadvantage, Franklin gritted his teeth as he simply dropped his attacks so that he could put all of his energy into ducking, dodging, and flipping through the air to avoid the powerful onslaught. Suddenly, after hurling himself over a long beam of light energy, Franklin tripped over a small rock. He fell face first with a grunt. He immediately tried to get up and prepare to dodge another wave of attacks, but he was too slow. A bolt of explosive energy landed less than a meter away from his face. The blast was not fatal, and it did not possess enough thermal power in it to scar his face, but the shockwave most certainly sent him skimming backwards. His ears ringing, with colorful circles blossoming before his eyes, Franklin was now helpless.

Grey glanced at Red and turned back to the earthen wall he had set up as he said, "I'll leave you to finish him."

Grey dropped the wall, and found Alyss, with a massive block of granite and iron hovering above her head. Alyss flashed her hands down in a sweeping motion, commanding her creation to spiral towards he enemies. Both Red and Grey tried to hurl themselves out of the way, but they were too late. The explosion of earth, iron, granite, and dust sent them flying away from each other. The second Grey hit the ground, he leapt up and prepared to assault Alyss, but he suddenly jerked, as if he had been shocked, and fell over with four bullets in him, one in each appendage. Red, however, managed to throw up an energy shield in time, successfully blocking the bullets meant for him… but now he was hopelessly outgunned. Soon his shield collapsed from being struck by a Boeing 747 (courtesy of Alyss), and he had to whirl to defend himself from a wave of bullets from Franklin. He conjured up a thick steel plate, which he levitated in front of himself. He listened to the sound of the sniper bullets smashing against them, and watched the dents appear. Following this up, he hurled the metal plating at Franklin and whirled to face Alyss once more, only to see a train, conjured out of thin air, barreling towards him. It smashed into him and sent him flying into the air. He was out cold before he hit the ground.

Breathing heavily, Franklin walked up to Alyss and shook her hand. "That was well done, Alyss."

Alyss smiled calmly as she said, "It most certainly was."

Franklin turned around and proceeded to drag the unconscious forms of Red and Grey over to a large rock, where he leaned them against its surface. He turned to Alyss, then, and said, "What are we going to do with them? We can't kill them."

Alyss nodded, and pulled out two pairs of Dimensional Traveler-grade handcuffs. "These will keep them from moving, opening a portal, or teleporting. They will be snug and sound here, in the middle of Wyoming, with no other sentient beings in a five kilometer radius."

Franklin grinned as he slapped on the handcuffs, setting them to "paralyze" mode. He then turned to Alyss and sighed. "Do you want to join up with Daniel and the rest?"

Alyss thought about it, and then shook her head. "No," she said, "I will not be joining you guys. I have my own obligations. And now that I know that the Paradox cannot be trusted, there are few things I must do to ensure he does not continue to ensnare us in his lies. I will be leaving."

"Very well," replied Franklin with a nod, "I understand. I will free these guys later. As for you, I wish you all the luck in the world. Goodbye."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: More battle scenes... I am sure that most of you are pleased with a little bit of action after a lot of talking and walking! I am going to make an addition to my guide (more dimensional theory stuff), so keep a lookout for that! Oh, and I would appreciate it if you guys let me know of what you think about the new lords. See you all later, and do not forget to review!<strong>


	64. Chapter 64 - More Meetings

**Note: Guess who finally makes an appearance after such a long time?**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Outskirts of Ponyville_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of Doxia_

Sunset Shadow, Flaming Star, Starlight Amber, Fluttershy, and Twilight were sitting on a large picnic blanket in a field just outside of Ponyville.

"What a wonderful day," sighed Flaming Star as he watched the clouds roll by.

"Did you hear that, Twilight? He said, 'What a wonderful day!' That must be a good sign," chuckled Sunset.

Twilight nuzzled Flaming Star's cheek as she said, "Oh yes. It is wonderful."

Flaming Star winked at Sunset. "Just you wait. Give me a couple of years, and I'll be more of a pacifist than you!"

Sunset rolled his eyes good-humoredly as he said, "Sure. Good luck with that."

"Lunch anypony?" asked Fluttershy happily as she shifted a large basket to the center.

"Most certainly!" exclaimed Twilight with gusto.

Fluttershy unloaded the food, and they all began to dig in.

"So, do you think Doxia located those mysterious vials by now?" asked Twilight as she ate.

Sunset, who was helping Starlight eat, turned to Twilight and shrugged. "I am unsure. However, from what I understand of Doxia, if he had found it, there would probably be a banner the size of the Frozen North plastered across the sky declaring his victory by now."

Flaming Star chuckled. "I bet you are right. So I suppose the answer is no as of yet."

"I guess so," sighed Twilight, looking a little disappointed. "I really want to be doing something right now! Nothing exciting has happened in a while."

"And it's so nice…" sighed Fluttershy, completely misinterpreting the tone of discontent in Twilight's voice.

Sunset spread a wing lightly over Fluttershy's back as he said, "I like it this way. I could live my entire life out without any more adventures and be totally happy."

"I don't know," chuckled Flaming Star, "I have to agree with Twilight. I think my brain has gone to power-save with all this lack of excitement."

"To each their own," replied Sunset, "And that is why you two are perfect together, Twilight and Flaming Star."

"Thank you. Likewise," said Flaming Star.

There was a lapse in the conversation… Then Archangel Michael arrived in a blast of light.

Fluttershy immediately squeaked in horror and grabbed Starlight and leapt behind Sunset as Flaming Star and Twilight jumped up to face off with this stranger. There was yet another pause as Sunset, Flaming Star, and Twilight glared at Michael. Then Flaming Star realized who he was looking at.

"Oh man… You're Archangel Michael!"

Michael dipped his immaculate head in acknowledgement. "I am."

Flaming Star shook his head in wonderment as he continued, "I mean… Wow… I haven't seen an actual angel, let along one of you guys, in, like, FOREVER."

"Seven thousand years from this date, to be exact," replied Michael, "However, I am not here to celebrate the anniversary of not showing myself to mortals. I am here to explain a dire situation."

Twilight, who pretty much had not heard a single thing he had said due to wonderment, interjected, "Wow! I've never seen such amazing creatures as you before! You are beautiful! Amazing! Awe-inspiring! Can I take your picture? Could I draw some sketches?"

Michael simply gave Twilight a prolonged glance in reply, and Twilight backed down, blushing. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I just carried away sometimes."

Flaming Star smiled gently at her and spread a wing over her back. He then looked at Michael and said, "What is this dire situation that you speak of?"

"The Grand Devil has declared war on the Paradox and his Brotherhood," said Michael. "We are monitoring the war so that we can micromanage the events to our own ends, but this cannot ensure that innocent beings will not be hurt in the process. I have been forbidden to help you all directly in light of these new events, but I have chosen Samuel Dellor, or, as you call him, Caustic Rain, to act as my hands and feet. Or hooves, if you will. Another development has just been sent to me as well: The Paradox has stolen the vials that Dimensional Lord Doxia has been searching for during this time. In retaliation, Doxia has assembled a team so that he can raid the Amethyst dimension, the place that holds the vials now. I will leave now, but I urge you all to act with extreme caution: something will be happening soon, and you all will need to be ready, I am sure of it. I must go now: Heaven is recalling me momentarily."

With that, Michael vanished in a flash of light. Twilight shook her head. "Absolutely amazing. An angel! I cannot wait to write a letter to Princess Celestia about this!"

"He was so beautiful… and scary," breathed Fluttershy, who pressed her cheek against Sunset's.

"Yes, Archangel Michael tends to inspire awe… most angels do. However, we need to worry about this new situation with Doxia. I believe that he was last with Discord, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity in the Crystal Empire, so I suggest we get up there now so that we can see first-hood what is unfolding," said Flaming Star briskly.

Twilight nodded her head. "I agree! Let's go. Dear?"

Twilight glanced at Flaming Star, who nodded at her. He then opened a portal directly to the Crystal Empire castle. The group then trotted through. The second they entered, they were surrounded by crystal guard ponies. However, the moment they recognized the group, the leader of the brigade bowed deeply and said, "Commander Flaming Star, Princess Twilight, Princess Cadence and her friends are awaiting in the royal lounge."

"Why doesn't anypony acknowledge me anymore?" chuckled Sunset, more amused than annoyed, "I was the one who gave them cars and internet!"

"I acknowledge you," said Fluttershy sweetly, kissing him on the cheek.

"And that is really all I need," replied Sunset.

"Come on, this way!" called Twilight.

The group trotted after her. She led them through a series of hallways and up a grand staircase up to a large oaken door. With a hoof, she nudged it open and called, "Cadence? Are you there? It's me! Twilight!"

Suddenly the door banged open. Atraka had flung open the door, and he was looking straight at them.

"Intruders!" he exclaimed dramatically, "Apprehend them with full prejudice!"

Despite the fact that he had proclaimed it so loudly, neither him nor anyone else did a single thing related to apprehending them. Atraka then bowed and let them pass. Eyeing Atraka suspiciously, Flaming Star said, to Doxia, "Is this a friend of yours, Doxia?"

Doxia nodded his head. "He is! Can you see the resemblance? Of course you can't, we're not related. But we act related!"

"Thank God we're not related," muttered Vaporis, as Atraka attempted to get Twilight's phone number.

"Atraka, stop trying to get yourself attacked by Flaming Star and come over here," snapped Mattimeo.

Doxia chuckled as he said, "Yes, I think you should. Not that you getting attacked wouldn't be funny, it is just that we are on somewhat of a tight schedule."

"Fancy that, we can control space and time with ease and yet we still have schedules," muttered Atraka.

"That we do. The only reason we have them, though, is to keep wackos like you in check, old buddy," laughed Doxia. Doxia and Atraka then proceeded to perform a complex handshake.

"Oh my, do they all act like this? It makes me nervous," whispered Fluttershy to Sunset.

Mattimeo, who had overheard her whisper (he literally could hear a conversation between two guards a kilometer out), turned to look at her and said, "No. Only some of us. All of us had different ways with dealing with immortality. You see, unlike you, unlike the Princesses of this land, and unlike the Dimensional Travelers, we cannot die of old age, or get killed at all by mortals, so death is really out of our grasp. It's actually rather grim."

"Cheer up worry-face!" laughed Doxia, slapping Mattimeo heartily on the back. The slap sent out a shockwave, causing the walls to crack and the crystal windows to shatter. Despite this, Mattimeo didn't even budge. It was as if he had been struck by a gnat. Vaporis immediately began to fix the room as Doxia said, to Sunset, "We were just about to leave when you guys showed up. Wish to wish us luck?"

Sunset nodded. "I do. Good luck!"

Doxia threw up his hands dramatically. "You can't say good luck YET! We haven't even opened a portal yet! Give me a sec."

Doxia turned to Twilight and Flaming Star and said, "Mattimeo, Discord, and I are going to steal back the vials. However, I am leaving Atraka and Vaporis here to protect the place. Don't worry, Vaporis is experienced, he will keep Atraka in place. You guys will be safe for as long as we are gone."

Flaming Star nodded his head. Doxia nodded back and then opened up a portal. "Wish me well!" he called with gusto.

Everypony waved and called out as Doxia, Mattimeo, and Discord stepped through the portal. It closed with a "pop" and the room fell silent. After a long pause, Cadence finally spoke. "Hey… Where's Rarity?"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Transformers<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Smithsonian, Washington, D.C., United Sates of America_

_Time: Two years after the events of the Dark of the Moon, four days after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

Funsch glanced at Daniel and Wild as they all prepared to storm the Smithsonian. It was midnight, and there were guards posted all over the place. Unfortunately, there had been some form of Decepticon (the mortal enemies of the Autobots, the good guys) activity in the area, so the policing forces of the area had ordered double the security.

"Stupid guards, this is going to make things so much more difficult," muttered Wild as he used his excellent night-vision to pick out the locations of all the police people guarding the front.

"Well, how would you approach this, Daniel?" asked Funsch as he used night-vision goggles to look for the locations of the guards as well.

Daniel cocked his head to one side as he thought. "I suppose… I suppose a distraction would not be a good idea in this situation," he mused, "We cannot afford to have Transformers on our tails, because they are a whole lot harder to kill or incapacitate."

"I agree," replied Funsch, "I suppose we are going to need to go stealth mode."

"Great, I hate stealth mode… though I have to admit that I am quite good at it," commented Wild.

"That you are, Wild," said Funsch, "That is why we need you to take out the guards around the back for us while we work on jamming their communication signals and replace them with false ones."

"Why do I have to do it?" asked Wild, "Though I will say that I am not really complaining."

"You're damn right that you're not complaining," snorted Funsch, "Anyway, the reason you are doing it is because your best powers involve shadows, the essence of stealth."

"Point taken," replied Wild, "I will do it now. I will drop you a note when I'm good."

Funsch nodded, "Excellent. We will wait on your word."

Wild, now ready to perform his part of storming the Smithsonian, turned around and shattered himself into shards of shadows. His essence floated into the air as he scoped out a place for him to draw himself back into being. He saw a prime opportunity as he saw a guard pass by a shadowed doorway that led to the electrical systems. Wild quickly pulled himself together again in the shadows of the doorway and leapt at his target. He killed him silently and pulled him into the darkness so that it would hide his corpse. Breathing lightly, Wild glanced around. He then noticed the large doors that led to the hangar where Funsch had said he had been kept. Approaching it silently, he passed by two guards without even being spotted. Lightly flicking his tail, Wild deftly commanded the shadows nearby to reach forward with tendrils to strangle the two guards. The two guards fell without a sound, and the tendrils dragged their bodies off into the darkness. Suddenly several guards came around a corner of the hangar building with flashlights. Wild hissed low with anger as the light beams scoured the area, and he dissolved into the shadows. As the guards passed him by, Wild lashed out with the shadows tendrils. They wrapped around the whole lot and dragged them into the darkness where Wild finished them off with ease. The area was finally clear.

"Maybe I was never a good guy," sighed Wild as he viewed his handiwork: nine dead guards. He shook off the creeping feeling of guilt and turned to the task at hand. He quickly opened a link up with Funsch and said, "I took out the guards holding the hangar that has Jetfire in it. How goes your task?"

"Fairly well," replied Funsch over the link, "We set the system up. If we accidentally create a mess now, no one outside of this area will know, and the people who see us will be unable to contact anyone."

"Understood. Teleport here now," replied Wild.

In seconds both Evan Funsch and Daniel Dragoon were with Wild.

Daniel shook his head as he watched the living shadows, commanded by Wild, dissolve the dead guards into nothing. "You may have cleaned up the gore here, but this won't mean question will be asked when dawn comes," said Daniel gravely.

"When dawn comes, we will be gone," said Wild.

"You killed five innocent men and four innocent women," said Daniel gravely.

"They're going to be dead anyway if we don't stop the Paradox," snapped Wild.

"Stop it you two. There is no time to argue ethics, we're all monsters now anyway," interjected Funsch evenly.

Daniel sighed deep and long, but then nodded, "Very well. Let's get moving."

Funsch nodded and turned to the large hangar doors. With a single motion, he commanded the doors to silently open. The moment they did, the three strode purposefully inside. Funsch turned on the lights with a snap of a finger. He then said, "Look for the Blackbird Spy Plane. Send the rest of us a telepathic shout when you do."

Wild and Daniel nodded to him in return and the three spilt up, scouring the whole of the hangar, which was full with airplanes, jetfighters, blimps, and satellites. After a good ten minutes of searching, Daniel found the spy plane. It was off in a corner, overshadowed by a large cross-section of a Boeing 787. Jumping on the telepathic link, Daniel said, "I've found him… I think. Come over."

In less than a second, Wild and Funsch joined Daniel.

"Figures he found the most obvious place to be inconspicuous," chuckled Funsch as he looked over Jetfire in the form of the Blackbird Spy Plane, "He doesn't look half bad."

"I agree," said Wild sarcastically, "Now, can we wake him up and get the hell on with this?"

Funsch rolled his eyes. He then strolled up and lightly tapped the cockpit of the plane. Suddenly electricity leapt from his finger tip. The bolt began to travel over the length of the plane, crackling and sizzling. Suddenly the Blackbird Spy Plane reared up… and began to transform. With a screeching and buzzing noise, the plane rippled and warped as the thing became Jetfire. The next thing Funsch, Daniel, and Wild knew, Jetfire was before them.

"What… Who? What kind of Mausoleum is this? Back, little fleshlings! Back! Behold the eternal glory of Jetfire! Commanding system override! Get me out!" exclaimed Jetfire as he got up, on his feet, and promptly fell over.

"Jetfire! It's me! Evan Funsch!" yelled Funsch as Jetfire got up again, waving and gesticulating with his walking stick wildly.

Jetfire stopped waving his stick and paused. He then slowly leaned over so that he was eye-level with Funsch.

"Funsch? Well I'll be smelted and cooked into bolts! Funsch! You old whippersnapper! You came back! Wait… you came back? What is going on?" exclaimed Jetfire.

"We're here to ask you about the location of Finnain Jones," answered Wild.

Jetfire just ignored him and continued on his ramble. "Funsch! It's so good to see you! Why, I remember when you were just recruited. All 'hardcore' and 'green-nosed' you were! Remember that one meeting?"

"Yes, but we're here to ask about Finnian Jones," said Funsch, trying to sound patient.

"Stop interrupting, you young whippersnapper! By the Primes, you were just as young, impatient, and ignorant then as you were now. By the Primes… where was I…?"

"You were going to talk about Finnian Jones?" offered Daniel helpfully.

Jetfire scratched his metallic head as he thought. "I was? I suppose so… Wait… why would you lot want to know about old Jones?"

"We need to know where he is." Explained Funsch.

"What, you're not going to go on some ramshackle rant about how he doesn't exist first?" asked Jetfire, still scratching his head.

"No, we know for a fact that he's real. We met they guy who gave him his powers: Dimensional Lord Doxia," said Daniel.

"Doxia! That young rascal! Or should I say old? VERY old rascal?" mused Jetfire, "I will have to think about it. That's right! Finnain! Well, I am rather glad you young'uns didn't go on that rant about Finnain, most other whippersnappers will. So… what do you want to know about him? His quirky nature? His affinity for old books? What? Spit it out!"

"We want to know where he is," said Daniel, folding in his wings.

Jetfire leaned in close and said, "You're a dragon. Don't see dragon 'round here. Watcha doin' here mister?"

Funsch facepalmed. Jetfire was very easily distracted sometimes. "Jetfire, we want to know about where we can find Finnain Jones!"

Jetfire slammed his walking stick into the ground, creating a small crater in the concrete. "The hell you do! What's better is that I can tell you! He is in the Adventure in Odyssey dimension, in Abbington Falls! Iowa! United States of America! On Planet Dirt! Er… I mean Earth!"

"Abbington what?" said Wild, who opened up his database to check it, "I don't see anything on Abbington falls here… or anywhere! It's almost like it doesn't exist…"

Suddenly three portals opened up and three armed Dimensional Travelers leapt out. Wild inadvertently opening his database had triggered the tracking device.

Now Jetfire, Wild, Daniel, and Funsch were surrounded.

"Oops... My bad," muttered Wild

Funsch, however, just cast an unappreciative eye over his new enemies. "You guys are screwed, you know that right?"

The travelers didn't say anything. They just opened fire with a hail of explosive energy bolts. Jetfire leapt into the air as the bolts passed by him, obliterating the wall behind him. Alarms went off, and suddenly a group of twelve security guards rushed to apprehend the intruders. Unfortunately, the second they saw a transformer fighting with and against a group of power-slinging humans, a wolf/pony, and a dragon, they simply stopped in their tracks and watched.

Jetfire immediately extended the hand with his walking stick and flicked his wrist. Suddenly the walking stick transformed into a superheated battle axe. He proceeded to swing it in a massive curving ark at one of the enemy travelers. The unfortunate soul was unable to dodge in time, and it cut him, as well as five vintage airplanes, in half.

The other two (brother and sister) continued to fire rapidly as they backed up. They both were obviously tier 1s in power because they warded off Wild and Funsch with ease while successfully dodging fire bolts from Daniel.

Wild gave out a yell as a lacerating bolt of power skimmed across his right shoulder. He went down as a second bolt cut a gash in his back left limb. Funsch expertly fired off a hail of laser bolts using his blaster pistol at an overhanging satellite display. It fell with a crash, and shards of sharp glass spewed everywhere, forcing the two last enemies to dive for cover. Thanks to this distraction, Funsch was able to successfully drag Wild out of the line of fire. One of the enemy travelers then leapt from cover and fired a stream of dark matter. Funsch ducked under the bolt and fired off several laser bolts from his blaster. The traveler let out a yell as one bolt cut through his left hand. He dove for cover behind a Blackbird Spy Plane... Just as the traveler thought that he had gotten a breather, the plane transformed into a very angry Jetfire.

"You insolent fleshling! I will teach you to mess with the eternal Jetfire!" roared Jetfire as he picked the enemy traveler up and hurled him against a wall with all his might. The traveler struck the wall with a crash. He slid to the ground, dead. The other traveler turned to fire at Jetfire, who simply warded of her attacks with ease. Jetfire hurled his battle axe, and she dove out of the way. Unfortunately for her, her maneuver put her out in the open… It was the last thing she ever did. A hail of laser bullets ended her life in seconds.

Jetfire turned to the security guards who were still watching and yelled, "Begone!"

The guards scrambled away and fled into the night. Opening a portal to the black void of the negative zone, Funsch picked up the three dead travelers and tossed them into it. He then turned and began to heal Wild with his powers.

"I'm too old for this," muttered Jetfire as he plopped himself down next to Funsch. "So… what is our next move?"

"We go to Abbington Falls. We need to find Finnian Jones. We have one more teammate, Frankling Montgomery, waiting for us, so we will gather him up, and then take off," replied Funsch.

"Right," said Jetfire, "That sounds like a good plan! If there ever was a good one…"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Jetfire is such a fun character to write about. Okay, just to let all of you out there who follow "Days Gone By" know, I will be unable to load another chapter until at least Thursday. The case being that I have a lot of work that has to be done in school. I foresaw this issue to an extent, and stocked up my Doc Manager with "A Mending Soul" chapters; however, I forgot to stock up "Days Gone By" chapters. Thus, I will be unable to post anything until I have written a substantially good amount. As for "A Mending Soul," day-to-day chapter posting should go undisturbed. Anyway... give me some feedback! You give me feedback, I give you cookies! A fair deal, is it not?<strong>


	65. Chapter 65 - Stealing Back

**Note: Just to let you guys know, it would be best if you all read the "Dimensional Lord" section of the "A Mending Soul" guide so that the upcoming confrontation with Doxia makes a tad bit more sense. Thanks! Oh, and to all who have been craving cookies... Have a proverbial cookie! I have a jar full of them.**

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><p><em>Dimension: Amethyst<em>

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: Summit Meeting room 8, floor 9853171_

_Time: Unknown_

Pictor strolled into the room as he hummed a little tune. When Pictor was happy, it usually meant someone else was very unhappy… or dead.

"You have news, Pictor?" asked the Paradox as he turned from gazing out the window to look at his ally.

"I do. Both armadas are ready and armed. The distraction worked well. Not only did it preoccupy over a trillion demons, but we killed them all. I ordered them to demolish the dimension, if that is fine with you," said Pictor.

The Paradox shrugged. "It is of no relevance to me. Destroy it and the adjacent dimensions if you see fit. However, be very picky, we still do not want to provoke Heaven into a war with us just yet."

Pictor nodded, "May we begin the invasion of Hell?"

The Paradox nodded, "You may. Send out the Armada immediately. Preform maneuver Alpha Twelve. We have never used it, but it should be effective. The Grand Devil may be crafty, but he is trapped on Earth Prime, so his hierarchy of command is skewed… not to mention that we have more firepower in that single fleet than he has ever had ever. Burn it all to the ground. Burn it all."

Pictor nodded, but then said, "The Infernal Realm is massive. Even larger than our multiverse. How do you suggest we proceed without occupying the place or overextending outselves?"

The Paradox shrugged again. "Neither of those matter just yet. Stay in one large group and devastate everything until I give the word. This is, as I said, an hidden invasion, but we must ensure that it does not seem like on to Heaven as of yet. Perhaps we will even send a message to Heaven that they are no longer a superpower while we are at it. It is all part of the plan."

Pictor grinned inside his helmet, he liked the idea of bringing Heaven to its knees. "It will be done. The Sapphire Armada is here as well. What are you going to do with it?"

"It is none of your concern, Pictor," replied the Paradox curtly, "Now go off and head out with the Amethyst Armada. We are at war."

Pictor was bothered by the fact that his leader was not telling him everything, but, then again, he was bothered by the fact that someone as absolutely insane as the Paradox was leading at all. Nevertheless, the moment the Paradox said "war," Pictor forgot about his grievances against his mad leader. It did not matter that he was taking orders from a lunatic as long as war, death, and murder was involved with those orders. Pictor left, and the Paradox turned to the table in the center of the room. With a telepathic command, he brought up a holographic projection.

"Mattimeo is checking in: He is about to return from his mission," reported an electronic voice. The Paradox nodded and stroked the place where his chin would be. Could Mattimeo be a traitor? Could he be someone that would be helping Doxia? The Paradox then shook his head, clearing it of those doubts. It was not relevant if Mattimeo betrayed him. In fact, it didn't even matter if Doxia stole back those strange beacon crystals, which technically was still absolutely impossible without inside help. Nothing less than a direct attack from the Archangels of the Celestial Heaven could stop him from his plan now.

Suddenly he received a call over a telepathic link. He opened it up and said, "Inside Operative? Good. They've left? Excellent. I've set the trap for Doxia. Archangel Michael has fallen for his bait as well."

The Paradox closed the link and opened another to the leader of the Sapphire Armada, "The Plan is a go. Send your armada into motion."

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><p><em>Dimension: Seekers<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Great Bear Lake, Canada_

_Time: Unknown, four day after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

Mattimeo, Doxia, and Discord stood together on a snowy hill in Canada, watching a trail of bears gather together at the shore of a large lake.

"I actually recognize one of them," commented Doxia airily as he pointed to the opposite shore of the lake where a large group of Black Bears were. "There's Lusa. She's a Black Bear. Did I ever tell you about the time we met?"

Mattimeo shook his head, "You didn't, but I really don't care to know. As we said earlier, we are on a very tight schedule. Discord and I will be leaving immediately. You get ready to teleport in. If all goes well, the security system will allow both Discord and me into the phantom dimension, and we should be in and out in no time whatsoever. If all goes well."

"If, if, if, if… There is always that unknown factor that we love. To be or not to be… that is the question," sighed Doxia dramatically.

Mattimeo faceplamed. "Doxia, please, this is no time for theatrics. Oh, and 'to be or not to be' has absolutely nothing to do with the unknown factor that is the word 'if,' so please stop."

"You're STILL no fun, even after a trillion years," muttered Doxia. He turned to Discord and said, "Well, fellow prankster, are you ready to pull of the prank of the millennia?"

Discord grinned, rather nervously, as he said, "I believe I am."

Mattimeo nodded. "No time for uncertainty. We're going now."

With that, he turned and opened a portal. The portal sizzled and began to flicker as the phantom security of Amethyst scanned Mattimeo's portal to ensure he was a registered ally. The portal flickered one more time and then began to glow. Discord stepped gingerly through, and Mattimeo followed. They found themselves in a large, white room, with a massive window peering off into space. In less than a second, they were surrounded by Phasetroopers. Immediately the group pointed their weapons at Discord.

"Being not recognized. Intruder. Commands, Lord Mattimeo?" said one of the Phasetroopers, pointing a powerful blaster straight at Discord's head.

Mattimeo waved a hand, "I give clearance for this one being: Discord."

The Phasetroopers nodded and put down their weapons.

Discord then cleared his throat nervously. Mattimeo glanced at Discord, and all of the Phasetroopers trained their blasters on him again.

"Discord? Is there something you would like to say?" said Mattimeo, his voice deathly calm.

Discord grinned. "You're going to have to give a little bit of clearance for one more being…"

Discord snapped a finger, and a large bag appeared. He opened it and Rarity tumbled out. Mattimeo facepalmed. He then looked at the Phasetroopers and snapped, "You are all dismissed. I have this under control."

"As you command, Lord Mattimeo," said one of the leaders. He and his troop left the room swiftly. Mattimeo glanced at the ceiling, where invisible cameras were watching and scanning every corner of the room. He then turned his head to look at Discord.

"What is she doing here?" said Mattimeo calmly.

Discord grinned as he said, "She bet me a diamond that I couldn't get her to place a hoof outside of her comfort zone. So I made her place one outside."

"I meant a bet in metaphorical sense! It was proverbial! It was sarcastic!" exclaimed Rarity in a high-pitched voice full of terror.

Mattimeo shook his head. "There is no time for us to take you out of here. Rarity, you will stay here. Discord, follow me."

"Wait!" squeaked Rarity, "Don't leave me! Don't leave me here!"

Mattimeo turned and snapped a finger. Rarity dropped to the floor, fast asleep. "I'll deal with you later, Discord," said Mattimeo, his voice emotionless, "But for now, I want to show you something. Come."

Discord and Mattimeo walked down a grand hall of white. The floors were polished white metal, the high walls were polished white metal, and the ceiling was white metal. Gentle blue light illuminated every corner of the hall, despite the fact that there were no light sources visible. The place was deathly quiet, and not a single being was in sight.

"This place is quite grand, I have to say," breathed Discord in wonder.

"You would think so," said Mattimeo briskly, "But keep this in mind: you can only see what you can comprehend. This place is actually a whole lot grander than your vision can see and understand."

Discord shook his head, decided it would be best if he did not think about it. Mattimeo waved a hand, and suddenly the walls shifted around and shimmered. Discord turned a tad bit green as severe vertigo struck him as the walls blurred and moved, but the phenomenon lasted only a couple of seconds.

They were now in a massive, white circular chamber. There were twelve large, white, metal, automatic sliding doors placed in twelve different corners of the chamber. Mattimeo pointed to the on directly to Discord's right.

"Mapaxa is inspecting some security data in the hallway over there" he said, "Stroll in there and try to talk to him. Mapaxa is fortunately more like Doxia, where we became somewhat detached from reality as the eons passed by, so it will be easy enough to strike up an interesting conversation. You have to keep his full attention on you, however, otherwise his sixth sense will alert him that I am approaching. Do you understand?"

Discord nodded. He conjured up a spotted handkerchief and mopped his brow. Wordlessly he turned to the large door and approached it. The door dissolved into nothing as he approached it, and materialized again as he passed through. At the end of the hallway was a Dimensional Lord, Mapaxa. He was quite a bit shorted than Doxia, and also slightly less broad. He wore white body armor with bands of green running down his arms. His visor, which was glowing green, a thin T shape. The moment Discord entered, Mapaxa turned and stared.

"Well, if it isn't one of the Paradox's wacky mini-Dimensional Lords!" exclaimed Mapaxa.

Discord placed a claw over his chest as he said, "You know of us?"

Mapaxa strolled up and shook his head vigorously. "I do! Anyway, I haven't seen you here before. The Paradox liked you enough for you to let him in on his schemes?"

Discord nodded dramatically. "Yes! Well… I mean no. Mattimeo let me come. Sightseeing and stuff like that."

Mapaxa cocked his head on one side. "Mattimeo? He isn't much of a 'Yay let's be friends' type, really. How did you get him to take you here?"

Discord conjured up a suit and tie, and then placed a bowler hat on his head. He then grinned and said, "I have a sort of… flair."

Mapaxa nodded. He then conjured up a luxury suit of black and placed it over his body armor. "I like… flair. But can you out-flair me?

Discord threw an appendage across his brow dramatically as he said, "Alas, no! I could never cross swords with someone as illustrious as you… to borrow the colloquialism, of course."

Mapaxa chuckled. "I suppose you are right. I must admit, though, being a Dimensional Lord is like cheating… cheating on everything."

Discord stroked his chin as he conjured up a pair of glasses. "I suppose… are you up to a philosophical discussion about it?"

Mapaxa nodded. "I think I might. In fact…"

Suddenly Mapaxa stiffened. Then he fell straight over, unconscious. Mattimeo strolled up from behind Mapaxa's prone form and said, "Well done, my friend. You did good."

Discord pulled a face. "I suppose, though I was actually starting to warm up to him."

Mattimeo opened up a holographic projection via a telepathic command as he answered. "It doesn't matter right now."

Discord gazed over Mattimeo's shoulder as he said, "Of course. How silly of me. Anyway, how did you manage to knock out Mapaxa so easily?"

Mattimeo activated Debugging program 98.23. He commanded the diagnostics of the program to run on Sector 009 of the Sub-basement. After he did that, Mattimeo turned to Discord and held up a hand. A small ball of energy coalesced in his palm.

"You see this ball of energy? If I had missed Mapaxa and hit a wall, it is likely that the energy would have exploded and subsequently demolished Capitol Prime, along with its resident solar system and probably all of the adjacent solar systems as well."

Discord grimaced. "If that only knocked him out… than how do you kill him?"

Mattimeo shook his head. "With a lot more power. But one has to be careful about those ideas. If a Dimensional Lord, at full power, was to be killed by someone, than the Council of Heaven would no doubt go crazy, and a full-blown inquisition would be on our hands.

With that, Mattimeo contacted Doxia telepathically. "Okay, Doxia. The program is running, and no one is suspecting anything as of yet. But that could only be temporary. Be quick."

"I will," replied Doxia over the link. The intercom then disconnected.

In the Seekers dimension, Doxia did a couple of jumping-jacks as he prepared to storm the facility. After a bit of that, he decided it would simply be best if he got it over with. Opening a portal, Doxia dove through. Like everywhere else in Capitol Prime, the massive room he entered was completely whitewashed. The floors gleamed and reflected his image, and a gentle light blue light illuminated the scene. In the center of the massive room was a small raised block of white metal, a table. On the table was the container that held the beacon crystals. To the untrained eye (which basically means any non-Dimensional Lord) it seemed like the container was just sitting there. Doxia, however, knew better. Using his excellent senses, he was able to pick up a slight distortion in the time-space continuum. This denoted that the container was surrounded by a powerful force field. So powerful, in fact, that is was ripping unseen holes in the dimensional plane. A single touch could probably mean instantaneous death to a mortal, and a seriously terrible injury to a Dimensional Lord. Nodding to himself, Doxia strolled up to the force field and looked it over. Opening a holographic projection in front of his face, Doxia began to stroll around the table. After a moment, he positioned the palm of his right hand a hairsbreadth from the force field while he typed on his holographic projection at incredible speeds with his left. After at least a minute of performing this exercise, Doxia let out a sigh and stepped back. The force field then flickered and went out.

"I was always something of a computer nerd," chuckled Doxia to himself as he picked up the container. Suddenly, Doxia felt an incredible urge to duck down, and he did so. It was a good thing that he did, because a blast of pure power sizzled above his head. Seeing the bolt pass over his head, Doxia leapt up and froze the beam of energy in time, preventing it from colliding with one of the white, metal walls, and probably blowing it and everything else in a billion kilometer radius to smithereens. Snapping a finger, Doxia dispersed the attack into nothing and slowly turned to face his attacker. There were four Dimensional Lords, hands charged up with pure power, approaching on him, one was purple-armored, one was yellow-armored, one was white armored with orange and green bands running down his arms, and one was green-armored.

"Lynx, Corvus, Octans, Erwin, so nice to see you guys!" said Doxia to each being respectively, "What… I'm not allowed to take back stuff that is mine? I really appreciate you guys keeping this safe here for me. I was worried that those nasty burglars from the Busytown dimension would get them. Am I right?"

The purple-armored one, Lynx, pointed her fist straight at Doxia and said, "The Paradox said that you would be trying to steal those artifacts from us. He sent us down here to apprehend you."

"Oooohhhh… So this is an ambuscade! It's a trap! I gotcha," replied Doxia, "Do you guys even know what is in this container?"

"It doesn't matter," snapped the white-armored one with orange and green bands, Octans, "You have something that belongs to us. Give it back and surrender."

"So, it's all about 'finders, keepers; losers, weepers' now, is it? This is technically mine," said Doxia, who began to back up slowly.

"You're a rogue, we're bringing you in," said Erwin, the green-armored one.

"Erwin… do you HONESTLY believe that? Orion was a rogue, Mensa was a rogue… But me? A rogue? I doubt that, and I know you doubt that too," replied Doxia earnestly.

Erwin faltered, and stopped advancing with the rest. Unfortunately, the others were not as effectively deterred by Doxia's words.

"We're taking you down," snapped Corvus. He then charged up a bolt of energy within his fists and leapt towards Doxia.

Doxia slammed a foot against the ground, momentarily temporally flash-freezing his opponents. With time around him stuck in place, Doxia dashed towards Corvus, who had been stopped in mid-leap, and smashed a fist against his face. By this time, Octans had counteracted the time-freeze effect, and the timeline continued on its way like normal, but it was too late for Corvus, who had now taken a face full of fist. A shockwave blasted from the contact point, and the entire room cracked and crumbled. The lights went out, and shards of the white metal floor blasted up in splinters. Corvus flew away at Mach 7 and smashed into what was left of the west wall, demolishing the ruins. Growling in anger, Octus hurled a bolt of pure energy. Doxia commanded the bolt to cease movement, and dispersed it with a flick of his wrist. Doxia then extended a hand, and a beautiful, wondrous sword of epic proportions materialized in his hand. Then Octus and Lynx both conjured up swords as well. Now the two began to circle Doxia as Erwin stood off to the side, looking as if he was having an even worse battle inside his head.

Octus leapt at Doxia, swinging the sword down with blurring speed, Doxia simply deflected it with his blade. The subsequent shockwave vaporized any debris left over from the first shockwave. With that, Octus attacked Doxia in earnest, with swings, cuts, slashes, and jabs that would have brought Earth Prime's most experienced swordsman to his knees. Doxia, however, was not fazed by this at all, and simply parried each one, while using his footwork to keep him oriented in such a way that he could keep his left eye on the slowly circling Lynx at all times. Suddenly Doxia ducked under Octus's blade and grabbed his wrist. Swinging back his sword fist, and charging it with powerful energy, Doxia smashed the butt of his sword straight in Octus's face. A massive blast of power erupted from the contact point that sent physics and molecular chemistry momentarily haywire. After a second, things returned to equilibrium, but there was now one less adversary, with Octus now out cold. Lynx, who had stumbled back from the blast, now stood a wary distance from Doxia, her hands charged up to maximum potential with energy bolts. Doxia eyed her worriedly, if she fired those bolts and missed, and he failed to stop the attacks, the collateral damage could mean the end of Capitol Prime, Doxia's home for over 500 billion years.

"You don't want to do that, Lynx," said Doxia calmly, commanding his sword to return to nothingness, "You know the consequences if you miss, which, in all likelihood, you will."

Lynx shook her head vigorously, "No, YOU knew the consequences of defecting! How could you go on that killing rampage like that? HOW?!"

Doxia considered his options. Time-freezing only worked once against a Dimensional Lord, so that was out. She was too far for him to use super-speed, because her reflexes would save her. He could warp reality around him and her, but that would not stop her from firing the attacks, and shattering the dimension's physics locally would probably disperse only the power of one of the bolts of energy. The other would explode and demolish everything. Finally he came up with a solution: He would project a life-like holograph of himself while the real him became invisible in a flawless transitional maneuver. All he needed to do now was keep her distracted long enough so that she would neither fire her attacks nor use her senses to detect the deception. He needed to distract her. "I didn't go on a killing rampage. The Paradox and Pictor are lying to you all. In fact, you should be ashamed of yourself! We are Dimensional Lords! You were a Sapphire agent! You should know better!"

Lynx faltered, but then her rage got the better of her, "No! LIES! LIES! LIES!" Doxia was too late. She raised her fists and prepared to fire. Suddenly, however, she jerked… and fell over, out cold. Erwin uncloaked from behind her, massaging his bruised right fist.

"Ow, she has a hard head," muttered Erwin. He then strolled over to Doxia and proffered his left hand for a handshake. "I am sorry I doubted you, it was foolish. The Great Leader would not have wanted this. Amethyst Lords forever, right?"

Doxia shook Erwin's hand heartily. "I agree. I agree. I am glad that you saw the light. Now, do you want to come with me?"

Erwin shook his head. "No. I will stay here. You will need another inside-agent now that I know the Paradox is the real enemy."

Doxia shook his own head in disbelief, "You're willing to go to my side… just like that?"

"Look," said Erwin, turning to his side, showing him an emblem carved onto his left shoulder-plate, "You see this emblem? It's not the Sapphire emblem, it's not the E.D.D. emblem, and it's not the Enigma emblem. It's the Amethyst emblem, just like the one on your left shoulder-plate. We were Lords together in the Maelstrom war, and I'll be damned if loyalty to some haphazardly chosen lunatic of a leader gets in the way of the loyalty of old. Am I right or am I right?"

"You're right," chuckled Doxia, patting Erwin on the back, "I must go now, but you have given me hope. Something big is coming… so whenever you have a chance, flesh out the true Dimensional Lords. There are a couple of older beings who might be willing to help."

With that, Doxia opened a portal and strolled back into the Seekers dimension with his container of beacon crystals in tow. With one last glance at Erwin, who had flung himself on the floor to make it look like he had been knocked out as well, Doxia closed the portal and opened a link with Mattimeo. "I've got the beacon crystals. Sorry for the pause, I had a run-in with some old buddies who wanted me to knock them all out."

"That's not relevant, Doxia," said Mattimeo, "Are we clear to leave?"

"Yeppers."

Mattimeo, back in the Amethyst dimension, nodded his head slightly as he closed the link. He then turned to Discord and said, "We're good. Time to go."

The two strolled purposefully out of the hall into the large circular chamber. Once again the chamber shifted and transformed. Mattimeo and Discord then strolled into the entrance chamber again, where Rarity still slept. Picking her up and tossing her over her shoulder, Discord glanced at Mattimeo and said, "Whenever you are ready, old lad."

Mattimeo nodded and opened a portal. The two strolled straight out back to the Seekers dimension where Doxia waited with the vials. A piece of cake. Now all they needed to do was revive Rarity and then jump back to the My Little Pony dimension.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Okay, I said last chapter that day-to-day chapter posting for "A Mending Soul" would go undisturbed... I was wrong. I decided that this will be the last chapter for this week. I will explain why when I put up the first chapter for next week. I really appreciate your patience... and please leave the torches and pitchforks at home! Anyway, don't forget the R&amp;R stuff! I love reviews!<strong>


	66. Chapter 66 - Books

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot_

_Time: Four days after the arrival of Doxia_

"I actually really enjoyed today, Luna," commented Caustic Rain as they stopped outside his bedroom door, "And I really appreciate you spending time with me."

"I appreciate you spending time with me as well, Caustic Rain," murmered Luna, "I could not have enjoyed it more with anyone else."

Caustic Rain blushed as the two stood facing each other. He really wanted to kiss her, but the resistance was too strong. He swayed in place, and then sighed.

"Good night," he mumbled as he turned around and trotted into his room.

Luna sighed sadly as he closed the door. Shaking her head rather mournfully, she, too, trotted into her room and closed the door as well.

Caustic Rain settled down on his bed despondently. Though he hated to admit it, he truly had developed feelings for Luna. The way she had shown her love and care for him had touched his heart in more ways than one, and those feelings had started to rub off on him. Did he love her? That he was still unsure, but he most certainly liked her and cared for her, a huge step from a few days ago, when he loathed her. Shaking his head, he tried to go to sleep. Unfortunately, sleep did not come easily to him. His feelings about the Mare of the Night continued to bubble inside him, sending his stomach into barrel rolls and loop-the-loops. Groaning, Caustic Rain sat up again and banged his head against a bedpost. Why was this bothering him so much? It was probably because he had never dealt with such an issue before. Sure, he had worked alongside Tiffany, his deceased friend, during the dark ages of his life, but he had considered her a sister, and had never felt anything else. This… this was different. Sleep did not come to him for a bit longer, but, finally, it did come after a couple more minutes. With his mind still troubled with these thoughts, Caustic Rain drifted off to sleep.

His dreams, just like his mind had been before he had fallen asleep, were troubled and stormy. Once again he was visited by specters and ghostly events of his past life. His orphan years, his cold-blooded murder of Jahi, his shutting out of all those who cared for him.

Caustic Rain, caught in the middle of all of these horrors, could do nothing but bury his head in his hooves and yell, "No! No! No! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

Caustic Rain tried to simultaneous cover his ears and eyes with his hoofs as the apparitions grew more and more terrible. And just as he thought for sure that he was going to go insane… everything stopped.

"Are you well?"

It was Luna. Caustic Rain peeked meekly between his hoofs at the Mare of the Night, as she stood over him. All of the monstrous memories has evaporated into nothing. He was safe. He brushed himself off as Luna went over and sat in front of him.

"I am now, thanks," sighed Caustic Rain as he sat up. After a pause, he said, "This is why you wanted to have a room so close to me… so you could easily find me in my dreams."

Luna nodded her head gravely. "That is the very reason. I knew that your mind was still troubled, so I decided that it would be best if I kept an eye on you. It was a good thing that I did, for it did not look like you were handling those horrors very well."

"I never do," muttered Caustic Rain, somewhat derisively, "I just can't come to terms with my past."

"Why not?"

"It is just that… I mean when I was an orphan… there was that demon… then there was… You know what? I really don't want to talk about it."

Caustic Rain turned his back pointedly on her. Luna got up from where she was sitting. She then trotted over beside him and sat down again.

"I will not ask you about it then… Caustic Rain, why did you not kiss me earlier? I could tell you wanted to."

Caustic Rain groaned audibly. He really didn't want to talk about that either, and Luna probably knew that. "I don't know. I mean, you're a wonderful friend, and you've been so kind to me… It's just that… I mean… I am no good at this."

Caustic Rain sighed. He plopped himself on the ground and covered his head with his hooves again. Luna, funnily enough, lay herself down as well. She glanced sideways at Caustic Rain and said, "You cannot keep hiding your head in your hooves, Caustic Rain. Sooner or later you are going to have to remove them and deal with the world… and answer my questions."

"Well," snorted Caustic Rain, "What if I don't want to answer your questions?"

"Wanting to and having to are different things. You may not want to answer my questions, but I am demanding it, so you have to."

Caustic Rain groaned audibly again. "I have no good answer for you, I'm sorry Luna. I have to think about it. I will admit I have developed feelings for you, and it is obvious that you have developed feelings for me, but I am unsue where any of this will take either you or me. I need time to understand what is going on in my head and my heart. I am sorry… but I am unsure."

Luna nodded and got up. "That is the answer I needed, thank you," she said, "Your dreams should be clear now, and I am sure you will enjoy the rest of the night."

Suddenly Luna bent her head down and she kissed him on the forehead. She then vanished into thin air.

"Great," grumbled Caustic Rain, caught between total shock and confusion, "Does this count as a real kiss, or was it all just a dream? Great…"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Adventures in Odyssey<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Abbington Falls, Iowa, United States of America_

_Time: 2014 A.D., five days after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

Abbington Falls is a beautiful place. Many green trees, still lakes and ponds, and cozy houses... a wonderful suburban setting. It still looked like a place of wonder even after a massive portal opened up and a massive transformer, a dragon, a wolf/pony, and two armed humans strolled through.

"This is the place! This dimension's location was hidden brilliantly! No one besides myself could ever have found this dimension's location, it's so well hidden. Looks a little different from the last time I saw it, but, yes... This is the place!" exclaimed Jetfire, "There is no other land where I can truly feel at peace. By the Primes, it's like a breeze of cool wind through my old rusty bolts."

"It does have an aura to it…" murmered Wild, who was actually somewhat awed by the land. He had seen greenery before, but this place was different.

"Follow me!" exclaimed Jetfire enthusiastically. "The town is small, and it is spring break for the fleshlings, so we will, in all probability, not encounter anyone."

The group trailed after Jefire, but the pace was slow. Even Daniel, who stayed calm and objective about pretty much everything, could not help but stop and smell the roses.

"I actually rather like this place," declared Funsch. Franklin nodded his head.

The group finally voted on stopping for thirty minutes so that they could simply look around. It was an intriguing scene: A transformer was sitting in a patch of grass, looking at the sky while a dragon breathed in the scent of fresh flowers. While this was going on, two humans skipped stones while a wolf/pony rolled in the grass. To make the scene even more intriguing, each one of them was in wonderment. Literally. They had all seen their share of pretty landscapes and romantic views, but this most certainly had their attention. However, after half an hour had passed, the group finally agreed that they should be on their way.

"Do you know where we are going?" asked Funsch as they strolled into town.

"Of course I do damnit!" snapped Jetfire. He then began to mumble to himself. "Er… was it a left or a right?"

"We better hurry," muttered Wild as he glanced nervously about, "I don't want us to be spotted."

Jetfire rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes. I think we all know that. Um… er… Where was I?"

The group wandered about for a couple minutes more. Finally Funsch had had enough and he strolled ahead. He then stopped, turned around, and blocked Jetfire's path.

"Just what do you think you're doing, you young whippersnapper? Get the hell out of my way!" snapped Jetfire.

"I'll 'get the hell out of your way' when you tell me that you know where you are going," said Funsch evenly.

"I know where I'm going! We're just turned about a bit! In fact, if we take the next left, we should be there! Or… was it right? Or was it straight ahead?"

"I don't know if this solves our problem," interjected Franklin, "But I found a store called 'Finnian's Antiques, Books, Coffees, Etcetera, Emporium. Does that help?"

Jetifre glanced at the store Franklin was pointing at and then began to gesticulate wildly. "See? I knew where I was going, damnit! I led us right to it!"

"Of course you did, Jetfire," chuckled Funsch. He strolled up to the door and knocked.

A bright, cheery voice of an old (yet spry) man called out from inside. "Oh, come in! Come in! But don't forget to wipe your feet!"

Funsch entered, and an interesting sight met his eyes. An old Caucasian man, about 5'8", with silver and grey hair, and bright blue eyes was sipping coffee and reading a book… upside-down.

"Oh, greetings Evan Funsch! It's so good to see you! Come, I have book just for you! It's all about excitement, Police car chases, and intrigue! You can sit down and read it while I make you my famous spicy Jamaican cream brew! Come!"

Funsch gaped. This was undoubtedly Finnain Jones, and he sounded like he had been expecting them all along.

"Well… I would love to," stammered Funsch as Finnian handed him a book and a cup of coffee, "But I have some guys waiting to see you…"

"Ah yes, Wild, Franklin, Daniel, and Jetfire! Super-duper! Absolutely superfalifous timing as well! I just got a shipment of books that I think my old transformer friend will find amusing!"

With that, Finnian strolled outside exclaiming, "My friends! It is so good to see you all! Come in! Come in all of you, for those who can fit through the door! I have some excellent books that I want you all to read! Daniel, for you I have a book and Dragons and Knights! Wild, for you I have a book on Werewolves! For you, Franklin, I have an adventure book about a brave soldier in the Vietnam War. And for you Jetfire… remember how I told you I would get your story about the Primes into writing one day? Well, it worked! Now there are over a thousand different comic books and graphic novels about the world of Transformers. Here is the latest graphic novel: Age of Extinction. I think you will like it."

"Well, normally I would love to read this… but we are on a tight schedule," said Franklin.

Finnian shook his head vigorously. "If you could all spend a moment to drink in the forest of Abbington Falls, then you all most certainly can spend a moment drinking in its literature! You may also have noticed that these book are relatively short, so not too much time will be lost either way. Go! Read! I will answer your questions later!"

For the next hour the group read their respective books from cover to cover. When they finished, they handed the books gratefully back. As he handed his book back, Funsch said, "Though I will admit this was a really good book, why make us go through all this trouble? Can you answer our questions now?"

"I will in a moment, young Funsch," replied Finnian, "But first you four must answer a question of mine: What was the moral of each of your stories?"

"Mine was that no matter the situation, doing good is what must be done. Not because it is easy or necessary, but because it is the right thing to do. It is our obligation as sentient beings," said Funsch slowly.

Franklin nodded. "That was mine as well." Wild nodded in agreement.

Jetfire stared at his comic book and said, "I didn't see any of that here! Oh… here's a note. Aha! I got it! Same here!"

Finnian nodded. "No matter what happens, you fellows must never lose hope in things that are good and right. Morals and principle may seem like obstructions to stopping evil, but you must understand that evil is nothing more than an idealistic cancer. It can only be snuffed out when the multiverse stops wanting things only for themselves. Once you learn to love your neighbors as yourselves, then all evil will cease to exist. You cannot kill evil, because by murdering, you yourself become evil, thus negating the purpose of being a hero in the first place."

Wild gazed down at his front hoofs, rather cowed, "You are right, of course."

Finnian smiled quietly. "You four understand what I am trying to say… That is good. Now… what is it that you all wanted to ask me so badly?"

"We want to know where the Crystal of Harmony is. Legend has it that you know where it is," said Daniel with purpose.

Finnian winked at him and said, "That I most certainly do! However, I only just located it, a couple of months ago! And by then I had no way to contact Doxia, and I couldn't leave this place to find him due to all those bloodthirsty mercenaries. Fancy you all coming here for this information. At the risk of your lives! Quite noble, and that is very good!"

Finnain pulled a little device the size of a dime. He squeezed it once, and the device projected a holographic image of the whole Earth Multiverse. A small light flashed around one of the small specks that represented a lone universe.

"See this adorably small flashing light? Yes? This is the location of the Crystal of Harmony," explained Finnian enthusiastically.

"That is in one of the far outer rings," mused Daniel, "In fact… that one dimension looks so remote that I don't think it even is on the traveler database!"

"Right you are, young Daniel!" exclaimed Finnian, "The Paradox was clever when he got Gagan Enosson to placed the Crystal of Harmony! There is no way to access it with a mere portal!"

Wild bit his lip. "Oh man… How do we get to it then?"

Finnain shut off the device and flipped it in the air as if it was a quarter. He then pocketed the device and said, "Why, with an interdimensional space bridge of course!"

"I thought all of those were shut down when the Paradox first started to recruit Dimensional Travelers," said Funsch.

"They all were! Except for one: the Kappa Bridge in the phantom dimension of Amethyst!" declared Finnian.

Wild facehoofed. "Great," he sighed, "Now we really ARE going to die. How in the hay are we going to get into Amethyst, let alone activate a space bridge?"

Finnian shrugged. "I am not sure. Who is up for some hot coco?!"

"I'm sure we would love all that," said Daniel, "But I really think we need to get back to the My Little Pony dimension."

"I... don't... know..." muttered Franklin, who was having trouble deciding if he wanted to see Sapphire Anemone again, or if he wanted to hide from her.

"Screw that," snorted Wild, "We need to get going."

Finnian just smiled sadly. "I'm afraid that probably won't work. You see... It's happening."

"Whatever," said Wild. He then began to search for the My Little Pony dimension location. After at least five minutes of silence, his face paled.

"Um... guys?" he whispered harshly, "I can't find it."

"Can't find it?" sputtered Jetfire, "Preposterous! Let me show you how it's done, young'un!" With that, Jetfire began to search for the location in his mind. He failed to find it as well.

"What's going on?" snapped Funsch.

"I... I don't understand," muttered Wild, "It's as if the location of the My Little Pony dimension has been wiped from our minds!"

"It's called the phantom effect," sighed Finnian, "It comes from a unique security device that hides the Amethyst dimension. It seems that someone has set up a similar device in the Harmony Tree dimension. Do you know what that means?"

Though he knew very well what it meant, Funsch couldn't help but say, "What?"

"It means," explained Finnian with a sad smile, "That the Paradox has locked you all out so that he can return to the Tree of Harmony without opposition."


	67. Chapter 67 - Darkening Sun

_Dimension: Seekers_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The Great Bear Lake, Canada_

_Time: Unknown, five days after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

"Rarity? Rarity!"

Rarity's eyes snapped open at the sound of Doxia's voice. Looking around and yawning, she said, "Oh, hello Doxia… I don't remember asking you over for a sleepover. Nevermind… I had such an odd dream last night: I dreamt that Discord ponynapped me and took me with him with you to a different dimension. It was all white and blue, with those hideous Phasetroopers everywhere. All white and blue metal… Hmmmmm… I can work with those two colors. I actually rather like that idea for a room…"

Suddenly she stopped talking and realized that she was not at her house. Scrambling up, she looked around and realized that they were in a place that she in no way recognized. They were still in the Seekers dimension. She facehoofed and groaned, "By Equestria… That wasn't a dream… was it?"

"Nope," chuckled Doxia, patting her on the back, "But it soon will be nothing less than an unpleasant memory. Now that you're awake, we can jump back to your home."

Rarity ignored Doxia as she stormed up to Discord, who was hovering a couple of meters away, drinking tea. "Discord! You ponynapped me! This is outrageous! I will have you court marshaled or something related to that! You disrespectful, irresponsible, poorly-dressed…"

Discord threw up his upper appendages in mock horror as he said, "My, my! Calm your hoofs, dear Rarity! It was only a bit of fun! And look, you got out of that pickle with nothing more than a good nap!"

Rarity snorted out air in the most unlady-like manner, and turned to Doxia. "Doxia, I wish to go home, please."

Doxia saluted. "Right away ma'am!"

With that, Doxia signaled to Mattimeo. Mattimeo turned away and searched for the location of the My Little Pony dimension in his mind. He found it in an instant and opened a portal. The portal yawned wide, and they could see that it led straight to Rarity's bedroom.

Extending an arm to Rarity, Doxia said, dramatically, "Here is your abode… May I walk you to it?"

Rarity smiled sweetly and took his arm. The two then strolled through the portal… and bounced straight off of it. Stumbling backwards, Doxia quickly regained his balance and walked up to the portal again, but with more wariness in his step. He reached forward and poked the portal. A shimmering shockwave of sparkling points of light rippled out from the spot that he had poked, and Doxia's hand flew straight back at him. Cocking his head curiously to one side, Doxia swiftly opened a portal of his own. His portal, too, was blocked. He could clearly see Rarity's room, but it was as if they were trapped on one side of a wall of impenetrable, rubbery, one-way glass.

"Well… that's odd," said Doxia, though he did not sound in any way worried, "It appears that some moron has set up a phantom dimension device in the My Little Pony dimension."

Mattimeo nodded. "Confirmed. This is the same defensive mechanism that hides the Amethyst dimension."

"What… what does that mean?" said Rarity, her eyes getting wider and wider in horror. Even Discord's usually jovial face was pale with fear.

Suddenly a massive blast of light behind them alerted the group that an angel had arrived on the scene: Archangel Michael.

Michael moved up to them slowly, as if he was fatigued. He was not hurt of course, but everyone present could tell that he had just had some form of a workout a moment ago.

"Michael," said Mattimeo curtly, "It is good to see an Archangel again. Are you well?"

"No, Dimensional Lord Mattimeo," replied Michael, "I was ambushed by at least a million Phasetroopers."

Doxia looked at Michael curiously and said, "What? Phasetroopers? Please explain."

Michael nodded as he folded his great white wings closer to his body. "I thought I had received a call from a fellow angel," he said, "So I left Flaming Star and his friends to go investigate. The call led me to a barren dimension. I found there a device that somehow managed to imitate the Celestial distress call. The next thing I knew, I was assaulted by a vast army. Of course, they were not match for me, and I vanquished them all, but then I realized that it was simply a trick to lure me away from the Harmony Tree dimension."

Doxia nodded his head slowly, "That actually makes sense. In fact, one could actually say that my raid to get the beacon crystals was something of a trick to lure us away to! Have you noticed that we cannot get back to the My Little Pony dimension?"

"I have," said Michael, "and the dimension itself has become shrouded in my sight. When I found that I could not reenter the Harmony Tree Dimension, I went looking for you. We have all been tricked."

Doxia nodded, but still did not seemed worried. After a pause, Rarity said, in a quiet and meek voice, "Um… Beg pardon… What do we do now?"

"We use the beacon crystals," said Michael, who beckoned Doxia to hand the container to him, "There is a device that is powered by this. Unfortunately, it is in the long-lost dimension of Rerenhaw, a place that was long abandoned by the Enigma Empire after the Maelstrom War."

"Wait a second," interjected Mattimeo, "We still have these two portals open. Though we cannot open new ones now, due to the fact that the phantom device has probably thoroughly blocked the location of the Harmony Tree dimension from our minds, and though we cannot enter the ones we have opened now, we can use these things as one-way spyglasses. I mean, the beings in there cannot see us, but we can see them, and we can still shift the locations of the portals, so we can scan the dimension for signs of the Paradox."

"An excellent idea, Mattimeo!" exclaimed Doxia enthusiastically, "But we will have to be quick: the portals will shut soon."

"Well, where will we first look?" asked Discord.

"Space," replied Doxia emphatically, "Mattimeo, take your portal and look at the solar system's outer rings. I have a feeling we might see something there."

Mattimeo did so, and what he saw caused him to sigh. Doxia looked at the portal too, and nodded. For the first time ever, he actually sounded worried as he said, "Everyone… look."

The group gathered around Mattimeo's portal and saw something terrible, yet awe-inspiring. A fleet of massive spaceships, some easily the length of the sun and three times the height of Jupiter, were slowly approaching the solar system of the Tree of Harmony… The Sapphire Armada, commanded by the Paradox, was bearing down on Equestria Earth, which conveniently had no Doxia, no Mattimeo, and no Archangel Michael protecting it.

"Okay, I have to admit that that is pretty cool," said Doxia, "I mean, literally… It IS cool. It's about -270.15 degrees Celsius out there… Oh look! There's the Sapphire Armada!"

Mattimeo facepalmed. "Doxia, please, this is not time for jokes. This is really, really, really, really, bad."

"Are they going to destroy my home?" squeaked Rarity, who was absolutely awed and frankly belittled by the amazing scene before her.

"They will not," replied Michael, "They are sending in the fleet to occupy the planet. The Paradox is not taking any chances. He fully intends to set off the Harmony Tree device, and he does not want to be interrupted this time. Thus, he is going to occupy the whole planet and suppress everyone in order to ensure that he is not disturbed as he completes the activation sequence."

"By Celestia! This is disastrous! Catastrophic! Astronomically ruinous! What are we to do?!" wailed Discord, who was genuinely in despair now.

Doxia crossed his arms as the portals finally closed on them. "Nothing," he said, though he no longer sounded worried, "There is nothing we can do. The dimension is now hidden from our sight, and we are unable to access it any longer."

"We're doomed, I tell you! DOOMED!" howled Rarity in a very unlady-like fashion.

"No, we may not be able to do anything ourselves to stop this, but that does not mean we are doomed," said Doxia calmly, "There is still Vaporis and Atraka on the planet. I have faith in them, I believe that they can defend the Tree of Harmony and our friends. They've done better in worse circumstances."

"Unless one of them is a traitor," said Mattimeo evenly, "It seems too convenient that the Paradox knew just when to send in the armada. It also seems too convenient that both you, me, and Archangel Michael were all distracted and brought away from the dimension at the exact time."

Doxia shook his head. "Nah. Weirder things have happened. Those guys down there are BFFs, all will be well."

Michael crossed his gold-wrought arms across his chest and flapped his wings lightly so that he could hover a meter off the ground as he said, "I hope you are correct in your assumptions, Doxia."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

Atraka and Vaporis strolled side-by-side through Ponyville. It was an incredibly odd sight: two massive beings walking through the town, and looking at it as if it was the strangest place they had ever seen. For Atraka, specifically, it was like he was walking through Disneyland.

"Such pink! Much color! Wow."

Vaporis glanced disapprovingly at Atraka, who had just spoken, and said, "Really? Isn't there anything better you could be doing other than driving me crazy?"

"Of course not!" exclaimed Atraka, "In fact… Wait! I have officially decided: I am a hipster brony!"

Vaporis faceplamed for the hundredth time. "For the love of God. Please… make it stop."

Atraka, who was now knitting a scarf that said "I love the Equestria Games" on it, glanced up at Vaporis and said, "Make it stop? It's only just begun! I'll write some fanfiction, then I'll learn how to animate in Adobe Flash, and then I'll make a Youtube account and upload videos, and then I'll get one of my OCs acknowledge in a canon episode! It will be SOOOO awesome!"

Vaporis was just about to tell Atraka what he thought about that idea when he stopped. Someone was contacting him via a telepathic link. Vaporis opened it, and a voice came in.

"Inside operative… It is time."

Vaporis nodded quickly and closed the link. He then turned to Atraka, who had conjured up a laptop from thin air, and was watching how-to videos about Adobe Flash from the Lynda website. "Atraka," said Vaporis slowly, "Why don't we take a walk to Tree of Harmony?"

Atraka nodded his head vigorously. "You betcha! Brilliant idea! Race you! Onetwothreego!"

With that, Atraka simply teleported straight to the Harmony Tree in the Everfree Forest.

Sighing, Vaporis opened a portal to the point and strolled through. Atraka was already looking the Tree of Harmony up and down with interest.

"I cannot believe something so beautiful could be so deadly," breathed Atraka. For a moment, it looked like he was about to make some sort of a profound statement, but then he turned away and said, "Too bad it doesn't look more like a pine trees. Pine trees look sooooo much better."

Vaporis looked the tree up and down as well, and said, "Look at that red jewel at the top. Wasn't that once shaped like an apple?"

Atraka turned around and peered at the crystal. "I suppose so… I mean…"

Suddenly Vaporis hurled a pure bolt of massive power that he had been charging up since the moment he had received the telepathic message. It sizzled straight toward Atraka, who had his back turned. By some miracle, however, Atraka shifted a little to the left, but it was not enough to dodge it. Instead of the attack hitting the spot between his shoulder blades, it smashed into his right arm, blowing it entirely off. The shockwave shook the tree wildly, and a massive explosion of sound echoed from the Badlands to the Frozen North.

Atraka slowly turned around to face Vaporis and fell to his knees, clutching his right shoulder at the spot where his arm used to be. The arm had dissolved into nothing, and now pure energy, sound energy, and light energy were leaking from the wound and flowing to the ground. Wherever the steam of Dimensional Lord lifeblood touched, rips in time, space, and dimension blossomed forth in small bubbles.

Vaporis strolled forward and seized Atraka by the throat. He hoisted him high into the air and slammed him against the tree.

"A Sapphire Lord against a Sapphire Lord versus an E.D.D. Lord… I always knew the E.D.D. empire was weak," chuckled Vaporis as he tightened his grip.

Atraka was silent for a moment, then he said, in a quiet voice, "Why?"

Vaporis thought about his options. He could lie to Atraka, he could just kill him, or he could tell him the truth. After a moment, he said, "I don't know… Why should I tell you anything? I'm really just here to kill you."

Giving a retching gasp, Atraka whispered, "The Battle of Kashykus, Maelstrom War. You owe me."

Vaporis grit his teeth together for a moment as he recalled the battle where Atraka teleported him to safety as another Dimensional Lord had inadvertently caused the solar system's sun to go supernova. After a moment, he snapped, "I suppose I owe you that much. It's all been a trap, Atraka. When the Paradox stole the beacon crystals, he didn't need to know what they were for, he just needed to use them as bait. He knew that if Doxia found that they were missing and in the Amethyst dimension, he would call his allies. Thus, the Paradox left a trail that led straight up to Phasetrooper number four hundred, who conveniently knew the exact location of the crystals. Like expected, Doxia called in his allies, including me. Sadly for him, I was never too big on his 'let's save the multiverse' cause in the first place. Bet the almighty Doxia didn't see a traitor coming, did he? And now it's too late. He's gone and fallen into the trap, and left you with me."

Atraka shook his head the tiniest bit and said, "I wasn't asking 'why' about that… Why are you yourself betraying us?"

Vaporis thought about that question for a full minute before he said, slowly, "Revenge, I suppose… against everyone. Atraka, my dimension collapsed upon itself, and I lost everyone and everything I loved when that happened."

"Doxia lost his home dimension to age as well. Yet he never said a thing about revenge against everyone because of it."

"Doxia is a fool. He's crazy and detached from reality. As for me… Well, as for me, I've retained my grasp on reality all too well. I can see the macabre irony, I can see the sadistic nature of the joke that the multiverse has played one me. Look at us; we were fooled when we became Dimensional Lords. We were so busy trying to save the multiverse that we missed out on what life really is about: loved ones. And now, I've outlived my family, I've outlived my friends, I've outlived my cozy little cottage on Parker street, I've outlived my favorite park, I've outlived my whole beloved planet, and I've outlived my dimension. It's a joke, and I'm going to make the whole goddamned multiverse pay for it. I want everyone to suffer the way I've suffered. But since I cannot give everyone immortality, I will just give them an accelerated, more painful version."

Atraka stared straight at Vaporis, and realized that he was deadly serious, and that probably nothing he could say would deter this madman from his revenge. Even though his strength was waning fast, Atraka knew that he had to do something to prevent Vaporis, Pictor, or the Paradox from setting off the Tree of Harmony. Atraka's throat clenched up as he realized that the only way he could do that was with the ultimate sacrifice: giving his life up to protect others. Atraka's head swam as his mind battled out the decision. Could he give up his life like this? Would Vaporis let him live if he surrendered and pledged his allegiance to the Paradox? After seriously considering the last question, Atraka's mind filled with resolve: he would do what was right. The multiverse was lacking in heroes, so the single act of one dying good guy would mean all the more. Calling upon his last ounce of strength, Atraka kicked out with his feet viciously. His armored feet smashed into Vaporis's chest plate, denting it severely and sending Vaporis spiraling backwards at about twelve times the speed of sound. Atraka massaged his neck for a second before preparing his final sacrifice. Spreading his one arm wide, Atraka closed his eyes and looked skywards.

Vaporis rocketed back into the room and stopped half a dozen meters away from Atraka. Looking at Atraka callously, he laughed.

"What… are you going to destroy the Tree of Harmony with a cosmic shockwave blast? If you do that, the dimension will collapse. I will get away, but you and your friends will all die. Will that achieve anything? Imagine all those lives lost. You will be a mass murderer… not a hero. Isn't that what you want to be? A hero? Come, fight me, and you will die like one."

Atraka shook his head and looked at Vaporis. "No… I will not fight and die like a hero… but that still doesn't mean I can perform a final act like one."

Atraka spread his one arm wide again. Suddenly his body began to glow. Brighter… and brighter… and brighter… and brighter. Soon his radiance began to fill the whole land. Ponies in Vanhoover could see the light, it was so bright. Vaporis stared in absolute horror and awe as he realized what Atraka was doing: He was transforming himself into pure power. Every bit of material essence was being converted into energy, and that energy was being frozen into place. In an instant, Atraka died, and a bubble shield of pure power was born. This bubble, that now surrounded the Tree of Harmony, was glowing an eerie gold, and the time-space continuum rippled and distorted around the edges. Vaporis shook his head in resignation. Atraka had performed an incredibly selfless act… and it had worked. The Tree of Harmony, the control device for the weapon of mass destruction, was now encased in a bubble so powerful that even he dared not touch it. Vaporis slowly crossed his arms as he stared at the golden, pulsing, bubble of power that marked the final sacrifice of a true hero.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Five days after the arrival of Doxia in the My Little Pony dimension_

Caustic Rain's eyes snapped open. He glanced around as he got up. This was his second day here at the palace, and so far all had gone fairly well. Princess Luna had visited his dreams again, and had helped him survive the night that had always held such terrors for him, but she had not done that much else. Of course, she had kissed him again as well before she had departed from his dream that night, but he had decided that that did not really count.

Stretching, Caustic Rain sighed as he gazed around his room. He had never lived in such comfort, and it was all thanks to the generosity of Luna. That mare truly puzzled him, though. How could she even, dare he say, fall in love with him? He was literally the least qualified pony to be anyone's friend, let alone mate. He was insecure, introverted, and stuck in his past mistakes. Despite this, Luna had loved him unconditionally, had listened to his rants and sob-stories, and had helped him through his horror-filled nights. He knew that she loved him for sure now, but it would probably take time for him to understand why.

The door his bedroom opened suddenly and Luna trotted in. She stopped abruptly, retraced her steps and closed the door. Caustic Rain blinked in surprise, and was about to call out a question when Luna's hoof rapped on the door. Chuckling a little bit to himself, Caustic Rain called out, "You may come in."

Then Luna trotted in. She dipped her head as she said, "I apologize for not knocking in the first place. Do forgive me."

Smiling, Caustic Rain nodded to her and said, "You are forgiven."

Shifting over on his bed, he patted a spot next to him with a hoof, signaling her to come and sit next to him. She did so.

"How did you sleep?" asked Luna.

"Like a foal," sighed Caustic Rain, "Thanks to you, of course."

Luna smiled a little. "You flatter me."

"It's not quite flattery when all you are telling is the truth," said Caustic Rain.

The two sat together in silence for an extended period of time. Caustic Rain, who was now feeling more and more uncomfortable by the moment, sighed and said, "Um… did you… er… sleep well?"

Luna nodded. "I suppose so."

There was another pause. Caustic Rain wanted very badly to begin banging his head against any nearby object. The tension in the air crackled like lightning.

Suddenly Luna leaned over and kissed Caustic Rain in the mouth. Caustic Rain nearly had a heart attack and a stroke at the exact same time. However, the longer they held the kiss, the better he felt. He slowly closed his eyes, and was about to let his raw emotions drift away when the door banged open. Both Luna and Caustic Rain broke the kiss and leapt to opposite sides of the bed as Princess Celestia trotted in. She looked at Luna and Caustic Rain with a raised eyebrow as she said, "Well… Did I interrupt something?"

Coughing loudly, Caustic Rain said, "No, of course you were not. Luna was just wiping some ink that I spilled on my face. I was… er… Writing a letter to some old friends in Fillydelphia last night before I went to bed, and I must have forgotten to wipe my face. She was just helping."

Eyes wide with guilt, Luna nodded her head vigorously."Yes sister," she said, "I was doing just that."

Eyeing the two with amusement, Celestia chuckled as she said, to Caustic Rain, "Very well. I came because Flaming Star, Sunset Shadow, and their friends have arrived, asking for you."

Caustic Rain, looking surreptitiously at Luna, got off the bed and trotted past Celestia, mumbling, "Thank you, Princess. I'll go see what they want."

"I will go with you," said Luna, getting up.

Caustic Rain stopped and glanced at Celestia, who was now eyeing the two with a mixture of suspicion and amusement. However, the Princess of the Sun dipped her head slightly in consent, and Luna and Caustic Rain trotted away. Despite the fact that Luna had so vehemently wanted to trot with Caustic Rain as he went to meet with Flaming Star and the rest, neither of them said anything, and a guilty awkwardness chocked the air as if it was mustard gas. The torture, however, finally came to an end as they strolled into the large throne room where Flaming Star, Sunset Shadow, Twilight, Fluttershy, Starlight Amber, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie awaited him.

"There you are, Caustic Rain," commented Sunset as Caustic Rain and Luna cantered into the hall.

"Y-you wanted to see me?" asked Caustic Rain quietly, trying to inconspicuously inch away from Luna.

"Yes, we were visited by Archangel Michael a bit ago, and we were wondering about your connection to him," said Flaming Star in a matter-of-fact tone, "Could you tell us about it?"

Caustic Rain nodded as Celestia trotted into the throne room as well to join them. "I can. You see…"

"Ohhhhh! Lookie here!" interrupted Pinkie Pie loudly as she gazed out the window.

She said it with such vehemence and enthusiasm that everypony else could not help but look out the window as well. What they saw struck raw terror and absolute hopelessness in the hearts of even Flaming Star: It was the Sapphire Armada. A single colossal ship was hovering over the land, blotting out the sunlight over great portions of the planet, while is dispatched huge carrier ships from its metallic belly. As this was going on, a voice echoed over the planet, this voice belonged to the Paradox.

"Citizens of Equestria Earth! Do not be afraid, I am not going to kill you all just yet. In fact, think of this little invasion as nothing more than a little precaution. I want all of you to return to your homes and lock the doors. If everyone stays indoors, you will not be harmed. I thank you for your cooperation in advance. Again, please do not make me kill you."

"What in the name of Equestria… IS THAT?" whimpered Rainbow Dash, who was just as terrified as everyone else.

"That…" sighed Flaming Star in total resignation, "Is an armada of ships. From the looks of the Enigma Empire insignia on the sides, and the voice of the Paradox echoing everywhere… they are not here for peace."

"Should we be worried?" asked Celestia, who's eyes were full of worry and horror.

"Yes… You should be very, very, very, very, very, very worried," replied Flaming Star.

Starlight Amber started crying, and Fluttershy, who had burst into tears, buried her face in Sunset's mane.

Sunset himself simply stared in pure dread as the carriers, some easily the size of Cloudsdale, landed in strategic locations all over the planet and unloaded their armies of Phasetroopers. In moments everywhere was surrounded. The planet was under the Paradox's control in seconds, and little to no resistance was even offered. It was over.

However, as all light from the sun was blotted out by the massive ships, nothing but resolve bubbled inside Sunset's chest. He would fight for his freedom. The Paradox may have won this round, but it was the heroes that always won in the final chapter of life...

* * *

><p><strong>IMPORTANT NOTE: Okay, part 4 has ended, and we are moving on to part 5. However, this is where I've reached a crossroads. There are several things I can do now. Option number one is I can begin to focus on the underground resistance of Equestria. This will allow greater time for character development, Mane 6 spotlights, Caustic Rain and Luna moments, and some pretty awesome reading in general. However, the storyline itself will not be advancing very much. Option number two is I can skip over the detailed resistance moments and stories and get on with the main story, but I am unsure how much time will be spent on specific character development due to the fact that we have Rarity and Doxia in one dimension, and the Brothers in Arms corps in another. Option number three is I can hand off the task of writing on the Equestrian Resistance to someone who is willing and I can get on with the story myself. I already have a fairly good idea of how this will all play out, but I would love to hear what you guys have to say. If you give me reviews, I will give you bacon, or cookies, or both. Thanks!<strong>


	68. Chapter 68 - A New Uprising

**Note: Welcome to part 5 everyone! Well... It appears that it is going to be option number one by a landslide. Here we go!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: A week after the invasion of the Paradox_

The Paradox stood in Mayor Mare's room, looking out the window. Outside, there were at least a hundred Phasetroopers standing around, ignoring everypony. Oddly enough, Ponyville's citizens were going about their daily chores, only once and a while casting worried glances at the Phasetroopers who stood around in town square.

"See how well we can cooperate, mayor?" said the Paradox calmly, "There is no need for hostilities. I am simply here for a short time."

"I very much doubt that!" snapped Mayor Mare. Her voice sounded strong, but her eyes reflected terror. "You captured me and imprisoned me before. How do you think I can trust you?"

The Paradox turned to face the mayor of Ponyville. Though she tried to resist, Mayor Mare could not help but shrink back a little.

"You don't need to trust me, mayor," said the Paradox, "You just need to do as I say. I will be leaving soon to see to other matters, and I trust that all will go well here in my absence."

At this moment, Mayor Mare gathered up enough courage to snap, "The moment we see an opening, Paradox, we will strike! We are free ponies! No one can take that freedom away!"

"No one is, my friend," said the Paradox. His voice was full of mirth. In his mind, he was reasoning with an insect.

"I am not taking your freedom away," he continued, "I am simply securing some interests of mine. I am just being careful. See how your ponies outside go about their daily lives? Look, even Button Mash is playing at the arcade again."

"This isn't freedom," snarled Mayor Mare, "this is fear."

"Perhaps…" sighed the Paradox, straightening up, "But I can see that I cannot trust you. Nevertheless, I thought of a countermeasure to that."

The Paradox then tapped the side of his helmet, opening an intercom. "Phasetrooper seven-billion? Let him in."

The door opened and a hooded figure moved in slowly. Suddenly the figure threw back his hood, revealing the owner's face. The being standing before Mayor Mare looked young. However, he was a human. He was skinny, and his hair was long, black, and straggly. However, that was not what sent tingles of naked fear up Mayor Mare's spine… it was his eyes. The eyes of the human reflected nothing but pain, terror, hate, fear, horror, and self-loathing.

"Meet Dimensional Traveler Ravencroft Solace," said the Paradox, rather smugly, "He will be the taskmaster, my enforcer, of Ponyville while I am away. Naturally, he doesn't have an all-seeing eye like me… but I think he makes up for it with flair and ruthlessness."

"When are you leaving?" said Mayor Mare in a small voice. She then suddenly found herself very much wanting the Paradox to stay.

Almost as if he had sensed her thoughts (which, in all probability, he did) the Paradox said, "Immediately. Now, I suggest you keep your distance from Solace. However, the only way you do that is by sticking to the rules that I have set. There are not many, and they are easy to observe: no leaving town permanently, always be inside a house by midnight, and no weapon-related activities. It's easy to keep. You will be fine. If not… well… Let's just say Solace keeps no prisoners."

"Paradox," said Solace in a deathly quiet voice, "I will be outside."

"Well then," said the Paradox, almost cheerfully, "let me walk you out!"

Solace gave Mayor Mare a long, mournful look, and then turned around and stalked after the Paradox. There was a lengthy pause after the door closed, and then suddenly Mayor Mare let out a long sigh of relief.

A spot next to Mayor Mare's chair shimmered, and an invisibility shield dropped from around Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.

"Wow, I think he's getting cocky!" breathed Rainbow Dash, "You would have thought he would look around for eavesdroppers!"

"I think I wet my hoofs," gasped Twilight, her face still red from apprehension. After a pause, she said, "I agree though, you would have thought he would be paying attention. But then again, he's almost a god; he probably couldn't care less what we do."

"Well, we're about to make him care," said Rainbow Dash, "If he chooses to ignore us, then that is just fine! Less chance of us getting caught, I say."

"But what can we do?" sighed Mayor Mare mournfully, "The only ponies around that are powerful enough to fight are Sunset Shadow, Flaming Star, and Night Shade. Unfortunately, they are being watched and followed every second of the day…"

"I suppose," said Rainbow, "But if they are being watched, then it means we aren't! It is obvious the Paradox thinks he has gotten his priorities straight."

"Then I suppose the responsibilities fall to us to begin working against him," said Mayor Mare, "However, I cannot do much for now. I am constantly followed by Phasetroopers. You two are on your own as of yet."

"We understand, Mayor Mare," said Twilight with respect, "We will be going now."

With that, Twilight and Rainbow Dash crept out of the window. They slowly began to creep away when they bumped into Ravencroft Solace, who had been watching them from the moment they had left the office.

It wasn't so much the thought of being caught by this enforcer that terrified Twilight, it was the enforcer's eyes that blazed through her skull. In short, Solace's eyes held pure terror. She felt her bladder weakening.

"What were you doing in there?" asked Solace in a quiet voice.

"Heh… Um… nothing!" said Rainbow, trying to sound casual.

"I hope you two were not eavesdropping. Such treachery is worthy of death. However, death is not a bad thing," sighed Solace, sounding empathetic. Twilight, her pupils a tenth of their regular size, began to back up.

Solace didn't move to stop them. He sat down in the grass and picked up a daisy and held it in his hand. Suddenly the little flower blackened, and crumbled to dust. "Death allows you to reach places you never could have dreamed of… and be rejoined with those you love," said Solace, not talking to anyone other than himself now.

Suddenly he looked up and said, "You two may go… Please try to be careful. I am not averse to killing you, especially if you have loved ones on the 'other side.'"

Twilight nodded slowly. She then spread her wings and took off into the sky. Rainbow quickly followed her. Solace stood up and watched them go. Then he sat down again, slowly plucking strands of grass and draining the life from them as he watched Phasetroopers patrol the occupied town of Ponyville.

"Who was THAT guy?" asked Rainbow as they continued to fly, "He was mucho weirdo!"

"I don't know, but he was terrifying," breathed Twilight. Her voiced trailed away as she slowly became lost in thought. Then she snapped out of it and said, "We need to meet with the rest of our friends. We need to figure out our next step."

"How?" exclaimed Rainbow, "There are Phasetroopers everywhere!"

As if to compound that statement, Rainbow suddenly shoved Twilight out of the way as an Enigma hover-ship akin to a MK-84 VTOL drop-ship blasted by them, carrying a payload of explosives, probably to wipe some rebellious Griffon province off the map as recompense.

"I really need to work on my constant awareness," gasped Twilight as she realized how close she had been to being smashed to pieces like a bug on a windshield.

"You're such a rookie, Twilight," chuckled Rainbow, "Anyway, you still haven't answered my question!"

"I'm thinking…" muttered Twilight, and then suddenly she exclaimed, "I got it!"

She exclaimed it so heartily that Rainbow almost fell out of the air in shock. "Got it? Got what? Huh?"

"We can ask Pinkie to throw a party! A crazy Pinkie party is the perfect cover for us! You, me, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie can then meet together and discuss some plans for retaliation! Then Fluttershy can relay what we have to Sunset, and he can give us feedback!"

"Twilight… There is no Rarity," said Rainbow, her voice suddenly heavy.

Twilight's face saddened, and a couple of tears began to sting in her eyes. "I know…" she sighed, "But it just seems like she never left."

A single tear fell and spiraled away to earth. Rainbow immediately tried to brighten the situation. "Hey, chin up Twilight! Rarity may be gone, but that doesn't mean she's dead! For all we know, she could be with Doxia, safe and sound!"

Twilight tried to smile a little. "I suppose. Sorry Rainbow Dash, I'm a bit of an emotional roller-coaster right now. Even my books aren't helping."

Rainbow gave a snort of genuine laughter as she said, "Well, maybe that means you are becoming less of an egghead! No matter, I like your plan. Pinkie probably would love to through a large party for her new Phasetrooper friends."

"Friends," sighed Twilight, still a little troubled, "Pinkie would call a Chimera that didn't eat her a 'friend.'"

Rainbow laughed, "You're right! Never mind, though, we should get going! There's Sugarcube corner!"

With that, the two ponies dove down and landed outside the building. Two Phasetroopers were standing stock still, on guard, outside the door. They were both covered in flowers and Hawaiian leis. The one of the Phasetroopers turned his masked helmet towards Twilight and said, "Twilight Sparkle. Alicorn. Rainbow Dash. Pegasus. DNA scan confirmed. ID complete. Clear."

The two Phasetroopers stepped aside and let the ponies pass.

"Nice outfits," sniggered Rainbow Dash. Neither Phasetrooper responded or moved. Twilight quickly hurried Rainbow into the room and slammed the door.

"Heya everypony!" exclaimed Pinkie happily as Twilight and Rainbow Dash entered the building.

"Hello Pinkie," said Twilight with a small smile, "How are you?"

"Picture perfect!" shouted the pink party pony, "I have two new friends outside. They keep me all cozy and protected from those scary Phasetroopers. I made sure to dress them up though, so ponies wouldn't mistake them for one of those bad guys."

Rainbow Dash facehoofed hard as Twilight chuckled a bit. After a short pause, Twilight said, "Pinkie… I need you to throw me a party."

Pinkie's eyes lit up (if it was possible for them to do so even more), and she exclaimed, "A PARTY?! Of course! IlovetothrowpartiesallthetimetheyareamazingIloveparties! Where do you want it?"

"Here, if that is okay," said Twilight smiling, "I would like to invite Fluttershy and Applejack as well as me and Rainbow Dash."

"And Rarity of course!" exclaimed Pinkie, hopping up and down. There was suddenly a deathly quiet.

"What? Where is that fashion pony anyway?" said Pinkie, oblivious to the now saddened features of her friends.

"Um… she's gone away… for a while," said Twilight slowly.

"But she'll be back of course!" said Rainbow, trying to bolster the mood once again.

Pinkie immediately threw off the heavy mantle of depression as if it was a napkin in the wind. "Okie Dokie Lokie!" she exclaimed, "Sundown! Don't be late! Pinkie promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," said Twilight and Rainbow Dash in unison. With that, they turned around and trotted away.

"We've got a couple more hours before sundown," said Rainbow, glancing at the sky as they exited Sugarcube corner, "What the hay are we going to do until then?"

Twilight gave a deep sigh. Then she said, "Nothing. There is nothing we CAN do but wait. I'm going to my Library to read. You do whatever you want."

Rainbow looked at Twilight in surprise. This was quite out of character for her. "Hey… are you okay?" she said slowly.

Twilight shook her head. "No. I'm not okay. We are completely under the control of a lunatic!"

"He might not be THAT bad," stuttered Rainbow, still trying to keep the mood casual.

Twilight sat on her haunches and straightened up, exposing her belly. She then pointed to the white scar that ran from her collarbone to her pelvis. "The Paradox gave me this. He ordered his enforcer to do this. He is evil, and I know it."

Rainbow looked at her hoofs and mumbled something unintelligible. Twilight sighed again, and then spoke in a kinder tone. "I'm sorry Rainbow. I guess I am a little flustered."

"We're ALL flustered," said Rainbow, nodding her head slowly, "However, just because we feel that way doesn't mean we need to act that way."

Twilight blushed. Rainbow was absolutely right. "You're right," admitted Twilight, "You are absolutely right. I'm sorry."

Rainbow couldn't help but wink. "I'm right for once! That's a first."

Twilight smiled and got up. She then departed for her Library. Inside was Spike and Flaming Star.

"Hello Twilight," said Flaming Star cheerfully, "The cat's got the salad."

Twilight nodded. They had developed several code names for certain conditions. "The cat's got the salad" meant that they were being watched at that moment.

"Hello Flaming Star," said Twilight, putting on a forced smile, "What are you two playing?"

"Go fish," said Spike in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, "This seems to be the only game I can win, other than rock-paper-scissors."

"Make that only rock-paper-scissors," said Flaming Star, winking, "Do you have an eight?"

Spike threw his cards in the air in frustration. "Can't you lose at ANYTHING?"

Flaming Star stroked his chin for a moment. Then he said, "Rock-paper-scissors. I know that for a fact."

Spike rolled his eyes dramatically and got up. "At least I can cook and you can't," he muttered as he stalked off into the kitchen, disgruntled.

Twilight couldn't help but smile genuinely a little as she started lovingly at the two arguing. After a moment of silence, she said, to Flaming Star, "We're having a Pinkie Pie party at Sugarcube Corner tonight. We're playing Wolf Pack Charades."

Flaming Star winked at her. "Wolf Pack Charades" was another code; it meant that something pertaining to rebellion would be involved.

"I'll stay here then and fill out paperwork," replied Flaming Star, "You have fun."

Twilight understood what he was saying. He would stay here in order to keep spying eyes of her.

After yet another pause, Flaming Star slid over a bit on the couch he was sitting on and patted a spot next to him. Twilight smiled and sat next to him. The cuddled closely as Twilight sighed. "I missed these," she murmered.

Flaming Star nodded. This was no ploy to exchange information, or a distraction of some sort. Twilight and Flaming Star were simply enjoying each other's company.

Spike strolled in carrying a stack of sandwiches. He winked at Flaming Star and said, "Here's something I can do that you can't!"

Flaming Stack winked back. "You keep that up, Spike, and I'll learn how to cook so that I can compete with you."

Spike blanched, but then grinned immediately afterward. The three began to laugh.

"Who's up for a game of Settlers of Catan?" exclaimed Flaming Star cheerfully.

"I'll play," said Spike, "But only if I get every handicap the rule book has to offer."

"Done," said Flaming Star emphatically. He then turned his head to smile at Twilight. "And you?"

Twilight grinned excitedly, her eyes brightening. "I'm in!"

The three played Settlers of Catan as the sun crawled across the zenith of the sky, and tumbled down behind the west hills of Ponyville.

"Let's see, we've progressed through about 25% of the game," said Spike in a sarcastic tone, "A hearty cheer for whoever invented this game."

"Hey, at least it isn't Monopoly… Or Dungeons and Dragons," said Flaming Star, laughing.

Twilight was about to ask them to wait until her turn was over for them to reengage in an argument when Owlowiscious hooted and landed next to her.

"You're right!" exclaimed Twilight, glancing at a clock on the wall, "It IS time for me to go! Sorry everypony."

"Eh, that's alright Twilight," said Spike nonchalantly, waving a claw off in a randomly picked direction, "I'll take all your stuff for you."

Flaming Star raised an eyebrow at Spike, but then turned to Twilight and grinned. "You go have fun now!"

"I will," said Twilight, winking at him. She then got up and trotted off to Sugarcube Corner.

As she was trotting through town to her destination, she was joined by Applejack.

"How are you, sugarcube?" said Applejack cheerfully.

"I'm fine, Applejack. Thanks! How is Sweet Apple Acres?" replied Twilight, not taking her eyes off the road.

"Just dandy! I'm actually sorta likin' this Phasetrooper protection in all honesty," said Applejack, blushing a little, "They keep them nasty apple-eating critters off my land!"

"Well, that's the ONE thing they're good for, then," said Twilight stoutly, "And I hope you don't get too used to them, because soon they will be gone."

Applejack blinked. Twilight seemed quite cold when it came to anything Enigma Empire related. "Um… sure, sugarcube. You goin' to the party?"

"Yep."

"Wolf Pack Charades?"

"Yep."

Applejack shook her head and stopped trotting. Twilight glanced at her and stopped as well.

"Twi, what's the matter with you? You've been all cold-like since them Phasetroopers showed up!" exclaimed Twilight.

Twilight nodded. "I know I've been a little out of character lately. But it just makes me so MAD that they think they can come in here and just take over everything!"

"It makes us all mad, but we can't let it show!" said Applejack sincerely.

Twilight nodded. "Rainbow said that as well. I'm sorry, Applejack."

Applejack smiled and lifted her chin. "Don't go worrin' your head 'bout that, Twi. Let's go!"

The two mares trotted into Sugarcube corner. They were immediately met with a solid wall of pure sound the second the opened the door. Apparently Pinkie had invited Vinyl Scratch to play some choice songs at the party.

"What is going on?!" yelled Twilight, her voice barely sounding over the noise.

"I don't know, but I'm sure Fluttershy won't be able be heard at all here!" yelled Applejack back.

At this point, Rainbow Dash spotted them and flew over there. "Hey guys!" she shouted, "This was my idea! Isn't it great?"

"It depends on your definition of 'great,' Rainbow Dash!" yelled Twilight, "Can't you turn it down?"

"NO! With Vinyl pounding those tunes, the Phasetroopers won't be able to hear a thing!" shouted Rainbow back.

"She's got a point!" bellowed Applejack.

"Yeah, I do! Come on! Everypony is waiting in the other room!" roared Rainbow Dash.

"What about Vinyl Scratch?" shouted Twilight.

"She'll be fine! I think she's sort of enveloped in her own world right now anyway," yelled Rainbow Dash.

The rainbow-colored pony then proceeded to lead her friends into a side-room. It was covered in pink streamers, and there were several chairs organized around a large oak table. Balloons of many colors floated around the room.

Applejack slammed the door as she entered the room, as if the sounds outside had taken a physical form and were attempting to forcefully enter.

"Wow, that Vinyl Scratch certainly knows her thing," gasped Applejack, as she shook her head to clear it of the ringing sounds that reverberated through her head.

Twilight nodded wordlessly as she wiggled a hoof in her right ear.

"It's so nice to see you two," said Fluttershy quietly, smiling throw her flowing pink mane, "How are you all doing?"

"We're doing fine, thank you," said Twilight, smiling, "How are you? How is Sunset and Starlight?"

"They're both fine. Sunset is at home, taking care of Starlight. All is well," said Fluttershy, blushing a little.

"Enough of the formalities, you guys," said Rainbow Dash, "We need to discuss our plans of retaliation!"

There was a moment of silence as everypony looked at everypony else expectantly.

"Twi?" said Applejack finally, "Don't you have a plan or somethin'?"

Twilight shook her head as she sighed in resignation and exasperation. "I'm sorry, Applejack, but I don't have anything. There doesn't seem to be a way around any of this. I've inspected the Phasetrooper emplacements. They are well positioned. In fact, this entire invasion was thought through meticulously."

"That's no way to start a glorious rebellion," snorted Rainbow Dash with a roll of her eyes. She then hovered in the air and snapped, "Listen up you guys! What we need first is weapons!"

"Oooooh! Are those the shiny sticks that shoot those blue, glowing streamers?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie enthusiastically.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes again. "Yeah, Pinkie… Those. Now, we need to find a way to get either those Phasetrooper blasters, or projectile weapons."

"I don't know… weapons are a little… scary," mumbled Fluttershy.

"Don't worry Fluttershy, you won't need to worry about that," said Twilight, "You will mostly just be relaying all these meetings to Sunset."

"Weapons were banned in Equestria, in case you didn't remember," interjected Applejack as she raised an eyebrow at Rainbow.

Rainbow rolled her eyes, "Yeah. I know THAT. However, that is where Sunset would come into play. He knows everypony. Literally. Maybe he could give us some leads to some gun-ponies in other countries. If he could hook us up, then perhaps we could really start this thing."

"There's a lot more to this than gun-toting, Rainbow Dash," said Twilight skeptically, "But you are right. If we want to protect ourselves, that would be a start."

"I still don't like the thought of weapons," said Fluttershy quietly, "We are the elements of harmony; we should be able to fix this through friendship…"

There was an immediate lull in the conversation as each pony present thought about what Fluttershy had said.

"I know what you are trying to say, Fluttershy," said Twilight, her eyes full of pain, "But I don't know if that would work this time…"

"Why not?" asked Fluttershy, looking at her friends in genuine confusion.

"Because the Harmony Tree was a big fat lie, that's why!" burst out Rainbow Dash, "The one thing we thought could protect us was actually a weapon really designed to destroy us!"

"It's true," said Applejack, "Perhaps the time for us to do somethin' the hard way has finally come 'round. Maybe it is time for us to really consider how much are freedom is worth havin'."

Fluttershy looked down at her front hooves, and her face was covered by her pink mane. There was another long pause, and then she said, "I'll ask Sunset. He should know what to do."

Rainbow smiled in relief. She had been worried that Fluttershy would have refused to take a part in the uprising. "Great. You talk to him. So, should we all have another 'party,' say, next week?"

"Sounds good to me!" exclaimed Applejack.

"Me too," added Twilight.

"Me too," whispered Fluttershy.

"Awww… Is the party over ALREADY? Rarity hasn't even made it yet! Boy, is that pony slow!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie loudly.

With that, all the ponies departed.

"You know what to do, Fluttershy," said Rainbow Dash as she flapped off from the doorstep of Sugarcube Corner.

Fluttershy sighed, and looked up at the sky. It was dark now. She shivered as she began to trot home. It wasn't far, but in the darkness and the cold, it seemed nothing less than a parsec.

Suddenly a voice sounded next to her. "A beautiful young mare as yourself shouldn't be walking home in the dark."

Fluttershy squeaked in horror and cowered on the ground. A figure then stepped out of the shadows: Ravencroft Solace.

"I am sorry for scaring you, pretty one," said Solace in a deathly quiet voice. He then extended a hand and said, "Come. It is almost past curfew. I would not want to have to violate such fair flesh as yours."

Fluttershy, who had originally covered her eyes with her hoofs, glanced up at Ravencroft. The first thing she saw was his eyes. However, unlike everypony else, who saw nothing but hellish terror in them, Fluttershy saw something akin to a hurt, scared bunny rabbit.

"Oh, you poor thing," said Fluttershy, taking his proffered hand and getting up on all fours. "What did they do to you?"

Solace looked at Fluttershy carefully. Then he said, "They gave me a future. I am Ravencroft Solace, the enforcer."

"I know," whispered Fluttershy as she continued to look at him in pity, "But what did they do to you?"

Solace shook his head. "I said they gave me a future… But I am sure that you see it was a damned one at that. But I have no choice."

With that, Solace turned his head pointedly away. The two than began to walk to her and Sunset's house. In a couple of minutes they reached the doorstep.

"Please be careful in the future, pretty one," said Solace in his barely audible voice, "I will not hesitate to kill you if you disobey the Paradox."

Solace than turned around and began to walk away. However, just as he did so, Fluttershy whispered, "Thank you."

Solace stopped. He then turned around. "No," he said, his eyes blazing through the night, "There has never been such a thing as a 'thank you.'"

Solace then turned around and left. Fluttershy shook her head sadly, turned around, and entered her house.

Sunset Shadow trotted by. "There you are! Did you guys play Wolf Pack Charades?" he asked with a smile.

Fluttershy trotted up and kissed him on the cheek. "We did. Are you off to bed?"

Sunset nodded his head. "Just finished taking a shower. You going to sleep?"

"Yes. How is Starlight?"

"Sleeping… Sleeping like a baby."

"Wonderful. How are all our little animal friends?"

"Disgruntled. Angel tried to tackle a Phasetrooper earlier. He's fine, though. The trooper just ignored him."

As they talked, Sunset and Fluttershy trotted upstairs to their room and crawled into bed. Fluttershy sighed peacefully as she snuggled in close to her husband. She lay partly on top of him, with her back right leg draped across his haunches.

There was a pause, then Fluttershy whispered in his ear, "Do you know where we could get weapons?"

Sunset sighed and then whispered back, "I do. Why, are they thinking of an uprising?"

"Yes. I don't want them to, but Rainbow Dash says it is for the best. Sunset… I'm scared."

"I know. I am too. But they are right; it is time to fight back. Listen carefully, dear…"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Everyone say hello to Ravencroft Solace! Anyway, let me know what you guys think of this chapter! Thanks!<strong>


	69. Chapter 69 - Baby Steps

**Note: I really am getting into this Equestrian Resistance stuff. Here we go!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: A week after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

Caustic Rain couldn't sleep. The past week had been absolutely terrible. Of course, no one had been hurt or killed, but the thought of Phasetroopers patrolling every single street and rampart of Canterlot and its castle sickened him. Even the skies were no longer safe. Almost every other hour a massive carrier ship would blot out the sun as it moved over the planet to deliver a swarm of smaller carrier ships holding weapons, soldiers, or military hardware. The entire planet was a militaristic hotspot. There was no such thing as "Friendship is Magic" now. The Paradox had planned the invasion and occupation perfectly. To the untrained eye, not a single thing had changed. Ponies went about their business, foals still played, and Fancypants still made clothing-line deals. But that was just a front. Behind the scenes the Paradox was manituplating everyone. The land of Equestria was no longer a diarchy of the Sun and Moon sisters; it was now simply a small province in the massive Enigma Empire that was being controlled by an iron, yet invisible, hand of wrath.

Caustic Rain shook his head as his entire room began to shake violently as a hover patrol frigate akin to an F-35 VTOL Atmospheric/Space All Purpose Fighter railed passed the room overhead. Caustic Rain sighed deeply. He was pretty sure that those ships weren't actually doing anything other than reminding the residence of Canterlot Castle that they were no longer in control of their lives. Almost immediately after that thought dissolved into his subconscious, his room shook again, more violently this time, as another frigate blasted by his window. Suddenly his door flung open, and a wide-eyed Luna galloped in.

"What in Equestria are those noises?" she exclaimed tearfully.

Caustic Rain eyed her sadly. It must be terrifying for her. For him, it was simply an occupation by a fleet of gun-toting space ships; but for her, it was a total invasion of all she loved by a hoard of enormous, fire-breathing, metal monstrosities. Caustic Rain opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off as yet another frigate blasted by. Luna abruptly leapt forward, as if she had been struck by something, and seized him in a tight hug. She buried her face in his left shoulder as she as she began to shake uncontrollably. Caustic Rain covered her ears with his front hooves as a fourth frigate soared by.

"Those freaking morons have silent hovercraft technology… Why the hell are they doing this?" snarled Caustic Rain.

"Because we want to ruin your night sleep," said a voice from behind them.

Caustic Rain turned his head sharply. It was the Paradox. Luna peeked around his shoulder, her eyes full of tears.

"You. I swear… I will kill you one day," said Caustic Rain, his voice going deathly quiet.

"You will not be doing any such thing," said the Paradox evenly, "Because if you try, I will kill Luna."

The Paradox strolled up to Caustic Rain and Luna, and took Luna's beautiful face in a hand. Caustic Rain grit his teeth in fury as Luna stared wide-eyes at the Paradox, frozen in fear.

"Look at this flawless face," said the Paradox calmly, "She is a wondrous creation, Samuel Dellor."

"I… will… kill… you," growled Caustic Rain, "Now… leave… my… fillyfriend… alone…"

"What a temper," said the Paradox airily as he gently caressed Luna's terrified face, "I do not understand why you are so mad. I was the one who brought you out of that hellhole of a life you lived on the wintry streets of Chicago. I was the one who gave you a new life and a new purpose. Do you not owe me something?"

"I did owe you something, until I found out that it was all a lie. You are not the Paradox that we owe our lives to, that was a different being, a different specter; a specter of all that was and is good. As for you… well… As for you, you are nothing but a sickly monster," said Caustic Rain, forcing his anger down.

The Paradox let go of Luna's face as he said, quietly, "I know that I am sick, Samuel. You do not need to tell me of that. I know that deep down, there is something within that is consuming all that is good and just. But I cannot stop it now."

Caustic Rain actually faltered. Had the Paradox really said that? At first he was lost for words, but then he stuttered, "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing," said the Paradox simply, "I will be gone for a while, but I wanted to make sure that all of my friends were fine."

The Paradox said the word "friends" as if he was referring to his ant farm. Caustic Rain actually winced at the sound of that word, as if he had been physically struck by it.

"Well?" Caustic Rain snapped after a moment of silence, "Are you satisfied?"

"All is in order," said the Paradox as he looked at Luna and Caustic Rain, still clutching at each other, "Love is good. You two love each other. Stay together."

The Paradox turned to leave when Caustic Rain yelled, "Why don't you just get it over with?! I know that you are going to kill us all… Why don't you just do it now?!"

The Paradox didn't even turn around to acknowledge the shout. However, as he opened a portal and stepped through it, he said, with a mix of complacency and nonchalance, "Because, as you said, I am a nothing but a sickly monster."

With that, he exited the room, and the portal closed with a small "pop." Luna sighed sadly as Caustic Rain just shook his head sadly.

Luna nuzzled his cheek as she murmured, "Caustic Rain? What are we going to do?"

Caustic Rain was in shock, so his brain was unable to react negatively to Luna's sign of affection. Instead, he muttered, "I have no idea, Luna. That abomination is beyond reason, and that makes him all the more dangerous. This is bad." His eyes were wide as he talked, and he looked off into space blindly.

"You need to sleep," said Luna.

"I don't need sleep," replied Caustic Rain, "I did all my sleeping when I was staving off starvation on the streets of Chicago."

"You still need to sleep," continued Luna. She gently pushed him down onto his bed. Caustic Rain murmured something unintelligible, but closed his eyes. Luna snuggled in close to him and closed her eyes as well.

"Do not worry about the night," she sighed, her voice calm, "We will be together for the length of it as well. Always."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Eight days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

Fluttershy yawned as she opened her eyes. She rolled unconsciously over to Sunset's side of the bed like she did every morning (usually trapping him underneath her as a consequence) but found that he was not there. This interruption to her daily early-morning routine immediately jarred the female yellow Pegasus into wakefulness. She lifted her head in panic as she looked around the room for her husband. She was about to call out his name when she noticed a little note by the bedside table. She shifted over to the table and picked up the note with a hoof.

It read: "I am off to discuss some matters with Flaming Star, Night Shade, and that monstrosity Ravencroft Solace. I will be back later. Remember our conversation last night and talk to your friends."

Fluttershy sighed in relief. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but remember that she would begin to feel angst if Sunset Shadow or Starlight Amber was out of her sight for more than an hour. She then shook that feeling of angst off and trotted downstairs with the piece of paper in her mouth. She needed to find Twilight so that she could pass the information off. She quickly found a blank piece of paper and a pen, and began to write down Sunset's instructions to her word-for-word. In a couple of minutes, she had completed the exact mouth-to-paper instructions that Rainbow Dash needed.

Angel was sitting on a table in the living room, sunning himself.

"Hello Angel," said Fluttershy sweetly, "Did you see Sunset today?"

Angel nodded, and then pointed out the door. Fluttershy returned the nod. "Oh yes, I know he left. He gave me this note. I'm going to have to leave right now. Could you watch Starlight for me while I'm gone?"

Angel got up and saluted stiffly. Fluttershy gave him a smile, and then turned around and trotted out of the door. The sun was shining, and sky was clear. However, despite the fact that late-night rains had thoroughly cleansed the air, and sparkling dewdrops adorned everything like miniature diamonds, nothing but depression filled the land like an invisible fog. Phasetroopers stood at every corner, and idle Kottora Tanks blocked whole streets off. Every once and a while a silent hover scout or some other ship would silently pass overhead. Fluttershy frowned, Ponyville could never be what is once was with the Enigma Empire controlling every avenue and side-passageway. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that there was absolutely no noise. Ponies went about their business like it was a regular day, but not a single sound was uttered. Even those in the marketplace bartering and negotiating argued in hushed tones. It was deathly quiet.

Sighing deeply, Fluttery put the paper in a saddlebag and trotted off through Ponyville. As she trotted, she half-hoped that she would run into Ravencroft. The enforcer was different than his allies. He was quiet, reserved, and even melancholy, unlike Pictor and the Paradox. It saddened her to see even an enemy in such a state of denial, and it made her curious. However, she saw no sign of him, so she kept cantering through the streets filled with silent ponies. Suddenly Fluttershy noticed Twilight, who was levitating a pile of papers and books next to her. Seeing an opportunity, Fluttershy trotted in her direction. Just as Twilight passed by, Fluttershy swerved and collided with her forcefully. The impact jarred Twilight and knocked her off balance. Her papers fell to the ground and scattered. Fluttershy swiftly deposited her paper on the top of the stack of fallen papers and proceeded to help Twilight up.

"I'm so sorry Twilight," said Fluttershy quietly, "I didn't see you there."

"Oh, it's fine, Fluttershy," replied Twilight, "I wasn't really paying attention to where I was going."

Just as Twilight got on all fours and steadied herself, Fluttershy leaned over and whispered in her ear, "The instructions are on the top. They're from Sunset."

Twilight blinked in acknowledgment. She then used her magic to gather up her papers carefully and was on her way.

Fluttershy took a deep breath. Her job here was done. As much as this whole thing bothered her (she was the element of kindness, after all) she knew that this had to be done in order to protect her friends. She thought about going straight back home, but then decided against it. If she was being watched, then it would seem suspicious that she trotted outside only to bump into Twilight and then trot back inside again. After a bit of thought, Fluttershy decided to go for a short walk. Perhaps she might even run into Sunset while she was at it. Trying to look cheerful, Fluttershy began to trot around the outskirts of town as she hummed a little tune. However, it was difficult to look cheerful on her walk, because every other corner had a Phasetrooper, an ATL Sky-Striker Mech, a Shradian Tank, or a Kottora Tank in position. Every dozen meters or so had some incredibly powerful piece of alien hardware just sitting there… waiting.

Now looking thoroughly cowed, Fluttershy shrunk against the sides of a couple of Ponyville buildings as she watched an ATL Sky-Striker Mech transform from armored sentinel to all-purpose attack fighter. She was about to turn around and shakily make her way home when Sunset, Night Shade, and Flaming Star rounded a corner.

Sunset immediately spotted his pretty wife.

"Fluttershy!" he exclaimed, his eyes immediately lighting up with joy, "How are you?"

Fluttershy felt a little safer when she saw his smile. Taking a deep breath, she smiled back and said, "I'm fine, thank you. What is going on?"

"Oh, that moron Ravencroft was laying out some ground rules," snorted Night Shade in high dudgeon, "Like we were going to follow them in the first place…"

"We have to be careful," cautioned Flaming Star, "He may seem like nothing more than a despondent, depressed sociopath, but he is also a ruthless killer. We need to respect him."

Sunset nodded in agreement, "We need to be careful. He is dangerous. Very dangerous."

"Well, I for one am not going to let myself be intimidated," replied Night Shade, "I have a family to protect, and he is threatening them indirectly. He will pay for that."

"In due time, perhaps," sighed Flaming Star, "But do as you said. Protect your family."

"Yep. Now I think I'll go and have some fun with my sister, and pretend that none of this ever happened," said Night Shade. He turned tail and trotted off.

"That's my queue to leave as well," said Flaming Star, "I have to finish playing a game of Settlers of Catan with Twilight and Spike."

Flaming Star was about to leave as well when Sunset put a hoof on his shoulder. Flaming Star glanced at Sunset inquiringly.

"Flaming Star, when do you plan on marrying Twilight?" asked Sunset seriously, "You two have been dating for over a year, and have been engaged for a month."

Flaming Star sighed and shook his head. "I'll worry about that when I have nothing else to worry about," he replied, "And right now, there is so much else that is more important."

"More important than finalizing the bond between you and Twilight?" asked Fluttershy timidly.

Flaming Star gently brushed off Sunset's hoof and said, "I don't know. I assure you I am not getting cold hoofs, but I still want it wait for the perfect moment."

"What, was the time when you finally proposed to Twilight the 'perfect moment'?" asked Sunset, a little bit of iron in his voice.

Flaming Star turned around and started walking away. As he walked, he called back, "I don't know. I love her, but right now there are more important matters to attend to."

Fluttershy rested her head on Sunset's shoulder. As Flaming Star rounded the corner, she murmured, "What could be more important than being with the one you love?"

Sunset buried his face in her mane, breathing in her sweet scent: flowers and fresh-cut grass. "Nothing," he replied, his voice muffled.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Eight days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

Twilight and Rainbow Dash sat together in Rainbow Dash's living room. The windows were closed and the curtains were drawn shut. However, they could still hear the faint rumble of massive carrier ships as they continued to crisscross the planet.

"So, Twilight," said Rainbow Dash, "What is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"This," said Twilight, almost dramatically, as she levitated the piece of paper Fluttershy had given her.

Rainbow Dash snatched it up and scanned it. "Hmmm… this looks good," she said, "I like it. We just need to find a way to get in contact, and then find a way to carry out the transaction discreetly."

As she talked, Rainbow slowly put on sunglasses for effect. Twilight rolled her eyes and levitated the sunglasses off Rainbow's face. Twilight folded the sunglasses neatly back and put them on a cloud-table next to her. "I agree," she said, "We need a way to do both of those. Do you have any suggestions?"

There was a pause as Rainbow looked, almost mournfully, at her sunglasses, now out of reach. After the pause, she said, "Ditzy Doo. She can do it. No one suspects her, and she is an excellent mail-carrier."

"Good idea, Rainbow Dash," exclaimed Twilight.

"Yep. I know. Ditzy Doo can take a letter, signed by Sunset, and deliver it to this gun-dealing griffon guy. Now all we need is a way to pay him… and get the transaction done," continued Rainbow Dash, stroking her chin.

"I know how we can do the latter," said Twilight decisively, "Appaloosa. It would be the perfect place. We can set up the transaction there, and we can send Applejack to preform it. The element of honesty should be more than a match for anypony when it comes to bartering."

"Nice idea!" said Rainbow Dash, "Now all we need is a way to pay for all that stuff…"

There was a pause as the two mares thought hard about their newest dilemma.

"We could ask Celestia for money!" offered Rainbow.

Twilight shook her head. "No."

"We could rob a bank!" exclaimed Rainbow.

Twilight shook her head. "No."

Rainbow tossed her hoofs in the air in resignation. "I've got nothing."

There was yet another pause as the two continued to brainstorm. Suddenly Twilight said, "Actually… you might have something going, Rainbow Dash! We can't ask Celestia for such a large sum of bits, because it would seem suspicious. However, we could ask secretly Celestia if we could rob the royal treasury! It would seem nothing more than a low-level crime case for the Enigma Empire, and we wouldn't really be robbing anything in the first place because Celestia would let us do it!"

Rainbow grinned, "I like this idea! It could be like Daring Do!"

Twilight pulled a face. "I don't know if it would be anything like that. In fact, I'm still not sure if it is even a good idea, really. I mean, what do we know about any of this stuff anyway? I haven't stolen a thing in my life! Have you?"

Rainbow blushed, and looked away. Twilight facehoofed. "What did you do?"

"A mug of apple cider… last fall. I couldn't just let Pinkie make off with it like that!" exclaimed Rainbow indignantly.

Twilight sighed. "When this is over, I'm going to make sure you pay Applejack for that."

Rainbow grinned sheepishly.

"Well. I suppose I should find a way to talk to Flaming Star about this," said Twilight, getting up, "He should have an idea of what to do."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "The only ponies out there who know what to do in these situations are being guarded more that Celestia's royal crown," she muttered.

Twilight winked. "Perhaps. But I think I know away to get him completely alone so that I can ask him about what to do."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I would like to take a moment to draw your guys' attention to the fanfiction novel, "Orbit." I've been talking to its author, and we've begun something of a collaboration of stories. If you like ponies and dimensions and space (which, since you are here, you probably do) I would recommend checking his story out. Anyway... Give me reviews! If you give me reviews, I will give you (dare I say) bacon cookies? Or cookie bacon?<strong>


	70. Chapter 70 - New Plans Made

**Note: It is time to see what the other guys are doing!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Everfree Forest_

_Time: A week after the invasion of the Paradox_

The Paradox eyed the glowing bubble of power that blocked him from accessing the control of the weapon of mass destruction: the Tree of Harmony. He shook his head in wonderment… How had he not foreseen this? He was broken out of his brooding as Pictor entered the large cave. He had in tow a green-colored filly, whose eyes were wide with fear.

"What do you have there, Pictor?" said the Paradox quietly.

"I found this filly hiding in some bushes near the Everfree forest," said Pictor, quite happily, "I think she was spying on us."

"I wasn't!" squeaked the poor filly in terror, "I was caught in some bramble thorns! Please let me go!"

"Not likely," laughed Pictor, who then said, to the Paradox, "What should we do with this little spy? Kill her?"

"She is not a spy," replied the Paradox airily, "As for what you should do with her… It is of no consequence. Kill her, let her live… it's all relative. I could not care less if she dies now."

Pictor nodded, but did not relinquish his iron grip on the little filly's neck. After a moment, he said, "What are we going to do about that bubble of power?"

"Nothing as of yet," sighed the Paradox, "What Atraka did was incalculably brilliant and selfless. He has blocked our way to total victory with something that I am unsure how to deal with just yet. In fact… his act gives me hope… If one being is willing to sacrifice his life to protect others, then perhaps those others will be willing to do the same. If there is love, there can be no evil. Hope…"

"So, what, we should abort this whole thing?" snorted Pictor, "How do you mean?"

"Oh, it is nothing of consequence," said the Paradox after giving his head a quick shake as if to clear it, "The plan will proceed. Pictor, get on to finding a way to bring this bubble of power down. I will be attending to other things. I will send word to you when the Sapphire Armada needs you. The invasion of the Infernal Realm is almost complete."

"The hell it is," laughed Pictor as he walked up to inspect the bubble, still choking the green filly, "I wouldn't be surprised if the Grand Devil soon wants a parley."

"That is exactly what we need," said the Paradox as he exited the cave, "I will discuss why at a later time. Begin your investigations."

Pictor nodded and turned to inspect the bubble of power. It was incredibly dangerous, and was self-sustainable. Using his zeptoscopic vision, he could literally see air molecules touching the shield of energy, and simply blinking out of existence. In addition to that, his dimensional scanners alerted him that the bubble heavily distorted the time-space continuum and the dimensional plane around it. It was the perfect shield. On a sudden whim, Pictor hurled the poor, green-colored filly at the shield. She struck it and immediately was killed. In less than a nanosecond, the organic molecules that made up her body vanished into nothing, and her existence in the dimension's timeline was simply blotted out. Total, utter, absolute, complete, destruction. Pictor laughed sadistically. Nothing gave him more joy than to see the death of others. However, after a good laugh, he quieted down and went back to inspecting the energy bubble. He began to look at the thing closely, telepathically calling up a dozen different diagnostic holographic projections around his helmet. He then began to run every possible scan on the shield, but to no avail. Gritting his teeth, Pictor spent the next couple of minutes continuing his futile scanning procedures.

Then he sighed, there seemed to be no way around this predicament. What Atraka had done… was absolute.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Seekers<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The Great Bear Lake_

_Time: Unknown, a week after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

The wind blew chilly yet refreshing over the hills that lined the land between the Mackenzie River and the Great Bear Lake of Canada. From a sky-down view, the average airborne passerby would see naught but green hills, snowy drifts, and a sea of green pine trees. However, in truth, there was a wonderfully constructed house placed directly on those hills, but it was cloaked with invisibility shields, making nothing visible but a slight shimmering. In this house so cleverly disguised, four beings waited and plotted: Rarity, Discord, Mattimeo, and Doxia.

"We've been here for WEEKS!" exclaimed Rarity as she flung herself down on a designers couch in the living room, "Why haven't we done anything? Why aren't we dead yet?"

"We've done plenty of stuff, and it's only been a single week" replied Doxia as he swung slowly on a hammock that was on the other side of the room, "And I already told you that the reason we're not dead is because Atraka sacrificed himself... Michael told us that." Doxia talked very calmly about Atraka's death. At one trillion years, death became nothing more than a good nap after pulling two all-nighters in a row.

"Like what?" sighed Rarity, her mind still stuck on the fact that they seemingly had done nothing over the course of the week.

"Well," replied Mattimeo as he strolled into the room, several holographic projections hovering about his face, "We're still searching for the Rerenhaw dimension."

"The Rerenhaw dimension," sighed Doxia, almost dreamily, "So well disguised. By God… I remember when the dang thing was BUILT. I was part of the council there as well! I wonder why we can't find it...?"

"You were part of what now?" asked Discord, who was lounging on a chair specially designed for him in a corner.

"Oh, that's right, we never even told you guys what Rerenhaw was, how silly of us," chortled Doxia, who was still swinging slowly in his hammock.

"Well," he continued, "Originally the dimension of Rerenhaw was a deserted dimension on the inner section of the outer rings of the multiverse. However, when the Maelstrom War erupted all over, the Amethyst Empire decided that it would be best if we began to open talks of alliances with Heaven and a group of choice dimensions that were not part of any of the empires. To facilitate such summit meetings, Amethyst began construction on a grand spire. Knowing the importance of such a facility, we chose the location of the building to be on a remote dimension, the one I talked about earlier. We dubbed it Rerenhaw. The construction was completed quickly, and we invited the Heaven Multiverse along with some important dimensional leaders to a summit meeting to discuss the best way to defeat the Maelstrom. Thus, the Rerenhaw council was born. This council had a plethora of brilliant names on the board: Lord Kytax, me, Vitruvius from the LEGO dimension, Firestar from the Warriors dimension, Jacob Keyes from the Halo dimension, Manwe from the Lord of the Rings dimension, and Archangel Gabriel. Keyes's seat wasn't always his though. Originally that spot was occupied first by the Beyonder from the Marvel Universe, and then by the Second Doctor of the Doctor Who dimension, and then by Tigger from one of the alternate timelines of the Winnie the Pooh dimension. Though all these names may not mean anything to you, I can tell you that at times the Rerenhaw council room held the most brilliant minds in the whole multiverse at the same time. Anyways, after the defeat of the Maelstrom, the Rerenhaw council was disbanded, and the Rerenhaw dimension was abandoned. And after the Great Leader left, and the Paradox was given control of the newly formed Enigma Empire, the Rerenhaw dimension simply vanished off the map... no one knew how or why. The location of the dimension simply faded from our minds. However, just before Kytax himself disappeared, he met with me one last time. In this meeting, he told me that if I ever needed him, I could contact him using a special device he had hidden on Rerenhaw. He then gave me the beacon crystals, telling me that those would power the signaling device. I then proceeded to give the crystals to one of my best friends at the time: Princess Celestia."

"So, basically if we find Rerenhaw and turn on the signaling device there via the beacon crystals… we'll call this Kytax person back?" asked Discord slowly.

Mattimeo nodded in confirmation.

"How can Kytax, as amazing as he sounds, help us in this situation? I mean, all my friends are hostage to a powerful lunatic!" burst out Rarity.

Doxia just laughed. "Rarity… if you met Kytax face-to-face, then you would feel all doubt slip away. Kytax is so powerful, that this situation we are in would not even be considered a situation. I can tell you, in the early ages, he would simply shut off the phantom device of the My Little Pony dimension from the outside, stroll in, and probably incapacitate Pictor and the Paradox without even so much as a gesture or glance. If we find Kytax… then we solve our problems."

At this time, a massive blast of light blossomed beside Doxia as Archangel Michael stepped out from the Heaven dimension.

"How goes the talks within the council of Heaven?" asked Mattimeo.

"They are nonexistent," replied Michael emotionlessly, "The council will not break the pact of old: they will not help or hinder us."

"Well, considering the fact that you mentioned that they would not help us, I suppose that is a bad thing," commented Doxia airily, "Okie Doki Lokie. What we need to do now is prepare for a relocation of our base."

"What? What do you mean?" asked Rarity, getting off of her couch.

"We must begin to search for Rerenhaw in a different manner. It is obvious that the location itself has vanished from our minds, but that does not mean that its true location has changed."

"Er… beg pardon?" said Rarity after a pause.

"You see," explained Doxia happily, "Dimensional Lords, and Dimensional Travelers are able to open portals to different dimensions using a special part of their brain. This part of their brain is in tune with the Imagination flow that runs through the multiverse. Each dimension has its own unique Imagination flow inlet signature, and this special part of the brain is designed to 'feel' those signatures, and open a portal directly to the signatures' dimensions. However, there are ways to mask the signature, and if you do that, the location of the dimension gets blocked from our minds. However, this does not mean that the dimension has simply vanished. There are other, more foolproof, ways of accessing a dimension."

"I still don't understand, Doxia," insisted Rarity.

Doxia chuckled. "A long time ago, a Dimensional Lord named Qualax and I decided we needed to find a way around signature blocking technology, as well as find a way to transport large amounts of troops without the use of many small portals. Thus, we decided we would build multidimensional ships."

"So?" sighed Discord, "How does that help us?"

"These ships," continued Doxia, ignoring Discord, "Jumped through dimensions without using the signature detecting. Instead, they used an algorithm that tracked the location where a dimension would be in the multiverse at any given instance. Using this algorithm, the ships would be able to blow a massive hole in interdimensional space, and create a momentary dimensional space bridge between its local dimension, and the target dimension. Basically the ships were doing the equivalent of throwing a grappling hook and catching hold of Rainbow Dash as she passes overhead as she is trying to break the rainboom barrier."

"Oh dear, that most certainly sounds risky!" exclaimed Rarity.

"It sounds risky, but information never lies. Thus, it was effective and soundproof, and completely bypassed the need for in-tune Imagination flow detecting and dimensional signatures. We could transport large groups of soldiers, as well as never have to actually have to worry about things like the phantom device."

"Wait, wait, wait… Are you saying that there are SHIPS that can travel through dimensions?" interjected Discord, "Why… that's amazing! I wonder why I never thought of that… or any other Dimensional Traveler for that matter. In fact, why doesn't everyone just use them now? They make a lot more sense than trying to open portals by yourself!"

"Building these ships was very costly," explained Doxia, "It took a lot of time and a lot of calculations. Designing these dimensional algorithms is beyond Rocket Science and beyond Quantum Physics and beyond Special Relativity. However, the Amethyst Empire was powerful, so we could afford to make massive armadas of ships. They exist, and they are a very real option for getting to our friends trapped in the My Little Pond dimension."

"So, what we need to do now is find a ship?" asked Rarity.

Doxia nodded. "Yeppers!"

"Well, how are we going to find an interdimensional ship?" asked Discord, who now was actually paying attention.

Mattimeo answered for Doxia. "There are millions probably still in the Kimina dimension, the official shipyards of the Enigma Empire. Unfortunately, it is probably well guarded. Other ships should be located in the Amethyst dimension."

"Well, it doesn't sound like we have much of a choice then!" snorted Discord, crossing his arms belligerently.

"Well, those are only a couple of locations. There are most probably other ships scattered everywhere, we just need to find them," answered Doxia simply. After a pause, he snapped a finger and said, "Got it. It may have been a four hundred billion years ago, but this might be our only chance to snag a ship outside of the Kamina yards."

"What? Where?" exclaimed Rarity.

"Just before the Enigma Empire came into being, a Sapphire ship crash-landed in the Grand Theft Auto dimension. The ship's cloaking and camouflage abilities were fully operational, and the Dimensional Lord driving it was not hurt, the only thing that was damaged was the ships engines. The Paradox, who was already starting to call in Dimensional Lords from all over, decided that the Dimensional Lord should simply abandon ship, and let the ship there go into blending-mode. A year later, all interdimensional ships were disbanded and sent to the Kamina dimension for storage. However, if I remember correctly, that one particular ship was never ordered to be recovered. It still sits in the Grand Theft Auto dimension, completely invisible and undetectable."

"Yes… This means that there could still be an interdimensional ship in good condition awaiting us!" exclaimed Rarity, "However, we still have an issue: the engines are damaged. How to we rectify that?"

Doxia laughed. "Amazing Rarity! You've truly become one of us! Anyway, you're right; we need to find a way to replace the engine. I can easily fix the device itself, but we need a power source. There are blocks of concentrated Imagination energy that were specifically designed to power those devices… However, all of them are in storage in the Amethyst dimension… in the Kanohi Olmak facility wing. "

"I know where a power source is that is outside that facility," said Mattimeo suddenly, "During the Maelstrom War, we set up strategically hidden refueling locations for our ships, remember? There should be one that is still active: in the Skyrim dimension, though I do not know where."

"Why would there be one active? The Maelstrom War ended forever and a half ago!" exclaimed Discord, confused.

"Though the war ended in reality, it never ended in our minds. We were fully aware that the Grand Devil might attempt something again, thus, we took precautions. We secured the Kamina dimension with all the ships, and set up a couple of ghost refueling dimensions just in case we needed to mobilize our armadas again."

"There is an issue with this, though," interjected Doxia, "The Skyrim dimension in the same multidimensional ring as the My Little Pony dimension. We come to close, and the Sapphire Armada's long-range, interdimensional scanners will pick up our unique life signatures. The second they detect us, they will dispatch a cruiser with a sole purpose: kill us at all costs."

"Then we can't go? Is this all for naught?" said Discord, half-joking, half-serious.

"It's not all for naught," replied Doxia calmly, "We can't go, but that doesn't mean another can't go."

"Like who?" asked Rarity, "All our friends are either trapped in my dimension, or wanted criminals!"

"Not ALL our friends," said Mattimeo, "Funsch is, no doubt, clean. Perhaps we can find him recruit him."

"Well, where is he?" said Discord.

Doxia cocked his head to one side, "I don't know, but we can find out. We can hack into the security network of the Dimensional Traveler's traveler databases, and find out where Funsch was last. When we find that, we will be on their track."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Rarity, getting up, "When do we leave?"

"In a moment," said Doxia, approaching Rarity and getting down on one knee, "But first…"

Doxia reached out and gently pressed a finger to Rarity's forehead. Rarity jerked and shook as if she was being electrocuted. Then her eyes rolled back and she fell to the floor, unconscious.

"What did you just do?" said Discord. His tone was a mixture of surprise… and amusement. He then conjured up a teacup brimming with Earl Grey, and he sipped it calmly.

"I gave her Dimensional Traveler powers," said Doxia.

Discord began a bout of strangled coughing as the tea caught in this throat. "You… what?"

"I gave her Dimensional Traveler powers. This way she won't be a liability. Now, don't look at me like that, this is the best way."

"Oh… dear…"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Adventures in Odyssey<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Abbington Falls, Iowa, United States of America_

_Time: A week after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

"I am really getting tired of sitting around and doing nothing," snarled Wild as he sat in Finnian's shop, drinking a cup of Malaysia Civet. After a pause, he muttered, "Damn… this IS good coffee."

"Hey, look on the bright side," said Franklin as he drank his own cup of coffee, "You're not Jetfire. I'd hate to have to sit in a garage, having to pretend that you are a Blackbird Spy Plane bought off Ebay."

"I suppose so," chuckled Wild, "But I'm still worried that one day Finnian will not be able to refuse the pleas of the kids of letting them ride me."

"Your fault for not changing into human form," said Daniel as he strolled into the shop in his regular form, a human.

"I have to commend you Daniel," said Franklin, now reading a newspaper, "I thought you were never going to give up being a dragon."

"The moment we leave, I'm changing back," replied Daniel calmly.

At this moment, Finnian strolled in from a side room with a spring in his step, and a stack of books under one arm. "Well, hello gentlemen… and gentlecolt! I am sure you are all fine today?"

"I suppose," sighed Wild, "I just am getting really tired of not doing anything…"

"Well, when you're not doing anything, that is usually a sign that there is nothing to be done!" proclaimed Finnian in a jocund manner, "We are in a lockdown state right now. You fellows are still wanted, but here you are safe. Only Jetfire and I know the location of this dimension, so you will all be invisible from the Paradox's all-seeing eyes indefinitely."

"I don't want to be safe," muttered Wild, more to himself than anyone else, "I want to be working against the Paradox."

"And you WILL, my friend," said Finnian kindly, "You just have to be patient."

"I am sick of being patient! I am sick of everything!" snarled Wild, slamming a hoof on a small mahogany table next to him.

Finnain smiled and said, "Well… It looks like someone has a terrible case of Glumglum-dejectamum-melancholy-osis."

Wild, who had now buried his face in his hooves, mumbled, "You made that up."

Finnian smiled widened, "It doesn't need to be real to be real, my friend."

Chuckling, Franklin said, "I agree. Is it contagious? Is there a cure?"

Finnain winked at Franklin. "Oh, it is highly contagious. However, there is a cure."

Franklin winked back. "I knew it! There always is. What is it?"

"Four sets of ears, my friend," said Finnian, sitting down on a small plush couch beside Wild.

"I only have two, goddamnit," snapped Wild, with his face still in his hooves, "How the hell am I supposed to get another pair?"

"You don't. You see, you have two ears… but now you have mine as well. I am listening. What are your troubles?" said Finnian quietly.

Wild looked up at Finnian in a frankly shocked state. No one had ever acted this kind towards him before. "Well…" he stuttered, "I'm just not used to this kind of life. Before I became a traveler, I was a creature called a Dire Wolf, from the Guardians of Ga'Hoole dimension. Killing and surviving was my life, but I hated it. Thus, when I got my powers, I fled to the My Little Pony dimension and tried the quiet life. However, it ate away at me, and made me make some rash decisions that led to the deaths of my only friends. I then ran from the My Little Pony dimension, and I decided that the only way I could never be hit with loss again was if I killed without reserve."

"Ah, and now that you are feeling like you are falling into the quiet life again, you are worried that you might make rash decisions again… decisions that will lead to the deaths of your allies," said Finnian.

Wild nodded. Finnain got up and beckoned to Wild, Franklin, and Daniel. "Fortunately for you, I have a solution around your problem, my friend," he declared, "Now that stage one is complete, courtesy of the two pairs of ears, we can move on to stage two of your treatment: reading!"

"Why did I just know he was going to say that?" muttered Wild, almost derisively. Despite this, though, he followed Franklin and Daniel as they moved after Finnian. He led them down a small passageway at the back of the shop that slowly expanded into a wide hallway. At the end of the hallway was a large door. Next to the door was a sign that read: "Please Leave Your Worries at the Door."

"See the sign?" said Finnian brightly, tapping the word "worries" on the polished sign with a white knuckle, "Just leave them by the rug."

With that, Finnian shoved open the door, and a wondrous sight met the eyes of Daniel, Franklin, and Wild. A massive room, easily twice the size of the Library of Congress, was before them. Rows and rows of massive bookshelves were everywhere, and each bookshelf was jam-packed with books of all sizes and colors. In between every tenth bookshelf was a small, brightly painted door, and in the center of the room was a small circle of comfy reading couches, and a small, round, glass table with an elaborate lamp perched in the center. To their left, leaning against a bookshelf, was Jetfire, who had a massive stack of comic books next to him. He was wearing a pair of glasses (for probably no reason whatsoever), and it looked like he was deeply inspecting a graphic novel.

"What… what is this place?" breathed Wild, in absolute shock.

"This is the Exploratorium, my lad!" rumbled Jetfire, "The most wondrous place my old visual receptors have ever seen! This place possesses every scrap of information about anything from the beginning of the multiverse, all the way to the events of today, with plenty of room to spare for every fiction book ever written!"

"Wow…" was all that Wild was able to say.

Finnian winked at his dumbfounded audience and said, "Now, do you think your Smartphone or traveler database could have amazed you as much as this?"

"I am throwing away my Smartphone away the moment we leave," said Franklin briskly, not taking his eyes off the massive room.

"Why are we here?" asked Wild, still in shock.

"For you, Wild, I want you to read a book, that might help you through your troubled times," said Finnian kindly. He handed Wild a book (who took it in his mouth), and led him to one of the many small, brightly colored doors between the countless rows of bookshelves. Finnian pushed open the door, and yet another surprise met the little group's eyes: past the door was a beautiful forest setting. Birds twittered in the treetops, a gentle breeze ruffled the cool, clean grass, and a small brook rippled between the bushels of Water Lilies. The book Finnian had handed to Wild simply dropped to the floor from Wild's gaping mouth.

"Wow…" muttered Wild, probably seconds away from a heart attack.

"How do you do this? We're in a building still! But this place… it's like a forest!" exclaimed Daniel, who had apparently left his ability to stay reserved at the door with the sign as well.

"I was given my powers by Doxia, the third most powerful Dimensional Lord ever to exist," said Finnain happily, "But I am an avid pacifist, so I needed to find another way to use my powers. This is it! Welcome to April's Garden. Wild, I want you to sit down by this stream and read this book. Can you do this for me? As I always say, there is no better place to read a little book, than by a little brook."

Wild nodded wordlessly and trotted over to the stream. He settled down in the grass, and opened the book to chapter one. Finnain smiled and ushered Franklin and Daniel out of the room.

"What about us?" said Franklin excitedly, "Do I get a book too? Can I have one?"

"I am sorry, my friend," laughed Finnian, "But it was Wild who deserved a break more than anyone. He truly deserves this treat."

Daniel cocked his head onto one side. "How do you mean?"

Finnian laughed. "And you three call yourselves 'Brothers in Arms!' Do not any of you remember? Today is Wild's birthday!"

Franklin just stared at Finnian. "Um… He never told us his birthday."

Finnian just laughed again. "That sounds like Wild. I wouldn't be surprised if he forgot it was today himself. However, I haven't forgotten, and I fully intend that he enjoys every second of the day today. That book and that environment should help him understand how much he is worth to all of us."

Franklin smiled, "That's nice. You're right. He deserves this break."

Finnian winked. "If it is your birthday, you are immediately warranted a break. As for us, we have important things to discuss."

Daniel nodded calmly, over his initial shock, "Very well. What do you have for us?"

Finnian led them down to another small door. Unlike the others, which were painted every color of the rainbow, this door was metal, and black. Finnain typed a fifty-digit code into the keypad by the door handle. A small light began to glow green, and he pushed open the door. The room was small, cold, and barren, with the exception of a metal table in the middle. Finnian strolled up to it and tapped it. Suddenly holographic projection erupted from everywhere and floated around the room.

"What are you doing?" asked Franklin, incredulous.

"We are going to begin plans on how to get you all to the Kappa Bridge," exclaimed Finnian.

"Good idea, we need a plan," said Daniel, nodding his head, "We've done too much resting; now it is a time for action!"

"Perhaps, but resting is always something worth-while, isn't that what this fight is for in the first place? Peace?" asked Finnian airily.

Daniel opened his mouth, and then closed it. He then opened it again, and then closed it again. He then just nodded his head wordlessly.

"Well, how do you plan we get into the Amethyst dimension?" asked Franklin.

Finnian winked at Franklin. "We will need two things: Doxia… and an interdimensionally traveling ship."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I would like to take a moment to say "Happy Birthday" to the creator of WildFeral! I would also like to say thanks to him as well! He's been incredibly insightful and encouraging in his reviews... and he's given a lot of them! Speaking of reviews... Do you guys remember what the second "R" of the term "R&R" is? Review!**


	71. Chapter 71 - Pawns Forward

**Note: It is official! I have just reached over 20,000 views! Awesome! Now let's go celebrate with a chapter!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Orbit (Reset Dimension)<em>

_Planet: Space_

_Specific Location: Control Room, Command Ship Philomena_

_Time: A month before the events of Orbit Rebellion, a eight days after the takeover of Equestria by the Paradox in the My Little Pony dimension_

A large, sleek ship hovered slowly in pure space. Nothing was around it; it simply hung there, illuminated by the star-infested sky, with not a solar system nearby for parsecs.

There was a reason why this ship was so isolated, and why it was just hanging there, so far from civilization: secrets. The Orbit dimension was like the alternate Earth Prime dimension of Orbis Terrarum II. Earth had been laid waste to, thanks to an especially devastating World War III. And like a Phoenix, humanity had risen from the ashes and accelerated through the technology it had previously lost. Cities rose up from nothing, metropolises sprang from wastelands. In an incredible time, Earth was completely repopulated, and perhaps even a little bit crowded. It was a hundred years after the fall of mankind, but the humans had returned, stronger than ever. Space-bending jump drives were developed, and soon the distant planets were within humanities grasp. After a scramble for power, the United Federation of Colonies was formed. The years following were simply handbook history of a space-colonizing utopia. Ships were built, colonies were designed, and interstellar wars were fought. It was nothing unique, no reason for any kind of special attention by the Enigma Empire and its illustrious host.

However, what came 883 years after the World War III was what really came to define this dimension. An astronomically improbable event occurred during that time. Equus Terrarum IV, and alternate timeline to the My Little Pony dimension, collided with the Orbit dimension, fusing the two together. Naturally, the primitive, classical era ponies of Equus Terrarum IV did not notice… But the humans of Orbit… They did. In less than a month probes were sent out, and then in half a year, soldiers were sent to investigate. Calculations were run, and scans were activated, and one incredible possibility presented itself to the minds of the United Federation of Colonies Council: Interdimensional Travel. They could build ships, and perhaps they could travel to other dimensions. The Orbit dimension would be the first interdimensional empire… or would they?

"The link to Councilman Olson is up, Councilman Kaleb," reported a soldier stoutly.

Kaleb, who was sitting on a high-backed chair next to a curved desk, nodded his head and motioned for the soldier to leave him. The soldier nodded briefly and left. After a pause, Kaleb leaned forward and tapped a button on his desk. A holographic projection popped up, and the image of Olson appeared.

"Do you have the scans, Olson?" asked Kaleb.

"I do. It seems like everything is viable. Interdimensional travel is possible."

"Wonderful. Do we have the schematics for an interdimensional drive yet?"

"The I.D. blueprints have been designed and confirmed. An interdimensional ship design will soon be within our grasp."

"Excellent."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Twilight's Library_

_Time: Eight days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

"You just wait, my friend, when I make my move… you will be nothing but dust."

Spike just rolled his eyes at Flaming Star, who was speaking.

"Please," snorted Spike, "You're strategy of 'mentally detrimental intimidation' is terrible. Just stop talking and move your guys."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes dramatically. "You play Risk your way, and I'll play Risk my way. It was my turn anyway."

Spike chuckled, "You're just mad because I own most of southern Equestria."

"Hey, that place has Appaloosa, which is like an equivalent to an apple pie heaven to me," said Flaming Star defensively, "And why would I be mad? The moment I take this piece of land with my Unicorn troops, I will be able to send this whole stack of Pegasus cavalry from Fillydelphia to your frontier. Soon Appaloosa will be mine!"

"Big talk," snorted Spike, "Let's see if you can get my three musketeer earth ponies!"

Flaming Star snorted. "Spike, how many times do I have to tell you? Those are just three earth pony troops who have just been VERY LUCKY. No matter how awesome you think they are, they cannot stand against all twelve of these unicorns."

"Tell that to D'Artagnan! We can do this, guys!" exclaimed Spike vehemently.

Flaming Star facehoofed. "You gave your guys NAMES?"

"Of course! They've survived seven waves already. I think I might be able to finally win something!" said Spike, becoming excited.

"Yeah, sure, tell that to the other nine-tenths of Equestria… parts that I already own."

At this point Twilight trotted in. She smiled lovingly at them.

"Hello everypony!" she exclaimed, "What are you two playing?"

"Well, apparently your crazy fiancé found out how to consistently win at Rock-Paper-Scissors as well, so we've moved onto Risk," said Spike.

Twilight sat next to Flaming Star and nuzzled his cheek. "Is that so? So Spike, how is that going?"

"Fine… fine… I think I've got the hang of it," replied Spike airily.

"He means he's managed to stave off absolute destruction for about three more turns," chuckled Flaming Star.

"I can dream, can't I?" retorted Spike. He then tossed the dice to the ground. Two sixes.

Flaming Star's mouth dropped.

"Make that staving off absolute destruction for about four more turns!" declared Spike smugly.

Flaming Star sighed. "I concur. FOUR more turns."

Twilight smiled. "Um… how long have you two been playing this?"

"Only a couple of minutes," said Spike, "Just after lunch."

Twilight grinned good-humouredly. "I suggest you take a look outside the window."

Spike did so: the sun was setting. "Huh… I don't remember the sun setting after lunch. That's weird. It's almost as if it is sundown!"

Flaming Star looked outside the window as well. "Wow! It IS sundown! Time really does fly! I better get on home!"

Spike pulled a face. "What about our game?"

Flaming Star winked. "We can continue it on a later date. See this as an extended opportunity for survival!"

Spike just flopped on his back and groaned, "But I think I have something going here! My luck might be all used up by the time you play again." Spike then got up and dragged himself, dejectedly, upstairs.

"Melodramatic," chuckled Flaming Star. He then turned to Twilight and smiled. "I better be going now."

Twilight looked at him for a moment. She then opened her mouth, and then closed it. She then opened it again, and then closed it again, as if she was trying to say something, but couldn't bring herself to do it.

Flaming Star grinned at her, and then began to trot to the door.

Suddenly Twilight burst out, "Would you stay with me tonight?"

Flaming Star stopped. He stared at the door for a moment. Then he turned around and looked at Twilight curiously. "What?"

Twilight began to blush. She scuffed a hoof and the ground and murmured, "I want you to stay with me tonight."

Flaming Star eyed her in confusion. Then he grinned and blushed. "I would love that."

He trotted up to her and kissed her on the cheek. Then he called out, "Hey Spike! I decided to stay! Come on down! We can finish the game now!"

Spike was down there in a second. "Awesome!" he exclaimed happily, "Now I can finally engineer my grand design for the greatest Risk come-back of all ponykind!"

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch, as Fluttershy would say," laughed Flaming Star as he sat down at the board.

"I'm going to do some reading. Don't stay up too late," said Twilight.

Spike smiled and nodded his head vehemently. "Of course! We will go to sleep right after this game!"

"Which should be over in four to five turns," said Flaming Star.

Spike then rolled two sixes again for his defending earth ponies.

"Dang it," sighed Flaming Star.

"Make that six turns," declared Spike happily.

Unfortunately, that was as far as Spike got. Twelve turns later, Spike's defending earth ponies fell to Flaming Star's army of Pegasus and Unicorns. It was almost midnight before Spike finally fell to Flaming Star.

"You know," said Spike, actually not sounding too disappointed, "I think I might consider this a win for me anyway."

Flaming Star nodded. "I concede. You deserved that game."

Spike grinned. "Does that mean I win?"

Flaming Star nodded. "Yes. That means you win. However, remember our rules? If you win, you have to clean up the board."

Spike rolled his eyes. "If that is the price I must pay for my victory, than I will surrender myself to my fate."

"You are one melodramatic baby dragon," laughed Flaming Star. There was an awkward pause.

"Sooo… You going to go up to Twilight?" mumbled Spike, now blushing.

"Yeah," replied Flaming Star, blushing as well, "Goodnight."

He trotted upstairs to Twilight's room. She was lying on her back, belly up, levitating a book above her face as she read.

Flaming Star sat next to her and said, "What are you reading?"

"Oh nothing, just a spell book," replied Twilight.

Flaming Star lay on his back as well. He glanced at the book. "Hmmm… Invisibility spells?"

Twilight nodded.

"You do realize the cat still has the salad, right?" said Flaming Star quietly.

Twilight nodded again. Phasetroopers could still be watching Flaming Star.

"We better go to sleep," she said. Flaming Star nodded in agreement. He turned to face her and smiled.

"Goodnight," he said.

Twilight yawned, and moved in closer. She wrapped a hoof around him and snuggled in closer still. Using magic, Flaming Star turned off the light. He then began to drift off to sleep. However, suddenly Twilight whispered in his ear, "Flaming Star, I need your help."

Flaming Star opened one eye. "I'm listening," he whispered back.

"We need bits, a lot of bits, to pay for the weapons that we need to fight the Paradox," continued Twilight, "We've decided that we are going to have to raid Celestia's royal treasury. Of course, we need to get a message to Celestia explaining what we have to do."

"You are really willing to invade Canterlot castle for this?"

"I am. Are you?"

"I want to have peace. I want to be able to live the rest of my life with you without and disturbances."

"Does that mean you'll help?"

"I suppose."

"Rainbow Dash and I have no idea how to approach this problem. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Better than that: I have a plan."

Twilight moved in closer. She was now resting her head on his. Cheek-against-cheek. "I'm ready."

Flaming Star took a deep breath. "There is a secret passageway," he said in hushed tones, "I found it when I was running diagnostics on Canterlot when I first came to this dimension. There is an enterance in the sewer. I will draw you a map. The secret passageway leads all the way up to the hallway outside the royal treasury. That hallway is protected by seven unicorn guards, maybe even Phasetroopers now. The hallway also has a network of three interlocking portcullises. You need all three of them raised simultaneously for you to get into the second hallway, and those things weigh enough that you need all seven unicorn guards to lift it. I am sure the unicorns would be happy to help you to lift the gates on Celestia's command, but I don't even know if they are there anymore. As I said, they may have been replaced by Phasetroopers. There is some pretty powerful stuff in treasury, and the Paradox would probably prefer it all to not fall in our hoofs. And lifting the portcullises is not even the hard part. The second hallway is full of enchantments for defense: invisible walls and pitfalls, time-slowing spells, and other traps. However, if you get by there, you should be fine. That hallway leads directly to the treasury. All you need to do then is open the double doors, which only open if two levers are pulled simultaneously. Those levers are conveniently positioned scores of meters above the ground.

Twilight gave a long, shaking sigh. "What am I to do? With Rarity gone, I am the only magically-gifted being, and it looks like we are up against more magic than I have ever faced! The levers shouldn't be a problem with Rainbow Dash around… but everything else… Is there any way around this?"

"No," replied Flaming Star, "There is no way around those obstructions. However, there is also no way around the gun transaction. If we even want to stand a chance, we will need that royal treasury. There are also a couple other things in there that we could use…"

"Well? Do you know what to do?"

"Funnilly enough… yes."

"What? Can you help us?"

"No. I am being watched, ALWAYS. However, I know just the pony who possesses enough raw magic power to help you singlehoofedly."

"Really? Who? Another traveler?"

"Trixie, the holder of the Alicorn Amulet."

"What?!" exclaimed Twilight loudly.

"Careful, dear," muttered Flaming Star, wincing, "You have your mouth right next to my ear."

"Sorry," said Twilight, blushing in embarrassment, "It was just that that was the last pony I was expecting to ask help from. Are you sure she would even help us?"

"Of course," chuckled Flaming Star, "Fame? Glory? Intrigue? Action? Money? Trixie wouldn't hesitate to help if all those things were involved… which they are."

"I… I guess. Where is she?"

Flaming Star yawned. "I'll show you in the morning. I think it would be best if we sleep now."

Twilight sighed. Then she murmured, "You are right. Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Nine days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

Caustic Rain opened his eyes. He was lying on his bed on his stomach. Luna was with him, with one her wings draped across his back. This was the second night that she had stayed the night with him, despite the fact that the loud noises of passing ships had stopped the day before. He sighed and shifted.

"Are you awake, Luna?" said Caustic Rain quietly.

"Yes," said Luna. She then sat up and looked around.

Caustic Rain did likewise, and rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"No nightmares tonight… thank you," he muttered.

"What are we going to do today?" asked Luna after a short pause.

Caustic Rain trotted to the window and looked outside. In the distance, he could see a carrier slowly drifting over the Unicorn Range like a massive low-hanging cloud. "I guess nothing," he said in a depressed tone, "There is nothing that we can do."

Luna sighed and said, "Well, I suppose that truly means we are allowed more time together."

Despite the fact that Caustic Rain was now sure that he had developed feelings for each other, he felt a little perturbed about her statement. He hadn't even pulled enough nerves together to tell her that he loved her yet.

"I… I suppose," he muttered. After another awkward pause, Caustic Rain said, "I am going to go downstairs to the royal gardens. I won't be a moment."

With that, he left Luna in his room. In truth, he just wanted to spend a little time alone. Though Luna had shared the same bed as him for the past two nights, Caustic Rain was still unable to decipher all the strange emotions churning his stomach. Shaking his head, he trotted down the many winding staircases, through the grand hallways, all the way to the massive, glass double-doors that lead to the gardens. He trotted into the beautiful little park and sat down on a bench. He was about to begin grumbling to himself about how he couldn't understand what was happening to him when he glanced to his right.

To his right was a long line of elaborate stained glass windows that were a part of the exterior of the Hall of Thrones. Through the windows Caustic Rain could see a Celestia talking to Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.

Raising an eyebrow, Caustic Rain got off the bench and entered the castle once more. He trotted around until he arrived at the Hall of Thrones himself. Indeed, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were holding a hurried conversation beside her throne. No guards or Phasetroopers were in sight.

"You have my full permission to do it, Princess Twilight Sparkle," whispered Celestia, "But my guards are no longer the ones guarding the first hall. They have been replaced by Phasetroopers."

"That is okay, Princess Celestia," whispered Twilight back, "We thought that that might be the case, and invented a plan accordingly."

"Wonderful, I wish you all the luck in the world, my faithful student," whispered Celestia. She then straightened up, and then spotted Caustic Rain. Her eyes flashed in wariness, but then she called, "Caustic Rain! It is good to see you!"

"It would be good to see you as well, Princess Celestia, if I WAS NOT BEING WATCHED." Caustic Rain said the last part loudly, to ensure that his friends, and the cloaked Phasetrooper who had been trailing him from a respectable distance, knew that he knew that he was being watched.

Celesita nodded. "We were just talking about the restricted section of the Library. Twilight wanted to know where a certain Starswirl the Bearded book was."

Caustic Rain nodded vehemently. Hoping fervently that the Phasetrooper that was watching him from a score of meters away had not fully heard what he had during Celestia and Twilight's conversation. "That totally makes sense. Sorry for bothering you three."

"Oh, it's no problem," said Rainbow Dash smoothly, "We were just leaving anyway. We have a long journey ahead of us."

Caustic Rain blinked in surprise. They knew very well that they were being eavesdropped on, why were they still talking about possibly sensitive matters?

As if she had read his mind, Twilight said, "Oh, it's no use keeping it secret. We are going on a long journey to visit an old friend of mind, Trixie. I am SURE that the Paradox would not disapprove. RIGHT?" She said the last part to ensure that the not-so-hidden Phasetrooper was able to take a proper message to his master.

Caustic Rain nodded at her. "I understand now. Well… Good luck finding your friend!"

With that, he trotted away, hoping to draw his Phasetrooper stalker away from Twilight, Rainbow, and Celestia. Taking a deep breath, he began to make his way back to his bedroom… and Luna.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Nine days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

Twilight watched Caustic Rain carefully as he disspaeard around the corner. Soon, like a shadow, a small turbulent displacement in the air shimmered after him. Both Caustic Rain and the Phasetrooper were now gone.

Twilight turned back to Celestia and said, "You keep track of all the special ponies in Equestria, right?"

"I do," said Celestia, "And I assure you that I did have a file on Trixie."

"Did?" said Rainbow Dash skeptically.

Celestia nodded. "I did. But I do not any longer. Trixie is no longer in Equestria."

Twilight gave an exasperated sigh. "Why does everything have to be so difficult?!"

Rainbow grinned at Twilight's obvious discomfort, but then turned back to Celestia. "Is there any way we could track her down?" she said.

Celestia shrugged slightly. "I am unsure. I can give you what Equestria intelligence has gathered on her and the Alicorn Amulet, but that is as far as I can go. The information stopped coming the moment she crossed the borders. However, transportation records should be able to tell you if she left by land, sea, or air."

"Good," said Twilight, "That will be a start. Thank you Princess Celestia!"

Celestia bowed her head. "It is the least I could do."

At this moment, several Phasetroopers marched into the room.

"Celestia," said the head Phasetrooper in an emotionless voice, "Lord Vaporis will see you… NOW."

Celestia bowed her head in resignation. Twilight gritted her teeth. It pained her to see the glorious princess of the sun degraded to this. Celestia slowly trotted up to the Phasetroopers and they moved off.

Twilight glanced at Rainbow and said, "You don't have to come with me, you know."

"Actually, you should be begging me to let me take you along," said Rainbow.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "What? No! I know Trixie the best! I have to go!"

Rainbow shook her head. "Sorry Twilight, but you have your fiancé waiting for you. You also have Spike. Spike wouldn't be a problem to bring along, but Flaming Star, like Caustic Rain, is being trailed. This is something I have to do alone."

Twilight opened her mouth, but then shut it again. Rainbow Dash had a good point. Despite the fact that she really wanted to go on that adventure, she realized that she needed to be by Flaming Star's side more than ever now.

After gnawing her bottom lip and thinking for a bit, she sighed and said, "You are right, Rainbow Dash. This is your mission."

Rainbow Dash grinned. "AWESOME! Well… I better get ready."

Twilight couldn't help but grin herself and say, "Slow down there, you will still need my help. I am going to find all I can about Trixie whereabouts. When I have come as close as I can to locating her, THEN you will be on your way."

Rainbow rolled her eyes and mumbled something about Eggheads being everywhere. Then she said, "Yeah… I guess you are right. I… er… think I will let you do all that stuff while I go work out in preparation."

Twilight smiled. "You do that. I am going to the Canterlot Library and do some research. When Celestia is free again, I will ask her to give me that file on Trixie and the Alicorn Amulet.

Rainbow nodded. "Then it's RAINBOW TIME!"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Soon Trixie will make an appearance! This ought to prove interesting. Anyway, don't forget to give me feedback! Thanks! Oh, I wanted to let you all know that my story, "Days Gone By" is going to stop for a bit. I've run out of ideas, so I will wait until I get some more. However, I will be releasing a short story on Wednesday, so keep an eye out for it! I will be releasing it at the same time as this story's update, so don't forget to check it out!<strong>


	72. Chapter 72 - On Track

**Note: Sorry for posting this so late, but I had much that I needed to do today.**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Seekers<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: The Great Bear Lake, Canada_

_Time: Unknown, ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Rarity opened her eyes groggily. She lifted her head and a little and looked around. Both Doxia and Discord were squatting next to her, looking at her expectantly.

"What… what is going on? Why are you two staring at me?" she mumbled as she got to all fours and wobbled unsteadily.

"Well? Do you feel… unusual?" asked Discord an expectant tone of voice.

"Of course I do… I feel like I've been run over by a Buffalo stampede!" exclaimed Rarity. She wobbled again and fell over. This time Doxia kindly helped her steady herself. He then gently brushed back a strand of her hair and looked her in her eyes.

"Is there anything else you feel?" said Doxia slowly.

Rarity blushed deeply and said, "Well… er… no…"

Discord rolled his eyes. He then conjured up a baseball the size of a bowling ball and hurled it at her at 40 meters per second.

"Rarity! Think fast!" exclaimed Discord.

Rarity gave a very unlady-like squeak and she threw up her hooves to cover her face. A massive shockwave of energy rippled from her, and the baseball, her fainting couch, and several nearby tables disintegrated. Rarity uncovered her eyes and looked around in pure shock.

"What… what just happened? Did I do that?" she asked slowly in bewilderment.

Discord grinned as he nodded his head vigorously.

Rarity's eyes widened in realization. "The shock… me fainting… I'm a traveler!"

Doxia laughed heartily and clapped. "That you are, Rarity! I've given you the powers of a tier 1 Dimensional Traveler on par with Discord himself. How do you feel now?"

Rarity looked at her shaking hooves in a flustered state. "Well… I don't know… How can I possibly control so much power?"

Discord floated overhead as he chortled, "Oh, you will get used to it. Just be careful when you sneeze. When I was younger, and had only had my powers for a couple of days, I sneezed, and caused a chemical forest fire. I think it's still on fire today… I gave up checking after the first two thousand years."

Rarity looked at Doxia, still absolutely confused. "Why?"

Doxia lifted her chin as he said, kindly, "We are going to soon be doing very dangerous things. I care for you Rarity, and I would be loath to see you ever hurt, and that is a liability I will not stand for. Thus, I have given you powers. With said powers, you will be able to defend yourself, without ever having to worry about us."

At this point, Archangel Michael and Mattimeo strolled into the room. There was a pause, and then Mattimeo facepalmed. "You gave her powers, didn't you?"

"Yeppers!" exclaimed Doxia enthusiastically, "I think it's rather charming."

Mattimeo sighed and then nodded slightly. "I suppose it makes sense. Michael and I have located the last place the Brothers in Arms corps and Funsch were located: the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., Transformers dimension."

Doxia nodded his head. "That makes sense. After faking his death, it would be obvious for Jetfire to simply take up residence in his home dimension; that way his Energon signature would be blocked out by all the other transformers on Earth."

"So… are we going there?" interjected Discord airily as he continued to eye the rather shocked-numb Rarity.

Doxia nodded his head again. "Yes. We are going to leave immediately. Hopefully, when we get there, we will be able to find some traces to where they went next."

There was another pause, and then Doxia turned to Rarity and said, "Rarity, my dear, would you like to do the honors?"

Rarity jumped almost a foot in the air out of shock when Doxia spoke to her. In a flustered state, she mumbled, "Er… I do not know. I mean, I have never attempted this sort of thing."

Doxia laughed heartily. "I understand. This is what you need to do: close your eyes. Clear your mind of your worries and any other useless thoughts, and reach back in your mind. You will sense what mentally feels like an invisible door. When you push through it, you will suddenly be able to see, in your mind's eye, a veritable ocean of glowing strands of multi-colored light. Each strand is the unique signature of a dimension in the multiverse. As you inspect each strand, you will see visions of each dimension. There are about a hundred-thousand different strands, but you will only be looking for one. Here, let me show you what I mean."

Doxia reached forward and placed an armored palm on her forehead. In an instant he had transferred the mental procedure through a telepathic link. Rarity's eyes were riveted straight ahead as she blankly stared off into space as the procedure ran through her head. In a moment, Doxia moved his hand away, and Rarity jumped slightly as if she had been electrocuted a little. Then she shook her head and said, "Oh my… It was so… beautiful…"

Doxia bowed elegantly. "Thanks to me, you will never look at fashion the same again."

Rarity nodded, the mention of fashion bringing her back to the present, "You are most certainly right, darling! There is a whole plethora of designs that can be made!"

Doxia chuckled, and then cleared his throat expectantly. Rarity got the gist and said quickly, "Oh, but of course."

She closed her eyes and mentally strained. A trickle of sweat fell from her forehead as she searched for the Transformer dimension. In a minute, she exclaimed, "Aha! I've got it!"

With that, a portal suddenly yawned open to the dimension.

Rarity's eyes widened, and she exclaimed, like a little school filly, "Did you see that, Doxia? Did you see what I did?"

Doxia laughed out loud. "I most certainly did. Well done! However, that is only the beginning of the adventure! Autobots, let's roll out!"

With that, Doxia, Rarity, and Discord jumped through the portal. Mattimeo and Michael stood there, staring at the portal for a moment. Then Mattimeo turned to the angel and said, "Are you coming with us?"

Michael shook his head. "I will continue discussing matters with Heaven. The Paradox is brilliant, and no doubt he has something in store for us as well, and we must not allow that."

With that, Archangel Michael vanished in a flash. Mattimeo then turned back to look at the portal. He jumped through.

The group was just outside the Smithsonian Museum. It was broad daylight, and people were strolling about, minding their own business.

"Want to blend in?" asked Doxia, who, the second they had arrived, had cast up a bubble of invisibility around them.

"Not me," said Discord arily, "I have no intention of become one of those disgusting things."

"They're called humans, and they are a slight smarter than you, Discord," snapped Rarity.

Discord rolled his eyes dramatically, "And it is there that we must agree to disagree, my dear."

"Stop it you two," said Mattimeo calmly, "We must decide now: are we going to go in cloaked, or as humans?"

"Cloaked," said Discord.

"Cloaked," sighed Doxia.

"Human!" exclaimed Rarity emphatically.

There was a pause, and Doxia looked at Rarity. "Rarity, you want to become a human?"

Rarity nodded her eyes actually quite wide with excitement. She was starting to like her powers.

Doxia chuckled and said, "Okay. Here is what you need to do: you need to envision yourself as a human, just a human in general. Then you need to 'will' yourself into that form. It's kind of like imagining an out-of-body experience. The moment you 'will' hard enough, you will transform."

Rarity nodded her head again and closed her eyes. Once again, she began to sweat slightly as she mentally strained to reach the point Doxia described. Suddenly she shimmered and transformed into a human. She was 5'6", with chalk-white skin, blue eyes, and blue-cyan hair. She was also naked.

Doxia quickly covered Discord's eyes with his left hand, while flicking the wrist of his right hand at the same time. With that, bright bands of color erupted from nowhere. These bands flowed and intertwined with one another around Rarity in a tornado of light and color. Suddenly the bands flickered and solidified, forming skinny jeans, a plain blue T-shirt, and sunglasses.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Rarity the second she noticed her adornment, "This will never do! The color scheme is all wrong… and where are the sequins?"

She immediately attempted to remove her clothing, but was stopped by Doxia.

"Rarity… trust me. On Earth… you keep your clothes on at all times. Please," said Doxia sternly.

Rarity sighed dramatically, but nodded. Doxia muttered to himself something about this being the worst idea in the history of forever, but then he turned to Discord and said, "Since you were too scared to become a human, you get to be Rarity's handbag."

Discord gaped. After a pause, he stuttered, "M-me?! A… a HANDBAG? Never!"

Doxia crossed his arms and said calmly, "Handbag. NOW."

Whenever a Dimensional Lord wanted something, they got it. So, after Discord eyed Doxia with a rather truculent expression, he snapped a finger and flashed out of existence. A microsecond later, he flashed back into existence as an exquisite handbag, covered in sparkle particles and sequins.

"I made myself just the way you wanted," said the handbag Discord in a teasing tone.

"As the way it should be," said Rarity firmly. She eyed the handbag for a moment, and then said, "Er… how am I supposed to put this on my back?"

Doxia reached forward and took her right arm. He moved it towards the strap of the handbag and said, "Just grab it. No magic here."

Rarity reached forward and took the handbag in her hand. There was yet another pause as she said, "How am I supposed to trot with this in my hand?"

Doxia faceplamed as Mattimeo began to chuckle silently. Doxia then said, "You walk like a bipedal being. You see those humans over there?"

Rarity glanced at a couple passing by, and then she nodded. "Ah, I see." She then took a couple of wobbly steps. She almost fell over, but was caught by Doxia.

"I… I think I've got it now, thank you darling," stuttered Rarity, a little flustered. She spent the next minute trying to walk. Finally, she got the hang of it.

"Right," said Mattimeo emotionlessly, "Now that Rarity understands what must be done, we need to move. Rarity, you and Discord are going to enter the Smithsonian from the front, and make your way to the old hangar bays in the back. There is a map there."

Rarity nodded excitedly. "Smithsonian… Hangar… Map. Got it! Thank you dears!"

With that, she strutted off in the direction of the Smithsonian's front door. In a second she had exited the invisibility bubble and was on her way. Doxia and Mattimeo stood side-by-side as they watched her walk.

"We could have just teleported in there… and you knew that very well," said Mattimeo after a minute-long pause.

"And where would the fun have been in that?" asked Doxia cheerfully, "I don't know about you, but I am feeling incredibly proud of Rarity. I think it's almost bordering on fatherly-like proudness."

"I am sure you know how that felt before," sighed Mattimeo.

For the first time in a while, Doxia stopped smiling in his helmet. His eyes deepened with sadness. "Alison… Yes, I've felt it before."

"Is she the reason why you keep being a Dimensional Lord? So that you can continue to protect others like her?"

"Yes. That is why I saved Twilight Sparkle. It would have just been a repeat of what I suffered if I had not. However, it is all in the balance. I want to help spread the love she gave to me… but I also want to join her one day."

"Whatever happens, I know you will make the right choice, Doxia," said Mattimeo with little-to-no emotion in his voice. He then glanced at Doxia expectantly.

Doxia's jovial attitude returned and he said, "Ah yes. Thank you Matty! Now… let us go! We will probably be able to run a few scans before Rarity arrives… if she doesn't get lost first."

With that, Mattimeo and Doxia, still cloaked, teleported to the hangar building. In a second, Doxia picked up faint Energon signatures.

"I am sensing the Energton signatures. A Transformer was here… and it was most definitely Jetfire," said Doxia slowly.

Mattimeo nodded. "Confirmed. Hmmm… There was also a firefight in here as well. A Dimensional Traveler battle of some kind occurred. See how there is still energy hanging off the air? The scorch marks have been scrubbed off also, but the molecular residue from pure energy disruption blasts still reside."

Doxia returned the nod. "I see it. There was a fight here, but no amount of manpower could take down Jetfire. However…"

Suddenly Doxia stopped talking and turned around. Rarity was walking into the large hangar, still clutching her Discord handbag to her as if it was a lifeline; her eyes were still wide with wonder.

"I don't think I will ever get tired of that face," chortled Doxia. He projected a small invisibility bubble around the vicinity and uncloaked himself. Mattimeo followed suit. The moment they dropped their personal cloaking shields, Rarity noticed them.

"There you are!" she exclaimed, "I was wondering where you two went off too! Isn't this place magnificent? All these contraptions… A brilliant idea. I just love the feel. The color schemes could use some rebuffing, however."

"Of course, Rarity," said Doxia. He then turned to Mattimeo and said, "Is it all confirmed now?"

Mattimeo, who had projected a holographic diagnostic screen in front of his mask, turned to Doxia and said, "Yes. I've finished all confirmation diagnostics. Jetfire was, no doubt, here, along with Funsch, Wild, and Daniel. Franklin was not here, but they no doubt went to pick him up, I believe."

"Right," said Doxia, "Initializing time-reversal."

"Time… what?" asked Discord and Rarity at the exact same  
>time.<p>

Suddenly the invisibility bubble turned a golden hue and clouded. Through the translucent bubble, the group could see all moving objects outside slowly slow down and freeze in mid-movement.

"I've got the time coordinates," said Mattimeo briskly, "I'm sending the information to your HUD. Translate it to time energy in ten seconds."

"Ten seconds a go," said Doxia cheerfully, "Got the 4D coordinates, time location in place, hang on gents."

Suddenly the everything outside the semi-transparant, golden bubble began to move in the reverse direction at high speed, as if everyone inside the bubble were watching a blurred Imax movie in fast reverse.

"Ten second mark, we've arrived," said Doxia. He snapped a finger, and the bubble become glassy. Shimmering and slight distortions around everybody's peripheral vision denoted the fact that the bubble was still present, but everything transpiring outside was crystal clear.

"What just happened?" asked Rarity, her voice sounding small with awe.

"We went back in time," said Doxia briskly, "Of course, in order to avoid decimating the dimensional timeline, we are not going to get involved , because that would probably end up with all of us dead, but we are going to watch the events transpiring just as they happened.

Just as Doxia finished speaking, a portal opened up to their left, and Daniel, Funsch, and Wild stepped out of it. The three then began to look around. In the next dozen minutes, Doxia, Mattimeo, Discord, and Rarty watched the events of the Brothers in Arms corps meeting with Jetfire, and then fighting with the three marauding Dimensional Travelers. In a minute more, they reached the point in time that Doxia specifically wanted to see: just after the Jetfire and the rest defeated their new enemies and cleared out the hangar.

"Let's go pick up Franklin, now," said Wild to Funsch from outside the time bubble. Funsch nodded, and opened a portal.

"Time-freeze," said Doixa. Suddenly everything outside the bubble ceased movement. Doxia leaned in close to the surface of the bubble and looked at the portal.

"Mountains… trees… lake… Running visual diagnostic," said Mattimeo as he looked at the portal's other side over Doxia's shoulder.

"Wyoming, that is Wyoming," said Doxia decisively. "That is what we came for."

Suddenly the environment around the bubble shimmered and faded, and was replaced by a Wyoming landscape. To their left was Franklin, still watching over the two unconscious enemy travelers, while he looked towards Funsch's portal. They were all still frozen in time.

"Activating time-flow now," said Doxia.

Suddenly everything resumed like normal outside the bubble.

"There you guys are," said Franklin as he walked up and shook Funsch's hand, "How did things go?"

Funsch nodded in Jetfire's direction as he said, "Things went well. Where is Alyss?"

"She left," said Franklin, "However, we have these two to deal with."

"Toss them in the negative zone," said Daniel. With that, Wild opened a portal to the negative zone, and Daniel hurled them into the voice using his tail. That being done, Daniel then turned to Franklin and said, "You said Alyss left. Where to?"

"She said she needed to go and finish some obligations. However, I think we are safe: I trust her," replied Franklin.

Funsch shook his head, "Well… I suppose it doesn't matter anyway. Jetfire? Could you take us to Finnian Jones now?"

Jetfire nodded. "It's a well- hidden dimension that seems like it is of no consequence… Aha! Found it!"

With that, a large portal opened up. On the other side were green trees, grass, and a quietly flowing brook.

"Time-freeze," said Doxia quickly. Everything outside the time bubble froze in mid-movement.

"Where is that?" asked Rarity as she peered at the other side of the portal.

"Running visual diagnostics," said Mattimeo. There was literally a five minute pause as everyone stood around, staring wonderingly at the lush landscape beyond.

"Well… It's Iowa… somewhere," said Mattimeo slowly.

Suddenly Doxia snapped a finger, "Of course! I have an idea! Look at the vehement distortions on the edges of the portal. See it? It looks like the shockwaves are being focused through some interdimensional plane… Aha! There is a good chance that this dimension is actually a pocket dimension! If it is, then it is nestled in the same time-space continuum of a larger universe! Quick Mattimeo, search for inverse pockets, we might be able to identify the larger dimension."

Mattimeo nodded. After a moment of scanning, he said, "Aha… It is the Adventure in Odyssey dimension."

Doxia chuckled. "Got it. This is fabled Abbington Falls. No wonder I couldn't find it before. I was looking in all the wrong places at first. I think I will be able to find it now. Releasing time review."

Suddenly the time bubble popped. Everyone's vision blurred, and a moment of terrible vertigo struck everyone. However, after that moment passed, their vision returned. They were standing on a grassy landscape in Wyoming in current time. Jetfire, Funsch, and the Brothers in Arms corps were gone.

"Opening portal now," said Doxia. He stared off into space as he searched vehemently for the pocket dimension. After a minute, he exclaimed, "Yes! I've finally found it!"

With that, a portal suddenly blossomed open, and the same sight everyone had view through Jetfire's portal once again met everyone's eyes: it was Abbington Falls.

Rarity's handbag transformed back into Discord. Discord then said, "Well I'll be… That is a beautiful landscape if I've ever seen one…"

"Yes…" sighed Rarity, transfixed.

"Come on! Let's go!" said Doxia cheerfully. The group then stepped through the portal.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Adventures in Odyssey<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Abbington Fall, Iowa, United States of America_

_Time: 2014 A.D., ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"How are we supposed to find Doxia?" asked Daniel calmly, "We don't know where he is!"

"Oh, don't worry your head about that, my lad," said Finnian evenly, "He will come to us."

"Wait… what? 'He will come to us'? How does that work? I thought Jetfire said that this place was too well hidden!" exclaimed Franklin.

"It is well hidden. However, I know my master Doxia well… He will be able to find us," said Finnian Jones in a cheerful and confident voice.

Suddenly he snapped a finger. "And look at that! I am right! Superfilifiously perfect timing!"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Franklin. Suddenly it hit him, and his jaw dropped, "No way… Doxia found us?"

Finnian nodded. "You are exactly right, my friend."

"Impressive. How do you do it?" asked Daniel quietly.

"It is my unique ability, like Joseph Torrus's Chains of Truth. My ability is omnipresent senses. For short periods of time, I can extend my senses throughout the whole multiverse. I did it a couple of seconds ago to check if Doxia had indeed arrived here, and I found him. They are approaching the town even as we speak," explained Finnian happily. Then he said, "Come! Let us go meet them!"

He strolled out of the small, metallic room that they were in. As he walked out of the Exploratorium, Finnian called to Jetfire, "Jetfire my old friend! Come! Doxia is coming!"

Jetfire then grumbled something about young whippersnappers never giving him enough time to read graphic novels. Nevertheless, he finally put down the book and followed Daniel and Franklin. Just before they were going to leave the library, Wild poked his head out of the April's Garden's door and said, "I'm done… Wait! Where are you guys going?"

"Doxia is coming!" explained Finnian excitedly.

Wild blinked in surprise. He then proceeded to follow them out of the Exploratorium. Just as Finnian returned to the regular room of the shop, Doxia strolled from around the corner down the street.

After a quick glance around, Doxia motioned for his friends to follow him. The strolled straight up Finnian's shop and entered.

Doxia's eyes immediately fell on Finnian, who was waiting with a huge smile.

"Finnian, the greatest Dimensional Traveler of all time," breathed Doxia.

Finnian smile widened. "Doxia, the greatest Dimensional Lord of all time."

The two then grasped each other in a tight hug.

"It's been such a long time!" exclaimed Doxia, "What have you been doing all these years?"

"Collecting books!" replied Finnian happily as the two broke the hug.

"Ah. So no doubt you were able to make the Exploratorium thingy that you were always talking about?"

"Of course! However, no doubt you are here for something else. Perhaps we should get the details set aside first."

Doxia nodded. "Of course! Mattimeo?"

Mattimeo stepped forward and said, "Finnian Jones. It is good to see you again."

Finnian nodded. "It is an honor, Lord Mattimeo. Where is Meadolax? And Rolles? And Spiderax?"

"Rolles is still exploring the multiverse. Spidirx and Meadolax both have retired," replied Mattimeo calmly.

Finnian nodded, "Ah, I can understand that."

"Finnian," said Mattimeo after a moment of silence, "You are aware of the Paradox taking control of the Harmony Tree dimension, correct?"

Finninan nodded his head again. "That is correct. Have you figured out a solution to that little dilemma?"

Mattimeo returned the nod. "Yes. We are going to need a dimensional ship. Inorganic Dimensional Travel was designed to bypass the phantom device."

"Well, fancy that!" exclaimed Finnian in a jocund manner, "We realized we would need a dimensional ship as well?"

"You have?" interjected Doxia, "Cool! How so?"

"Well, just as you asked, Doxia, I have found the Crystal of Harmony," explained Finnian. He pulled out the small dime-sized projector device and activated it. He then pointed to the far outer-ring of the little holographic replica of the multiverse that popped up. "It is there. In the far outer ring, where all Imagination Energy is dead, thus making it impossible for a traveler or lord to reach it."

Doxia leaned in close to inspect the outer ring. Then he said, "Ah. You need an interdimensional space bridge."

Finnian nodded and turned off the device. "Yes indeedie! And do you know where we would get an interdimensional space bridge?

Doxia nodded as well. "Yeppers! The Kappa Bridge, in the Amethyst dimension. Ah, I see what you are getting at. There is a phantom device in the Amethsyt dimension as well, thus, you need a dimensional ship as well. Well then, I guess it is a good think we've met! We know where we could get one!"

"Wait… you do?" exclaimed Funsch, "I've always wanted one! Where is it?"

Wild nodded his head vigorously as he interrupted, "Yeah! I mean, I've always… Wait. Rarity? Is that you?"

Rarity blushed and nodded her head. "I am! Um… beg pardon, but who are you?"

Wild smiled and threw back his hood that he wore at all times. "I am a pony like you. I lived in Ponyville a while before Joseph Torrus."

Rarity gaped. "So… so there are other travelers like me who are ponies?"

"You're a traveler?" gaped Wild.

"You're a traveler?" laughed Franklin.

"What?" asked Daniel.

"This is hilarious," snorted Funsch.

Rarity nodded her head. "I am! Tier 1 and all that! It's been incredible! Look! I'm a human!"

Wild was about to comment on her dress sense when Doxia coughed loudly and said, "That is wonderful, and I would have loved to have entertained this conversation further if we were not, as of now, on the brink of explaining some incredibly important pieces of information!"

There was an awkward pause then. After the moment passed, Wild said, "Oh… sorry. Continue."

Doxia nodded to Mattimeo again. Mattimeo then said, "Well, we know that there is a fully-functioning ship in the Grand Theft Auto dimension…"

"Why haven't we grabbed it already then?" interrupted Wild again. Mattimeo stared at Wild quietly, until the wolf/pony cleared his throat and said, "Sorry."

Mattimeo slowly turned his head to look back at Finnian and said, "As I said, we know that there is a fully-functioning ship in the Grand Theft Auto dimension, unfortunately, it no longer has a power source. However, we do know where we can get one."

Finnian blinked in acknowledgment. "I am intrigued. Please continue."

"It is in the Skyrim dimension," said Mattimeo.

Finnian nodded his head slowly. "I see why you didn't get it. The Skyrim dimension shares the same multidimensional ring as the Harmony Tree dimension. Enigma Empire scanners would pick any of you up for sure if you tried to retrieve it yourself."

"Exactly, old buddy!" said Doxia, "That is why we are here… To talk to Funsch about it!"

Funsch looked a little surprised by this, but then said, "I can help. However, I cannot go myself anymore. I too am wanted."

"Well… this is a problem then!" exclaimed Discord.

Funsch shook his head and said, "I cannot go myself, but I still can help. When we went to the Transformer dimension to get Jetfire, we made an ally: Alyss. She is not on the wanted list yet. She, or maybe someone close to her could help."

Doxia nodded. "Brilliant. Could you try to get in contact with her? We will wait here."

"No," said Wild, "I will go."

Everyone turned to look at him. Wild blinked and then said, "I think I know where I might find her. I also owe her an apology."

Mattimeo looked at wild for a moment. "Very well," he said. He pretty much whispered the phrase, but it echoed around the room nonetheless.

Wild then turned and opened a portal. He quickly stepped through it. He was back in the Transformer dimension, in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. Chuckling to himself, Wild opened his traveler database, setting off its rigged tracking system, and opened the search engine. He then proceeded to google "Chances of getting a date with Alyss Heart." Suddenly a twig snapped behind him. However, instead of whirling to face the source of the disturbance, Wild spun and faced the opposite direction. Alyss Heart was standing a few meters away from him, eying him with wary amusement dancing on her face.

"Nice to see that I taught you something, Wild," said Alyss slowly.

"Nice to see you were expecting me," replied Wild evenly. There was an uncomfortable moment of silence as the two stared at each other quietly, gauging their weaknesses and strengths, and possible angles of attacks.

Finally Wild sighed and said, "Alyss… I am sorry for trying to kill you."

Alyss actually looked rather surprise at this, and immediately let down her guard. She then said, "Oh… Well, you are forgiven. I am sorry for ever doubting you and your friends. Every day now I see more evidence pointing towards the Paradox's treachery."

Wild nodded his head sagely. "And it is on the subject of treachery that I come to you for help."

Alyss cocked her head to one side. "I am listening."

"We need someone to infiltrate the Skyrim dimension to retrieve a very important artifact," explained Wild, "However, all of us are wanted. We need someone with a clean slate to attempt it."

Alyss blinked slowly as she thought. Finally, she said, "I myself am wanted now. However, I do know someone who is powerful enough, and not wanted, who can do what you ask."

Wild grinned. "Wonderful. Who is it?"

"Desmond Butler," said Alyss.

Wild raised an eyebrow. "So basically you mean Desmond Butler and Emilee Walter, then."

Alyss nodded. "Those two are competent. They can do what you ask. However, the question is not can they do it, but will they do it."

Wild continued to grin as he said, "Understood. However, I know Desmond. He will probably say yes."

Alyss beckoned to Wild as she opened a portal. "You are probably right. Come. I know where Desmond is residing at the moment. We can meet them now."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I really have nothing to say except keep a look-out for my new short story that is coming out Wednesday! It is called "Through A Glass Darkly." Anyway, don't forget to give me feedback!<strong>


	73. Chapter 73 - Plans Finalized

**Note: Where did all my feedback go? They just vanished! I would insert a sad face here, but that would not really serve any purpose. Give me feedback! If you give me feedback, then I will give you cookies!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree forest_

_Time: Ten days after the takeover of Equestria_

The Paradox tapped his mask lightly as he looked at a holographic projection in front of him when Pictor strolled up to him.

"How goes the invasion of the Infernal realm?" said the Paradox calmly.

"Well," said Pictor slowly, "We should be expecting a plea of parley from the Grand Devil any day now."

The Paradox nodded. "That is just what we need. I have developed another part of the plan that will need his assistance."

Pictor cocked his head to one side and said, "What? What are you talking about?"

The Paradox waved Pictor down. "It doesn't concern you yet…"

There was a long pause. Finally, the Paradox said, "Pictor… Do you remember the Winniex Empire?"

Pictor laughed. "Led by a man after my own heart. Yes, I do. What about it?"

"Remember the uproar it caused? There hadn't been an infant interdimensional empire since the Barius Empire."

"Yes… but it all went down. After all, Amethyst had a fleet so large, that it could wipe out universes in seconds. They were of no consequence…"

"I know. But what about now? We have the fleets, but we are no longer prepared."

"What do you mean?"

"Pictor look: there is an interdimensionally-travelling probe circling this planet even as we speak." The Paradox pointed nonchalantly to a radar projection that was blinking on the holographic screen.

Pictor leaned in close and shook his head in disbelief. "What… the… hell? Should I destroy it?"

The Paradox shook his head emphatically. "No. You know what this means, right?"

Pictor nodded. "This means that somehow… somewhere… an empire managed to open a portal using inorganic means. We have could be facing an issue of dimensionally-jumping ships, the one thing that the phantom device cannot block."

The Paradox sighed calmly. "Do not be melodramatic, Pictor. They are of no consequence. The only issue is that they have ships. Perhaps a lot of ships. They will never stand a chance against our armadas… but if one should fall into the hands of Doxia… Then he could come here and lay waste to everything."

There was another pause. Finally, the Paradox said, "We need to keep tabs on this. No doubt Doxia will be able to detect what is going, but we must not let the senders of that probe know that we know they are here. However, track the whereabouts of the senders and see if we have any active Dimensional Travelers or Phasetroopers on site. We will use them to assassinate whoever we need. After all, this could either be a hindrance… or a great help."

Pictor nodded. He immediately pulled up a myriad of holographic projections about his face as he began to track the origins of the probe that had so mysteriously appeared in orbit.

"It seems to be coming from multidimensional sector D129," said Pictor slowly, "From the Reset Dimension."

The Paradox's head moved slightly, indicating some small level of surprise. "The Reset Dimension? The one where the alternate dimension of the Harmony Tree Dimension crashed into? The one that nearly killed Dathan Enosson during his journey to find a place to plant the Tree of Harmony?"

Pictor nodded his head stoutly. "They very same one."

The Paradox nodded his head. "It makes sense. That phenomena no doubt gave the natives of that dimension some fairly deep insight into the workings of dimension-jumping. No doubt they have capitalized on it. Nevertheless, I remember placing Phasetrooper nine and Phasetrooper one-billion-and-seven there. Get Phasetrooper nine on the line and hack all the information this little probe has on it and give it to him… I have a job for him."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Orbit (Reset Dimension)<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Warbucks Tower, top floor_

_Time: Unknown, ten days after the takeover of Equestria_

Councilman Kaleb stretched. He was in a good mood, which generally meant people somewhere were losing untold amounts of money. It had been less than a year since they had discovered an anomaly of epic proportions, and it had been less than a month since they had discovered how to open and sustain portals from their dimension to another. Four hours ago, a team sent a probe through their first sustainable portal into another dimension. What they had found was… shocking.

"It seems to be some form of an alternate Equi-3 dimension," said a man in a white lab-coat.

"Of course, I can read, my friend," said Kaleb briskly, "What are the readings?"

"Well, first we thought we saw massive surges of power on the surface, as if there were sentient powerhouses or something on the ground, but after we got a closer look, it seemed to only be interference from multidimensional residue."

"Wonderful. So that place is as useless and defenseless as the Equi-3 planet here? Under-defended and full of little, brightly-colored, ponies?"

"Yes. What are you suggesting?"

"I am suggesting that I pay you to work, not to talk. Get the hell out of here."

The scientist blinked in surprise, but then caught the glance of one of the Federation troopers standing nearby. He then bowed low and strolled out of the room.

Kaleb rolled his eyes and sat down at his desk. Suddenly the intercom beeped slightly, and his secretary said, "Sir… You have an appointment with a scientific expert?"

Kaleb scratched the back of his head. "I have an appointment? That's weird. Send them in."

Large, metallic, double-doors slid open and a neatly dressed man strolled in with a large briefcase under his arm.

Kaleb nodded his head. The man sat down and said, "Hello, Councilman Kaleb. Where are the others?"

Kaleb propped his feet on his desk in a very rude manner and said, "I have no idea. But this is my office. Are you here to talk to Councilman Olson, or to me? Councilwoman Caroline will be out of the picture shortly, if you know what I mean."

The man blinked at Kaleb. "You do realize I could be a spy, right? I could go straight to Councilwoman Caroline and warn her."

Kaleb laughed. "I don't think so. All scientists that ever get past my secretary are on dimensional business, and all dimensional-oriented scientists are under the paycheck of me and Olson… so you basically owe me your life."

"You speak presumptuously, Councilman Kaleb," said the man.

"It's not presumptuous if you know it to be damn well true!" snorted Kaleb derisively, "So… what do you want?"

The man glanced at the guards. He then turned back to look at Kaleb and leaned in close and whispered, "I want some privacy."

"You two!" snapped Kaleb to the guards, "Get the hell out of here!"

The guards nodded stoutly and left in a hurry. Kaleb then looked at the man curiously and said, "What is it?"

"You sent the probe, correct?"

"Yes. Based off the information we got from that one place filled with brightly-colored ponies. You know…"

"And you sent the probe to look at the alternate world filled with ponies… right?"

"Right. Why?" Kaleb was starting to feel very uncomfortable, and considered calling the guards back in, but then he decided against the idea.

The man leaned in closer and said, "You detected massive energy surges on the surface as well?"

Kaleb gaped. No one had seen that information other than that one scientist and himself. How did this strange man find out? Was he sent from Olson? Wordlessly, Kaleb nodded.

The man settled back in his chair and chuckled. "Well, my friend, let me tell you that those surges were no residual pieces of interference… they were real."

"Does that mean…" stuttered Kaleb, "Does that mean that there are others like us out there?"

The man nodded sagely. "Yes… That means that your little endeavor has caught the attention or those 'others', and they would like to greet you. One day."

The man suddenly snapped a finger, and Kaleb's spine snapped in two. He fell to the floor, dead.

The man suddenly shimmered and transformed into a hideous Phasetrooper. The Phasetrooper proceeded to pick up the dead body of Kaleb and inspect it closely. After a moment of doing so, he vaporized the corpse using dark matter, then he shimmered again… and transformed into an exact replica of Kaleb.

"Phasetrooper nine to Lord Pictor," said the imposter of Councilman Kaleb over a telepathic link, "I'm in. What is next?"

"They have ships, a fleet of them," said Pictor over the intercom, "We need to ensure that Doxia never gets one. Do what you have to… bring them all here. All of them. We cannot risk Doxia being able to bypass the phantom device."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Rainbow Dash's Home_

_Time: Ten days after the takeover of Equestria_

Rainbow Dash sat nonchalantly on a fluffy cloud couch, shining her hoofs. Beside her lay a saddle pack full of supplies and money. However, despite the fact that the adventure of her lifetime was on the horizon, she was doing nothing else to prepare for it. Typical Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow slowly began to drift into sleep for a mid-morning nap when a hoof rapped at the door.

Rainbow leapt up, fell over, and scrambled to all fours. She quickly cantered to the door and opened it up a crack. She peeked through and saw Twilight, who was levitating a whole pile of papers and books about her. Rainbow rolled her eyes good-humouredly and opened the door.

"Wow, you certainly have some serious research going there, Twilight," chortled Rainbow as she let Twilight in.

Twilight smiled at her friend, she was in her element. "I do! I was able to look deep into the history of the Alicorn Amulet! You see, back in the pre-classical era…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sure it is absolutely amazing, Twilight," interjected Rainbow with a snort, "But I think what I'm looking for is a hoof pointing in the direction that Trixie went."

Twilight blushed. "Oh, yes, sorry. Well…"

Twilight plopped her tons-worth of paper and books on the ground and swiftly sorted through the mess using magic. After a moment, she pulled out a file with the royal Sun and Moon Sisters insignia on it. She levitated it over to the desk via magic and set it down. Rainbow trotted over to it and opened the file up. It was Trixie's intelligence file. There were things like place and time of birth, list of disruptions to the peace, etc. Finally, at the bottom of the third page in the file, big red letters spelled out the word: MISSING.

Rainbow nodded. This had been somewhat helpful. At this moment, Twilight trotted over, holding another piece of paper.

"Here was a receipt for a boat-fare made by Trixie, two days before Equestria Intelligence classified her as missing," Twilight explained, giving it to Rainbow.

Rainbow looked it over. The fare was to the Stallion Empire. Rainbow bit her lip, the Stallion Empire was not a close friend to Equestria. For the past thousand years, the massive empire had loomed over Equestria, constantly giving Equestria a difficult time when it came to politics and diplomacy. Of course, it had fallen without a fight to the Paradox like everywhere on the planet, but considering the fact that the Paradox really didn't care about anywhere else other than Equestria, Rainbow was sure that this other-worldly occupation would not stop the Stallion Empire from persecuting someone like her. There had been terrible tales of Equestria citizens going to the Stallion Empire for a visit, and then being arrested. They stories told of beatings, torture, and rape. Not a pretty thing to think about, all things considered.

If Trixie had gone there, there was not too much hope that she was coming out of it. Unfortunately, this was no time for a royal rescue operation. For one, Celestia had made it clear to the citizens of Equestria many years ago that she had to keep her hoofs clean of the despotic leaders of the empire, as to avoid war and bloodshed. Another point was that the Paradox would probably not stand for any form of disturbance, let alone an international war, because it would pose a risk to his plan. It looked like Rainbow was going to have to wing it alone, but actually considering the dangers of the Stallion Empire made her relieved that Twilight was going. If Twilight was arrested or captured in that empire… She would never be able to face Flaming Star.

"Well… I guess I know where my next stop is," said Rainbow Dash nervously.

Twilight looked at Rainbow in concern. "You've heard the tales of that nation. Are you sure you don't want to just give it up? I'm sure there is another way…"

Rainbow shook her head vehemently. "No. This is the only way. What else are we going to do? Ask for charity?"

"Perhaps we could find a way to get another nation to chip in!"

"No! The Paradox has eyes and ears everywhere. Anything on a national scale would undoubtedly become noticeable. And besides, Equestria is the richest country in the world, and what this griffon is charging for weapons is more than a fortune. But he is the only one Sunset said he would trust to deliver all of those powerful weapons to us."

Twilight bit her lip, and her eyes welled up with tears. But then she took a deep, shaking sigh, and nodded her head. "I wish you luck, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow grinned, but it was rather weak. "Heh… yeah."

Twilight quickly sorted through some papers, and then pulled out another file. "I looked into all of your possible travel options."

Rainbow glanced over them: sea and air. "I'll take air," said Rainbow, "And considering the importance of this venture, money is no object. I'm sure I can 'reimburse' myself when we get into the royal treasury."

Twilight raised an eyebrow cynically at Rainbow, who was now genuinely grinning, and said, "Riiiigghhhtttt… Okay. Air it is, first class. I will have your tickets by tonight, with a plane to leave in the morning. Are you ready for that?"

Rainbow nodded her head at her bags. "I am."

Twilight returned the nod. "Good! Now here is a book of the Stallion Empire in present day, and here is a book on the Stallion Empire's history."

With that, Twilight levitated two thick volumes over to where Rainbow stood. Rainbow groaned and facehoofed. "Really Twilight? Really?"

Twilight nodded her head vigorously. "Really! You need to read these books! You must!"

Rainbow pulled a face, but said, "Fine. I'll 'read' those books for you. Maybe…"

Twilight looked at her suspiciously for a moment, and then nodded slowly. "Riiigghhhttt… Okay. I am going to get all these traveling things sorted out now. I will be back tonight. You better have the first three chapters of both books read by the time I get back. There is a high possibility for a pop quiz when I return."

Rainbow pulled another face and said, "Twilight, don't you remember the last time you tried to get me to study? Remember the Wonderbolt's history test?"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, but we have no time to use your method of learning! Just pretend you are reading a Daring Do book and try not to think about all those horrible rumors!"

With that, Twilight levitated all of her other books and pieces of paper around her and trotted out of the house. Grumbling something unintelligible about cupcakes and death, Rainbow Dash sat down and opened one of the thick volumes to chapter one and began to read.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: "A Glass Darkly" is out as well, if anyone was interested in knowing. Okay, I have to say I really like Rarity as a Traveler. But what about you guys? What do you all think? Anyone excited to see Trixie coming into the scene? Anyway, don't forget to review!<strong>


	74. Chapter 74 - More Allies

_Dimension: Magic Tree House_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Honolulu, Hawaii_

_Time: 2014 A.D., ten days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

Wild looked around at his surroundings. He was on a small beach in a quiet cove. He glanced at Alyss who was looking around as well.

"Desmond is here?" asked Wild in a cynical voice.

Alyss smiled and nodded. "Emilee Walter enjoys beaches, and you know how Desmond will go to the ends of the multiverse to make her happy. I believe they are taking leave here. They were both fairly bruised and beaten during defending a village in the Looking for Group dimension with me against a large band of demons. That was before the Paradox invaded the Infernal Realm. Now we have no demons at all. Perhaps we should be thanking the Paradox for doing the impossible: bringing the Grand Demon to his knees."

Wild gave Alyss a side-long glance. "Yeah. Sure. We can thank him after he activates the Tree of Harmony."

Alyss sighed. "I suppose you are right. Well, follow me. Desmond has a small house over by that palm tree grove."

Wild and Alyss moved off in that direction side-by-side.

"What has Desmond been doing all this time, then?" asked Wild as they walked.

"He's been trying to gather about him people he can trust," replied Alyss, her eyes straight ahead.

"Any luck?"

"No. There are probably only twenty Dimensional Travelers who can call themselves heroes now. It is terrible."

"I would like to point out that it was the Paradox's plan that brought about the Era of Anarchy. He rigged the traveler database to sow dissent and lies."

"I know. Wild, I understand that you don't trust me, but you must understand that I am with you. The Paradox must be brought down."

With that, the two pushed through a couple of tropical bushes and entered a clearing of palm trees. A small bungalow sat in the middle of the clearing. Outside, on a large blanket, was a young man, about 1.7 meters in height, broad build, with snow-white hair was lying on the blanket. A girl about 1.6 meters in height, scrawny build, with flowing golden hair was lying next to him, her head propped against his shoulder. The two were sleeping peacefully. Wild inspected the two. Despite the fact that the two were fast asleep, Desmond had his right hand placed defensively on Emilee's left shoulder. Wild could tell that he would be able to move to protect her at a moment's notice. Knowing the perilous life that a traveler lead, Wild could imagine how many times that position of that hand had saved Emilee's life.

"Emilee is the second non-traveler human to travel the multiverse, besides Trent DeWhite," whispered Alyss. After a pause, she said, "I will wake them. You stay here. Your legacy is less than friendly."

Wild nodded in acknowledgment, and Alyss strolled up to the two sleeping forms of Desmond and Emilee. Alyss squatted down and gently shook Desmond's left shoulder. Desmond grumbled a little, then his eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up. However, he calmed down when he saw Alyss.

"Alyss," said Desmond quietly, glancing at Emilee to make sure she was okay. He smiled as Emilee murmured a little, but stayed fast asleep. He then glanced back at Alyss and said, in hushed tones, "What do you want?"

"I have someone who wishes to talk to you," whispered Alyss. She then motioned to Wild. Desmond's eyes immediately light with an internal fire, and he whipped out a beretta 45 custom cutlass handgun, a weapon that he kept on his person at all times. Wild immediately threw up a shield of pure shadow energy around him. The two beings stared at each other for a moment. Finally, Wild said, "I am not here to hurt you, Desmond."

"I'm not worried about myself. Last time you were nearby, you turned into that monster… Feral… and attacked Emilee," said Desmond, his eyes still filled with anger.

"I lost control of myself," said Wild, carefully choosing his words, "But now I need us to put aside our personal vendettas of each other and work together."

"Why should I help you?" asked Desmond. Suddenly Emilee opened her eyes and smiled a bright smile.

"Because it's the right thing, Desmond," she said calmly. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked at Alyss and smiled sweetly, "Hello Alyss! How are you?"

Alyss nodded her head, almost regally, "I am doing fine Emilee." It was obvious that Alyss was wary of Emilee due to the fact that she was a dimensionally-travelling non-traveler.

Emilee then turned her bright eyes to gaze upon Wild. Wild felt like a deer in headlights when she looked at him with her innocent, yet wise, eyes.

"Emilee," he said, "I am sorry for attacking you."

Emilee winked. "It was nothing. I only needed twelve stitches. I forgive you."

Wild gaped, and Desmond smiled. He put an arm around Emilee and said, "Well, if she's good with you, then I suppose there would be nothing wrong with hearing what you have to say. What do you need done?"

"I am sure Alyss has already told you about the treachery of the Paradox, and how the Harmony Tree dimension, which is now under his control, is actually a weapon of mass destruction," started Wild.

Desmond nodded his head. "Alyss has told us everything. I've done a bit of digging and can say truthfully that I understand the magnitude of the Paradox's crimes now. He must be brought to justice, and it is the right thing to do."

Wild grinned. Though he himself was slowly beginning to understand what it meant to be a hero thanks to the mentoring of Finnian Jones, he still was greatly amused (in a somewhat cynical way) when anyone ever mentioned the words "justice," "right," or "good."

"Wonderful," he said, "I need you two to come with me. I will explain the job when we get there."

Desmond nodded. But before he got up, he leaned in close to Emilee.

"Are you up to the job, Emilee?" he whispered, his voice full of concern, "You broke your leg pretty bad in that fall."

Emilee glanced at her left leg. Then she looked at Desmond and whispered back, "It's all fine now. Let's do it! We haven't really done anything amazing as a team recently."

With that, Desmond got up. He held out a hand to Emilee, and helped her up on her feet as well. Then he turned to Wild and said, "Okay. Lead on, Wild."

Wild closed his eyes and searched his mind for the location of Abbington Falls using the special mental trick Jetfire had showed him a couple of days ago. In a couple of minutes he found it and opened a portal.

"Enter," he said with a grin.

Emilee winked at Wild and stepped through. Desmond nodded in thanks to Wild and followed her. Wild then turned to Alyss and said, "Do you wish to come with us?"

Alyss crossed her arms and shook her head. "No. I will continue to work against the Paradox on my own. The best of luck to you, my friend."

Wild bowed his head deeply in respect. "I wish you all the luck in the world, Alyss Heart."

Alyss gave him a genuine smile. Wild then turned and exited through the portal.

As he entered Abbington Falls, he saw Emilee hugging Finnian Jones tightly.

"Ah, Emilee," said Finnian happily, "You are a sight for sore eyes. When we met in the Clifford dimension, I felt sure it would be for the last time. I have been worried about you ever since."

"Well, I've had a couple of close calls here and there," said Emilee happily, releasing Finnian, "But Desmond takes good care of me."

"More like she takes good care of me," said Desmond quietly. He looked rather nervous with all the people around him, especially Mattimeo and Doxia, but didn't let it show too much.

"What do you need?" asked Desmond after a pause.

"We need you two to infiltrate the Skyrim dimension," said Mattimeo decisively, "We need you two to find a unique source of Imagination Energy."

Desmond nodded his head, "That sounds easy enough. Where is it?"

"That's the difficult part, kiddo," said Doxia, "We don't have the slightest darned idea. It's in the dimension, the scans confirm it, but we have no way of localizing it using mere scanners."

"That is where you two come in," continued Mattimeo, "You two will go to the planet and search for it the hard way. However, you two will have to be careful. Considering the fact that we can detect the unique energy signature using our scanners, we must also assume that the Paradox can sense the energy signature as well. No doubt he will have sent troopers, or worse, travelers, to find it as well. However, you two will have an advantage."

Mattimeo nodded to Doixa. Doxia snapped a finger, and a silver-wrought box made of polished Brazilian Rosewood appeared in his hand. He opened it up and pulled out an elaborate blue-colored metal mask.

"This is a Kanohi Elda," said Doxia dramatically, "Also known as the Great Mask of Detection. It allows a wearer to detect targeted hidden objects, like the Imagination power source. We've already rigged the mask to search for it, so all you will need to worry about will be wearing it."

"I'm not wearing that thing on my face," snorted Desmond.

"I'll do it!" interjected Emilee enthusiastically. She took it from Doxia and admired it. "If only it was a shade of gold," she chuckled. She then placed it on her face. The mask suddenly shimmered and vanished.

"How do I look?" asked Emilee, striking a pose.

Doxia immediately conjured up a mirror and handed it to her. "You look like yourself," said Doxia jovially, "I conveniently forgot to mention that the mask would turn invisible when activated. However, if you search deep inside your mind, you should find something that feels like an invisible switch. If you mentally 'will' the switch to activate, the Kanohi will turn on, and you will be able to receive directions through a series of impulses, like a sixth sense."

"Really? Cool!" said Emilee cheerfully, still looking at her face. "Desmond! You never told me that my bangs looked this way!"

Desmond grinned. "It's because you look beautiful any way you put your hair," he murmured.

Doxia clasped his hand together. "Awwww!" he said vehemently, "Young love! I can hear those spring birds signing! Now, seriously, are you two up to this little gig?"

"We are," said Desmond, "We will leave now."

Emilee nodded, she then proceeded to wave enthusiastically to all of her new friends. Desmond quickly opened a portal to the Skyrim dimension and the two stepped through.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Ten days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

The Paradox stood, facing the bubble of energy. After a week of thought, he had finally reached a conclusion: it was un-breach-able by him. But there were other ways to access it…

At this point, Pictor strolled in. The Paradox could tell that his enforcer was very happy.

"Well, Pictor? What news do you have for me?"

Pictor nodded his head. "I have some news. I have some very good news."

The Paradox sighed. "Very well. What do you have for me?"

"The Grand Devil wants a parley," said Pictor dramatically.

"He does?" said the Paradox. The phrase was set in a question, but the Paradox knew very well that it had only been a matter of time.

"He does," confirmed Pictor, "He contacted us just as we breached the seventh circle of Hell. The Infernal Realm is in shambles."

"Excellent. Does he have a time and place for the meeting?" asked the Paradox.

"He does. He wants to meet right now, aboard the E.E.S. Cheona," said Pictor.

The Paradox nodded. He quickly opened up a link with Ravencroft Solace and said, "Solace, I am going. You are in charge."

"Understood," came the deathly quiet response.

With that, the Paradox opened a portal and strolled through. The room he entered was pure white all around, illuminated by a mixture of light blue and white lights. Holographic screens adorned the walls.

In the center of the room was a long, white, metallic table surrounded by a set of comfy, white chairs. Sitting in the chair at the head was a tall being.

He looked like an angel, but his wings were black like a ravens. His armor was silver, set with obsidian stones, and his hands were wrought with black and silver metal, adorned with red silk. His cloak was long and flowing, and was made of what seemed like ribbons of lava and fire. His face, however, was what really set him apart. Unlike the glorious angels of the Celestia Heaven, his face was exposed. It was fair and flawless, with perfectly white teeth and golden hair. His eyes were nothing but slits, and were blood red. This was the fallen Archangel, the Deceiver, the Grand Devil, Leviathan.

"Hello Leviathan," said the Paradox calmly. To him, the Grand Devil was nothing more than a lesser king. Like the Caesar of the Roman Empire meeting up with a tribal leader from Africa.

"Hello, my servant," replied Leviathan evenly.

"He is not your servant, fool," snapped Pictor, who was more than ready to kill the Grand Devil, and burn his remains.

"Oh, he is my servant, and so are you," laughed Leviathan.

"Says the one begging for parley," snorted Pictor in return, "There is no plausible reason for you to call us servants of you, weak one."

"Oh, there is," said Leviathan, "You see; I am the Prince of Lies, the father of all that is evil. What you two have been doing consists of nothing else but deceit and evil. Thus, you are my children, and I am your father."

"Stop, Leviathan," said the Paradox calmly, "You have no power over us. Even as we speak, we have twelve Archetype Class warships positioned around the seventh circle of Hell. With a single command, I can bring down your home."

Leviathan's eyes twitched slightly. It was obvious that he was furious. After a dangerously quiet pause, Leviathan said, "What is it that you want?"

"We want… the Maelstrom," said the Paradox.

Leviathan laughed. "The Maelstrom? Forgive me for laughing, but I could have sworn you were present when lord Kytax cast me down, and the Special Ones destroyed the Maelstrom themselves. It's gone."

"You lie," said the Paradox.

"But of course!" exclaimed Leviathan, "It's what I do for a living."

"So, wait… are you being sarcastic, or are you confirming what we have said?" asked Pictor slowly.

Leviathan nodded his head. "I am confirming it. I may have felt some sort of attachment to those countless demons you slaughtered, but what you seem to be proposing offers glorious joy for me… so arrangements can be struck."

"Very good," said the Paradox, "We know that you have been assembling masses of Dimensional Energy and Pure Evil Essence for eons now, and we know that your second Maelstrom is ready. The question now is… are you ready?"

"No," said Leviathan, "It took me 1.4 trillion years to assemble the first Maelstrom, so this one is nowhere nearly as powerful. However… with the Enigma Empire out of the picture…"

"You misunderstand, Leviathan," said the Paradox coldly, "We are not giving you license to unleash the Maelstrom on the Earth Multiverse. We are telling you that if you give us control of the Maelstrom, we will use it to cause death, pain, and destruction where we see fit. Do you understand?"

Leviathan smiled a crooked smile. "Death, pain, and destruction are offers that I can hardly toss aside, my friend… Done.

The Paradox nodded. Leviathan then extended a clawed hand. Suddenly a small crystal vial appeared. Inside it was a small mass of black and purple material. It thrashed around inside its container, and a faint screaming could be heard resonating from inside the crystal walls.

"You open this up, and you unleash the Maelstrom," said Leviathan, "It will link telepathically with you, Paradox, and you will be able to command it. But be careful, near the end of the first Maelstrom war, the Maelstrom became sentient, and broke free of my hold. It became a demon far more powerful than even me, and almost ended everything. You will need to keep it in check."

The Paradox nodded. "My mind is… ready for those things."

The Paradox nodded and handed the vial to Pictor. Pictor snapped the wrist of his free hand, and the vial disappeared.

"So… is there a thank you coming?" asked Leviathan in a sadistically cheerful voice.

"Very well… Thank you, Leviathan," said the Paradox, "Now return to your prison on the endless plane of Earth Prime."

Leviathan grinned voraciously, and then disappeared in a blast of black mist and smoke. There was a pause, and then the Paradox opened up a link to the commander of the warships surrounding the seventh circle of Hell.

"Commander," the Paradox said emotionlessly, "Open fire. Destroy it all."


	75. Chapter 75 - Patience

**Note: This chapter is a little cluttered, just so you all know. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Adventures in Odyssey<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Abbington Falls, Iowa, United States of America_

_Time: 2014 A.D., Ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Doxia, Mattimeo, and Finnian all stood around. Finnian was sipping coffee, and Doxia was staring at it, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to pour it all over his helmet or not.

"I suppose we just wait then," said Mattimeo after a pause.

"Well, yeah, there is nothing else we can do," replied Doxia, "We've done all we can do."

"We're going to have to be careful, though," continued Mattimeo, "If we make a single mistake, the Paradox will be able to track us down. We have nowhere to run to now."

Doxia cleared his throat and said, "Well... Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you wanted to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

Mattimeo turned his masked face to stare disapprovingly at Doxia, who began to chuckle. "Please Doxia, no theatrics right now."

However, Finnian, too, began to chuckle as well. Soon the two were shaking uncontrollably with laughter as Mattimeo slowly crossed his powerful arms and shook his head slowly.

After a spell, Finnian and Doxia stopped shaking with mirth and quieted down. Doxia sighed and then said, "Sorry about that… I have no idea what I triggered."

Mattimeo nodded. "Very well. Now, if we can get back to our regular conversation… I assume we are just going to wait, then?"

Finnian nodded in turn. "I am afraid so, old friend."

"Well, perhaps we can start gathering information then," said Mattimeo.

Suddenly a massive blast of light blossomed in front of them: Archangel Michael had arrived.

Michael stared at the group for a moment, and then said, "I have some rather interesting news."

Doxia cocked his head to one side. Had he detected a tinge of emotion in the illustrious angel's voice?

"What is it?" asked Mattimeo calmly. He was always ready for any form of news, no matter how good or bad.

"The Infernal Realm has fallen. The Amethyst Armada has cleared out all seven circles of hell."

Doxia slapped a palm to his head in absolute shock. "My God! In two weeks? They took is all out in TWO WEEKS?"

Michael nodded his head sagely. "The demons were spread thin, thanks to their constant warring with the Paradox's Dimensional Travelers. The Amethyst Armada is vast, and there was no Maelstrom to defend their borders."

"Well," said Mattimeo slowly, "I suppose this is rather interesting news. Do you know what the Amethyst Armada is doing now?"

Michael shook his head. "Nothing. They have ceased movement, and are just hovering, immovable, in the fire-choked skies."

"Very well," said Mattimeo, "I suppose we will wait as well. However, if the opportunity presents itself, I will not hesitate to fight to take back control of the fleet that is rightfully ours. The Paradox is misusing Amethyst technology, and he will pay for that."

"Speaking of Amethyst," said Finnian, "How many original Amethyst Lords are still in the ranks of the Enigma Empire?"

"I am unsure," replied Mattimeo sagely, "I know that Rolles, Spiderax, Heart, Qualax, Sorenus, Hummer, and Meadolax have all retired. Erwin, however is still active."

There was a pause. Suddenly, Doxia said, slowly, "You said Meadolax retired… right?"

Mattimeo nodded. "Yes. The database confirmed it."

"Well, it seems that there was an issue with the Amethyst database as well, then…" said Doxia with an amused ton of voice.

Mattimeo glanced at Doxia, "I do not understand. Please explain."

Doxia tapped a button on the holographic projection. Suddenly another image popped up. It was a video recording of Meadolax.

"Yo buddies! It's me! Meadolax!" he chirped cheerfully, "I know I am supposed to be retired and all that, but it was really just a front. A while ago I realized that Orbit, the Reset Dimension, had the potential to become an Interdimensional Empire. Thus, my first thought was… Ooooohhh! Ships! It is true, they are starting to make ships here, and thus they could be of great use to us. Unfortunately the Paradox is watching this dimension as well, because they know the ships could be of great use to us. They have infiltrated some random council and caused a civil war and all that fun stuff. I've gone under cover, under the name of Finis. They kind of worship me now… It's cool, but a little awkward; I should tell them to stop sometime. Everything is awesome!"

With that, the video feed turned off.

"That was unexpected," said Mattimeo slowly. For the first time in a while, Doxia could sense that his old friend was very, very, very happy.

"Meadolax," sighed Doxia happily, "One of my best friends, returning to help us. All we need now is Rolles, Spiderax, and Kytax, and we could probably steamroll everything. We would be unstoppable."

"I know, Doxia, but we don't have Rolles, Spiderax, or Kytax. We have just Meadolax and ourselves and we are going to have to work with that," said Mattimeo.

Doxia threw his hands in the air, "I can dream, can't I?! Goodness, Mattimeo, you're no fun anymore!"

Mattimeo shook his head, and then turned to Michael. "Archangel, what is the status of Heaven now that Hell has been decimated?"

Michael shook his head. "Heaven is still indifferent. They have stated that it is not yet time for mobilization. However, I do have some good news: The Angelic Armies are being equipped, so that means there is a chance for mobilization."

"Awesome," said Doxia, "We could use the extra hand. Soon it will all be easy-peasy-lemon-squeezey."

"Perhaps," said Mattimeo, always the voice of reason, "But as of yet we must assume that there will be no help coming to us. Thus, we must proceed as planned. Desmond and Emilee, as of now, are searching for the Imagination source. When they find it, we can take control of the abandoned ship in the Grand Theft Auto location. Finnian Jones, can you use your powers to locate it?"

"Already have, my dear fellow," said Finnian jovially, "I know exactly where it is. Now all we need is for Desmond and Emilee to complete their mission."

"I am personally unsure of your choice to let them take on this mission alone, Doxia," said Mattimeo quietly, "But I trust your judgement."

"But of course!" exclaimed Doxia, slapping Mattimeo on the back, "Do not worry. I have seen the minds of Emilee and Desmond, the bond between them is strong. People with love like that have an ability to withstand incredible amounts of anything."

Finnian Jones nodded, and the whole group lapsed into silence. A minute passed, and then suddenly Doxia roared, "RRRREEEDDDDWWAAALLLLLL!"

No one leapt into the air in surprise, but Mattimeo slowly turned his head to stare disapprovingly at Doxia, who just was chuckling.

Michael crossed his gold-wrought arms and then said, "I must be off. I made it my duty to watch over Samuel Dellor, and I intend to keep that duty. I will continue talking to the council."

With that, the Archangel disappeared in a flash.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Adventures in Odyssey<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Abbington Falls, Iowa, United States of America_

_Time: 2014 A.D., Ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Rarity, still in human form, was sitting on a couch, staring pensively at a cup of coffee. Evan Funsch, who was sitting by here, was sipping his own coffee while reading a book. Suddenly, he noticed Rarity and said, "Oh… Hello."

Rarity flashed him a smile, and then went back to staring at the coffee. Funsch went back to reading his book, but after another minute of silence, he put it down and said, "Rarity. Forgive me, but why are you looking at that coffee so intensely?"

"Oh, I am sorry, darling," murmured Rarity, "It's just that I am trying to figure out how to pick it up without spilling it. This 'hand and fingers' concept is really quite new to me."

"You know," said Wild, who then trotted onto the scene, "You could just as easily transform into a pony again and pick the coffee up with a hoof."

"Oh no," replied Rarity, "I want to get used to being a human. I rather like the feeling."

"Why?" snorted Wild, "There is almost no benefit to being a human. You are tall, cumbersome, forced to balance on two feet, and you have to wear clothes all the time!"

"That's why I rather like it!" exclaimed Rarity, her eyes dreamy, "Imagine… Now I can have an excuse to wear everything everywhere all the time!"

"Just remember that that is ALWAYS the case as a human," chortled Franklin, who was off in a corner, playing a chess game with Daniel, "I would appreciate it if you would remember that."

Rarity blushed a deep red. After an awkward silence, Funsch came to her rescue. "Here," he said, reaching over and placing a rough hand over her small, smooth one.

He then moved her hand over to the handle of the cup of coffee and closer her fingers over it.

"There is nothing really too it," he said slowly, "Just hold on tight, and keep your wrist as still as possible. Only adjust it to counteract the angle adjustments of your arms and elbow."

Very slowly he moved her arm and brought the cup to her lips. Rarity's eyes brightend. "Oh… I think I have it now! I do appreciate the help, dear."

Funsch raised an eyebrow as he went back to his book. "Anytime Rairty."

There was yet another pause, finally broken by Wild. "Aren't we going to do anything?" he said irately, "I mean… We aren't doing anything now!"

"And that is because we can't do anything!" snorted Franklin, "I am sure Doxia and Mattimeo are looking for things we can do, but right now we really have our hands tied. All of the locations that are important to us are blocked off by a phantom device. What's more, all the locations that are important to us that are not blocked off by the phantom device are being watched by the Sapphire Armada."

"And what's more," said Doxia as he made a sudden entrance onto the scene, "We just found out that Hell just fell to the Amethyst Armada."

There was a deathly quiet. Suddenly Franklin began to laugh. "Wow… just wow…" he snorted, "That's pretty impressive. I mean, it's bad due to the fact that it was the Paradox who brought down the Infernal realm, but it is mostly good. After all, no more demons!"

"No, there will always be demons," said Funsch, "As long as the Grand Devil is alive, demons will rise. However, the Demon-Traveler rivalry is no longer in existence. My God… I dreamed of that day, but I never imagined it would come about under such circumstances."

"I agree," said Daniel quietly, "This is no victory. So what if there are no more demons? There are far worse things out there now, and all of them came for the ranks of the Travelers. Mercenaries, Assassins, and the Enigma Empire are everywhere now, so we are in just as much danger. In fact… the people of the Earth Multiverse are still in as much danger as they were during the first Traveler-Demon war!"

"I agree," sighed Wild, "Nothing good will come from the Amethyst Armada controlling the ruins of the Infernal Realm."

"Probably," chuckled Doxia as he sat down, grabbed a cup of coffee, and poured it over his helmet. The liquid dissolved into nothing before it could hit the ground and stain the carpet.

"After all," continued Doxia, "If the Paradox is involved, controlling the Infernal Realm is a major bargaining chip with the Grand Devil. The Grand Devil is twice as old and probably three times as powerful as the Paradox, so having power over him is very useful. However, what the Paradox intends to do with this bargaining chip is yet to be seen."

"So basically the Paradox is so crazy now that he plans on making a pact with the Devil," said Wild flatly.

"Nope," replied Doxia, "The Paradox is so crazy AND powerful that he is forcing the Devil to make a pact with him. The Grand Devil is in a very bad position, and it is rather amusing. However, I assume that the Paradox will not try anything too big. The Grand Devil still answers to Heaven, and the Paradox is not stupid enough to declare war on Heaven as of yet. Heaven is far too powerful, and would end his dreams in a second. What he probably is counting on now is that Heaven will decide to stick to its non-interference pact of old, which, in all likelihood, they will."

"Ugh…" grumbled Wild, "Why is Heaven doing this? They know we are in big trouble!"

"It's a test," said Doxia promptly, "We are being tested. However, we are not being tested outside of our range, I believe. We must trust that all will turn out well. That is why you never see me worried!"

"Something that you could give a lecture on someday," chuckled Franklin. He then winced as Daniel took out his Room out with a Knight.

"Good idea," sighed Doxia dreamily, "Professor Dimensional Lord Doxia… I like that."

"Well?" interrupted Wild grumpily, "Is there anything we can do now?"

"Nope," said Doxia, "But what we can do is settle down. Come on over everyone! I will now tell a story about the Dimensional Empires of old…"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Skyrim<em>

_Planet: Nirn_

_Specific Location: Northeast of Riften_

_Time: Ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"Wow… this is really weird," murmured Emilee as she scratched the back of her head.

Desmond glanced over at her and raised an eyebrow. "A good weird or a bad weird?"

"A good weird," replied Emilee promptly, "I can feel as if the Kanohi is pushing me towards something."

Desmond eyed his surroundings. They were in a snowy valley, with massive pine trees scraping the dull, gray sky. An icy wind blew around them.

"I'm cold," said Emilee.

Desmond nodded, and cast a heat bubble around them, raising the surrounding air's temperature a dozen degrees Celsius.

"Do you know where we are going, then?" asked Desmond after a pause.

Emilee nodded. "Eh… I think so. I really have to get used to this 'sixth sense' thing. Do you have this feeling the whole time?"

Desmond nodded. "Pretty much. We travelers have this tingling sensation when someone is sneaking up on us. In fact…"

Suddenly Desmond grabbed Emilee and pulled her off to the side. They jumped into a large snow bank.

Suddenly an Enigma Empire ATL Sky-Striker mech fighter flew from nowhere and hovered above the ground. It then transformed from fighter to mech. The mech then slowly began to lumber forward. It was then joined by another ATL Sky-Striker, and then another, and then another. It was obvious that the Paradox had sent a whole force to the Skyrim dimension.

Desmond bit his lip as he watched a carrier buzz silently overhead.

"Guess we're not the only ones looking for that Imagination source," whispered Emilee. However, she did not seem worried in any way. She simply shifted through the snow so that she could throw an arm around Desmond's shoulders.

"I guess so," murmured Desmond, "However, I believe we are the only one with a specialized Kanohi."

Emilee nodded. "As of yet, we have the advantage, and I intend to keep it that way."

A couple of minutes later, the ATL Sky-Strikers cleared out the area and moved away, in the opposite direction that they were heading. Taking a deep breath, Desmond eased out of the snow, and then helped Emilee get out as well. Glancing around warily, Desmond then nodded to Emilee, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt if we sped it up a bit."

Emilee winked and punched his right arm lightly. "Don't be so pushy, you can't rush space-magic. Or BIONICLE-magic for that matter."

Desmond smiled a little and nodded slightly. Emilee closed her eyes and clasped her hands together. After thirty seconds, she suddenly said, "Ah! I know where we need to go next. Follow me!"

With that, she took off at a brisk pace up the snowy mountain. Desmond, grinning, follower her.

After a bit of trekking up the hill everything leveled out, and the two entered a snowy clearing, encircled by frosty pine trees. After another couple minutes of walking, Emilee stopped and said, "Ah… I think we are closing in."

Desmond looked around. The place just looked like a regular snowy plane. He was about to comment about the normal-looking area they were in when he stiffened. Had he just seen the shimmering of an invisibility bubble?

Acting on instinct, Desmond once again grabbed Emilee and dove into a snowy drift. Just as they did… a shield bubble de-cloaked. A dozen Shradian Tanks rolled out from the invisibility bubble and took up positions around the area. They just stood there, slowly turning their heads.

"It looks like they're looking for something… or someone," murmured Desmond after a moment of inspecting the giant tanks.

"Of course they're looking for something or someone!" chuckled Emilee in hushed tones, "Let's just hope it's a something, as in the Imagination source, and not a someone, as in us. If it is the latter, than our cover is blown and the Enigma Empire will be sending ships over with our life signatures on their radar. Then we're in deep trouble."

"Granted," whispered Desmond, "I suppose we will then have to find a way around this clearing."

"Hmmmm…" said Emilee after a bit of thought, "Right. Any ideas?"

Desmond smiled. "Yes. One."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I have some fairly bad news. I probably will not be able to post another chapter until after Wednesday. Sorry, but I need to do a lot of stuff. Nevertheless, keep giving me feedback! Maybe some if you could go back to your favorite chapters and discuss it! Anyway, see you all next week! Don't forget to review!<strong>


	76. Chapter 76 - A Picnic

**Note: And we are back in action! Sorry for posting this so late, but I pretty much just wrote this up in thirty minutes. I did a quick proof-read run-though, but I might have missed some stuff. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>D<em>_imension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Sunset and Fluttershy's house_

_Time: Ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Fluttershy smiled at Starlight Amber as she coaxed her foal. "Come on. You can do it. Just one hoof in front of the other…"

Starlight, eyes bright and wondering, slowly wobbled to all fours and took a couple of quick steps. Fluttershy brightened. Starlight had become an effective trotter over the last couple of days. Soon she would be able to move around with ease.

At this time, Sunset entered the room. His eyes immediately brightened when he saw his wife and his foal. Sitting down next to Fluttershy, he said, "How is she doing?"

Fluttershy smiled, "She beginning to trot. It is wonderful."

"Of that I have no doubt," chuckled Sunset as he watching the little filly in front of him slowly take a couple of more steps before almost falling over. Sunset got up and helped Starlight cover the rest of the distance to her mother.

"I am going to go out soon," said Sunset after a pause, "I have some ponies that I need to meet. Will you be fine on your own? Angel has not been in a cooperative mood lately."

"Oh, I will be fine," murmured Fluttershy gazing lovingly at him, "You go do whatever you need to do."

Sunset kissed her on the forehead and then got up. Patting Starlight lightly on the head as he trotted by, Sunset left the room, and then exited the house. Fluttershy got up and peeped through the window curtains as she watched him trot away into town. Soon Sunset rounded a corner and disappeared. The moment he did so, Fluttershy turned around and seized the house phone. Dialing in some numbers, Fluttershy waited for the ringing noise to sound off. In a moment, it did so, and another pony on the other side answered.

"Twilight?" said Fluttershy, "Would you mind watching Starlight for a bit for me? I have something I need to do."

"Of course Fluttershy! Come on over!" exclaimed Twilight. Not questioning any further, Twilight then disconnected. Fluttershy gently picked up Starlight and placed her in the stroller. She then exited the house with her filly in tow, and made her way to Twilight's library.

As she pulled up at the doorstep, Fluttershy knocked at the door and said, "Twilight? It's me, Fluttershy."

The door was flung open by Flaming Star. Grinning ear-to-ear, Flaming Star said, "Hey Fluttershy! Twilight is upstairs. Why don't you come in? Spike and I were just starting a game of Risk. It turns out you can win that game in ten moves."

Fluttershy gave Flaming Star a small smile as Spike's grumbling echoed from the interior of the building.

"I appreciate the offer, Flaming Star, but I am just here to talk to Twilight. She said she would watch Starlight for me for a bit while I attend to some other matters."

Flaming Star winked at Fluttershy and then turned around.

"Twilight!" he called, "Did you hear? Fluttershy is here with Starlight!"

In a moment, Twilight joined Flaming Star at the door. Using magic, Twilight levitated Starlight out of the stroller and into the house by her side.

"We will take good care of her," said Twilight reassuringly, seeing Fluttershy's worried face, "Never you fear."

Fluttershy gave them a tiny sheepish smile in thanks, and then turned around. Timidly, she trotted away.

"Fluttershy looked quite preoccupied," mused Flaming Star as he watched the female Pegasus leave the scene, "I wonder what could be bothering her so?"

"I don't know," replied Twilight slowly. After a pause, she perked up and said, "Well, we have a foal to take care of now! Let's go!"

Eyes still narrowed, Flaming Star nodded slightly. He then turned around and closed the door via magic.

"Well," said Flaming Star after a moment, "I suppose we should call off the Risk game for a moment, Spike."

"Oh no, you don't need to do that," said Twilight, "I will watch Starlight. We can play together as you continue the game!"

Flaming Star smiled gratefully at her before trotting off to sit down at the table where Spike was, setting up the Risk board. Twilight quickly followed him and sat down nearby. She lightly deposited Starlight beside her. Eyes wide with wonder, Starlight began to explore this strange new environment with her new-found abilities of locomotion.

Twilight smiled as she watched the little foal wander about, bumping into things.

"Okay, so last game I beat you in less than twelve moves," said Flaming Star briskly as he helped Spike set up the board, "Let's see if we can't keep that record."

"Big talk," snorted Spike, "Need I remind you what my Three Musketeer Earth Ponies did to your vast armies that one game?"

Flaming Star rolled his eyes. That specific memory had become something of a trump card for Spike in all their arguments and teasing banter. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Flaming Star, "But I am fairly sure you expended all of your luck on that one game. I would say you are in quite a pickle now."

"We will see," said Spike in a dramatic voice, "Okay. Are we going position our troop reserves based off random card draw or choice this time?"

"Hmmmmm… good point," mused Flaming Star, "If we do the random card draw…"

"Flaming Star," interjected Twilight, as she stared lovingly at Starlight wandering around, "Could I ask you a question?"

Flaming Star blinked. He then turned his head to look at Twilight, "Sure," he said, "Anything."

Twilight smiled as she levitated Starlight over to where she sat, to ensure that the foal did not wander too far away. "Have you… have you ever thought about having a foal?"

There was a long pause. Both Flaming Star and Twilight began to blush a deep shade of red.

"I think I'm going to make some food," said Spike suddenly. He got up and left in a hurry. The silence ensued, and then Flaming Star said, "What… what do you mean?"

"Well… Since we're getting married… I was just wondering…"

"Nope. Nopenopenopenopenope…"

"Why not?"

"Just because. I don't think it would be… I mean I just can't… I mean, um, er, uh…"

"Why not?" exclaimed Twilight, "I think it would be the right choice! It would be so wonderful!"

Flaming Star glanced at her with a look of pure panic on his face. Suddenly he shimmered and vanished. He had cloaked himself in an invisibility field.

Twilight stared at the spot Flaming Star had been at a moment ago with a disgruntled look on her face. She wanted to know his answer, and he was not going to be able to escape it. Giving a small mental push, she activated a spell, and her horn released a blast of magic. The magic shimmered through the air in a sparkling shockwave, and cascaded against the invisibility bubble that Flaming Star was hiding in. The bubble distorted and then popped, exposing Flaming Star.

"Why aren't you answering?" she asked.

Flaming Star shimmered once more, and then transformed into a houseplant. The Firstborn had literally transformed into a houseplant in order to avoid answering Twilight's sensitive question. Twilight trotted up to the Flaming Star/houseplant and exclaimed, "You can't do that!"

There was no reply. The houseplant just sat there…

"Stallions," grumbled Twilight. She levitated Starlight and deposited her on her back. She then pointedly turned tail and trotted upstairs. The moment she left, Spike exited the kitchen and walked up to the houseplant. Tapping the plant lightly with a claw, Spike said, "She's gone. That was a close one. However, that was not at all smooth. You need to think of a better way of avoiding questions. Take me for example… I am an expert at that. Would you like some pointers?

The houseplant shimmered and transformed back into Flaming Star.

"I really need to see Sunset about this," sighed Flaming Star dejectedly, massaging his temples with his hooves. "I am sure Sunset and Fluttershy never had to go through this situation. They always have it so good. Huh… Where is Fluttershy going anyway?"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Fluttershy trotted through town, eyes scouring every centimeter of the buildings around her. She was looking for Ravencroft Solace. Even since that time he had walked her home, she had worried about him. The ghosts of his past life that reverberated from his eyes just seemed so… wrong. Whatever that human being had experienced, it must have been worse that pure hell. However, where this would have terrified the average Ponyville inhabitant, this actually made Fluttershy all the more curious. Her harmony element was kindness, and so it was in her nature to care for those who had been hurt, mentally and physically. There was no denying that Ravencroft had been hurt mentally, and she was quite keen on helping him out.

However, the first step towards that goal was finding the person, which was proving to be less than fruitful as she continued to scour Ponyville. In a couple more minutes, she had made it to the outskirts of the town, and there was still no sign of the Dimensional Traveler. After a moment of looking about, Fluttershy called out, timidly, "Ravencroft Solace? Are you there?"

Though she had not yelled or even raised her voice while saying that phrase, her voice echoed about nonetheless, causing Fluttershy to wince a bit.

Suddenly, a voice by her ear said, "You called my name. Why?"

Fluttershy gave a little "eep!" of terror and leapt almost a meter in the air. She whirled around and found Ravencroft standing behind her, looking at her with a mix of belligerence and curiosity.

"Why did you call my name?" asked Reavencroft. His eyes began to dart around, as if he was expecting a trap.

For a moment, all words left Fluttershy as her heart began to beat faster and faster. However, after that moment passed, she took a deep breath and said, timidly, "I was looking for you…"

"That much is apparent, fair one," replied Ravencroft sharply, still looking about, almost fervently, "What was the reason for you search for me?"

"I… I… I… I wanted to ask you if you wanted to have a picnic," stuttered Fluttershy in a small voice.

Ravencroft stopped looking about and stared at Fluttershy. If this had been a trap, Ravencroft would have just fallen for it in the most spectacular style. He had been caught completely off-guard by that statement.

"You… what?" asked Ravencroft in a disbelieving voice.

"I was wondering if you wanted to have a picnic," said Fluttershy in a firmer voice, "Sunset will be coming about later, so perhaps we could all get together and talk…"

Ravencroft looked at her for another minute or so in absolute silence. Then he said, "No."

He turned around with a sweeping gesture and began to make his way back into Ponyville. Fluttershy felt compelled to chase after him to ask for the reason why he rejected her innocent invitation, but fear got the better of her. Sighing sadly, she shook her head. She felt like she had failed to make this dark figure understand that he was not alone. She had been able to show Sunset Shadow that four years ago… why couldn't he see that as well?

However, as much as Fluttershy felt like a failure, it was not necessarily true. Ravencroft had been stunned by her invitation. As he walked away, his mind was churning with confusing thoughts. Did Fluttershy actually feel bad for him? No one had even been sympathetic towards him before. All that had been tossed his way had been hate, disgust, and fear. But this was different… Perhaps Fluttershy and Sunset were different…

Fluttershy, after staring at her hooves, peeked through her flowing pink mane to see if Ravencroft had actually left. He had. Sighing deeply once more, Fluttershy began to trot dejectedly back into Ponyville. As she did, she ran into none other than Sunset.

"Dear? What seems to be the problem?" asked Sunset. The moment he saw her face, his face fell as well.

"Well… I went to ask Ravencroft if he wanted to have a picnic…"

"You… did… what?"

"I… I… I asked Ravencroft if he wanted to have a picnic."

"That's ridiculous! He's a cold-hearted killer! He's a monster! That was extremely dangerous. Why didn't you ask me before you did it?

"Because of that," said Fluttershy. Her eyes began to well up with tears, and she looked down at her hoofs once more.

Sighing, Sunset pressed close to her side and spread a wing over her back. "I'm sorry Fluttershy. It's just… Haven't you seen what reflects back in his eyes? That being is not well. Something is wrong with him… VERY wrong with him."

Fluttershy got her emotions under control and she nodded a little. "I know," she said in a small voice, "It's just that I feel so bad for him. No one is inherently evil; they have to be taught that. Something must have happened in his life that has turned him into this creature, and I want to help mend what damage has been done."

Sunset smiled, and nuzzled her cheek. "You are absolutely incredible," he marveled, "You are the reason why the Paradox will never prevail. As long as there is unending kindness, good will always win."

Suddenly a voice murmured behind them. "Flutterhy…?"

Fluttershy squeaked in surprise and leapt behind Sunset for protection. Sunset quickly whirled around to face the speaker. It was Ravencroft Solace.

He was looking at them strangely. Almost as if… he was in pain. Not physical pain, of course, but deep, scarring, mental pain. "Fluttershy… Sunset… I would like to take up your offer for a picnic, if you don't mind," he whispered.

Sunset eyed Ravencroft in distrust, but then nodded to Fluttershy, giving her the floor.

Fluttershy gave him a wonderful, day-brightening smile and said, "Oh, we would LOVE that."

Ravencroft stared the female Pegasus in absolute shock. The face of total bewilderment caused Sunset to begin to chuckle. "I can tell you," said Sunset quietly, "That was my exact same face when she first gave me a place to stay at her house when I first came to Ponyville. Fluttershy is the kindest being in existence."

Ravencroft just continued to stare dully at the two. After a pause, Sunset beckoned to him and said, "Come. Follow us. By the way, Fluttershy… if you're not watching Starlight, then who is?"

"I left her in the care of Twilight. She said she would be more than happy to accommodate her for a bit," murmured Fluttershy. She pressed her side in Sunset's as she continued to smile happily at Ravencroft… who looked like his brain had just exploded.

"Right. Okay," said Sunset decisively. He then turned around and began to trot away. As he did so, he called back, "Come on! We will pick up Starlight and go have a picnic!"

Fluttershy, Sunset, and Ravencroft then began to move through Ponyville once more, towards Twilight's house. In a couple minutes, they were at the Library's doorstep. Reaching up, Sunset rapped on the door with a hoof. As he did that, Ravencroft stood off to the side, so no one answering the door would see him.

"Twilight? You there?" called Sunset after no one answered the door for a minute. The door then swung open, and a very grumpy Twilight answered. Her mane was rather disheveled, and she was levitating Starlight upside-down without knowing it. Fluttershy cringed a bit, but Sunset began to grin.

"Is there a problem?" asked Sunset slowly, a smile still plastered on his face.

"A problem? Nooooo, there's no problem," snorted Twilight, looking distracted, "What made you think there was a problem?"

"Oh… two things. One: your mane is messed up, and that only happens when there is a problem. Two: you are holding my only child upside-down… something you would never do under normal circumstances. I would appreciate it if you would put my foal down gently, and tell me exactly what the problem is… considering the fact that there technically is one."

Twilight sighed and shook her head, as if to clear it. She blushed a bit in shame as she passed Starlight over to the waiting hooves of Fluttershy. "Yes…" she said apologetically, "I suppose there is a problem."

There was a pause…

"Yes…?" asked Sunset expectantly.

Twilight glanced about, to see if anypony was listening. Ravencroft, seeing her eyes move in his direction, quickly cloaked himself with invisibility. Seeing nothing, Twilight sighed and said, "Well… I asked Flaming Star if he ever thought about having a foal. He then started panicking, and flipped out completely! He literally turned himself into a houseplant to avoid talking to me. Right now, per Spike's brainstorming, he is a couch. He's been trying to avoid me all day!"

"Oh my…" said Fluttershy quietly.

"Well… That's certainly… interesting," said Sunset, now trying really hard to not burst out laughing.

"If you have anything helpful to say, I would REALLY appreciate it," sighed Twilight, using magic to right her messed up mane.

"I will have to think about it," said Sunset slowly.

"What? You never had this problem?" asked Twilight, looking at him incredulously.

Sunset smiled sweetly at Fluttershy. "Nope. However, I will tell you that Flaming Star is a little – shall we say – terrified of girls in general. You will have to give him time for him to figure things out for himself."

Twilight sighed once again, deep and long. Finally, she said, "Yes. You are right. Sorry about that."

Sunset winked. "Oh, no problem. See you around Twilight!"

Twilight nodded and closed the door. The moment it did so, Sunset bust out laughing. Even Fluttershy was shaking with silent mirth. The two sat there shaking with laughter on the Library's doorstep.

"Oh my… Did I ever tell you how lucky I am to be married to you?" sighed Sunset, glancing gratefully at Fluttershy.

Fluttershy leaned over and laid her head on his shoulder. "Over and over and over again."

After a pause, Sunset said, "Okay, Ravencroft… We will start moving again."

Ravencroft uncloaked. There were tears in his eyes. Fluttershy looked at him curiously, but Ravencroft simply shook his head. "Are you two finally ready?" he asked emotionlessly.

Sunset nodded. "Yes. Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Just as a quick question... Is Doxia still everyone's favorite character? I am just wondering, because last time I checked, a small group of you still actually like Regal Crescent. I STILL receive complaints about his death once and a while. Anyway, don't forget to leave me a review! Thanks!<strong>


	77. Chapter 77 - A New Mission

**Note: Let's go check up on the rest of our awesome guys... shall we?**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Skyrim<em>

_Planet: Nirn_

_Specific Location: Northeast of Riften_

_Time: Ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"You said that you had an idea," whispered Emilee. She looked worried, but her eyes were still bright with mirth.

"Yes, one," replied Desmond, still eyeing the Shradian Tanks.

"No, no… an idea consists of not committing suicide," replied Emilee.

"This isn't suicide, this is just… living dangerously," said Desmond, a small smile creeping onto his face.

Emilee lightly punched his shoulder. "You already live dangerously. This is living more dangerously… also known as suicide."

Desmond grinned a little more. "They aren't the same thing. If we die in this endeavor, then it is suicide. If we don't die, then it is living more dangerously."

"I think we should agree to disagree on this specific point," said Emilee jovially, throwing an arm around Desmond, "A first, I might add."

"Right," said Desmond quietly, "Okay. I am going to begin to move. Get ready."

Emilee quickly gave Desmond a kiss on the cheek.

"Good luck, if you die, I'll kill you," said Emilee as she quickly began to move away to take up her planned position.

"I have no doubt you will," muttered Desmond, more to himself than anyone else. He moved off to the right, as Emilee continued to walk away to his left. After a dozen meters or so, Desmond stopped. The Shradian Tank-filled clearing was just before him, obscured by a line of shrubbery.

"Yeah… this is suicide," sighed Desmond.

Extending a hand, Desmond conjured up long Warhammer. Holding the massive weapon before him, he began to charge the thing with potential energy. The amount of pure power caused the head of the Warhammer to glow, slightly denoting the massive amounts of energy that were beginning to build up. At this point, Desmond opened a telepathic link with Emilee.

"Emilee, are you ready?" asked Desmond.

"I am totally ready for this. This is so awesome!" Though the conversation was being held over the telepathic link, Desmond could imagine Emilee practically hopping up and down in excitement.

"When I say 'go,' release that energy blast. As you do that, I will release another energy blast down here. That will cause a massive avalanche. If this doesn't move or damage those tanks, then it will at least distract them. As the whole thing is coming down, we will meet back at the same spot. Then we will use my powers to fly over the cascade. Based off my calculations, we will only have forty-six seconds to do that before the avalanche peters out. Got it?

"I TOTALLY got this! Let's do this!"

"Right. Three… two… one… Go."

With that, Desmond reared back the powerful Warhammer and slammed it into the ground. The shockwave was enormous, and it blasted Desmond and tons of snow high into the air. As he was airborne, Desmond noticed a massive explosion ripping through the air across the clearing: Emilee was doing her job as well. He hit the ground and dove out of the way as all of the snow underfoot began to shift as an avalanche began to occur. As the speed of the shifting snow accelerated, Desmond began to dash towards the decided meeting place. In less than ten seconds the entire area was shaking. Despite this, the Shradian Tanks just sat there. Not stopping to wonder why that was, Desmond dived into the clearing and almost ran head-first into Emilee.

"Grab onto me and hold on tight!" yelled Desmond as the rumbling became deafening. The whole mountainside was seconds away from being buried in snow and ice. Emilee threw her arms around Desmond and hugged him close. With that, Desmond called up a massive gust of wind and reduced the gravity around him. His and Emilee's feet left the ground not a second too late, as the avalanche erupted in earnest. Desmond could see the Shradian tanks nonchalantly being buried in snow as he flew overhead. As he continued to fly away, he glanced back. The Shradian tanks were still there, watching them. The snow simply parted around them: the tanks were protected by powerful energy shields.

Desmond bit his lip. They had been spotted. Fortunately the Shradian tanks did not move to pursue them, and no armed Phasetroopers were able to exit their vehicles due to the avalanche. They had slowed the tanks, but they had certainly not stopped them. And the whole plan had cost them their inconspicuousness... Something quite costly.

"What's going on back there?!" yelled Emilee over the howling wind.

"Oh… nothing," said Desmond, turning his head back to look ahead, and hoping vehemently that their failed distraction would not come back to bite them in the future.

"Okay… I know that me hugging you is probably all you ever dream of, but I suggest you put me down!" laughed Emilee.

Desmond blushed a little and touched-down in a small snowy slope a kilometer from the avalanche site. Emilee let go of Desmond and closed her eyes as she called upon the Kanohi Elda once more. The Mask of Detection did its trick, and Emilee was able to perceive their next step of action.

"Okay… So… We need to go this way!" exclaimed Emilee dramatically. With a sweeping turn, she then began to skip up the snowy slope as if nothing had happened.

Desmond, who had been panting, sighed and straightened up. Sometimes it seemed that his Dimensional Travelling-enhanced stamina was still nothing compared to Emilee's.

After about thirty minutes of walking, Desmond called out, "Wait… wait… I have to take a breather."

Emilee winked at him and stopped moving. She then lay back in the snow. A moment later, Desmond flopped down next to her.

"I am completely astonished by your ability to not lose any stamina," chuckled Desmond softly. He clasped one of her hands warmly, "Are you sure you're not a Dimensional Traveler?"

"If I was a Dimensional Traveler, I would be spending all of my time making fireworks and ice sculptures," chuckled Emilee.

"So… Do you have any idea of where we are now going?" asked Desmond after a short pause.

Emilee nodded. "I can see it in my head. The Imagination Energy source is just north of here. It is hidden in a place called Mzulft. That place was what was once a place called a Dwemer city."

"Mzulft? You're making that up."

"I am not!"

"Are too!"

"Really Desmond?" chuckled Emilee, punching his arm lightly like she always did, "Are we really going into this?"

Desmond smiled. "I suppose not. Well… You have the skills and the mask. Let's go!"

Emilee nodded her head and got up from where she was making a snow-angel.

"Right! Let's go!"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Adventures in Odyssey<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Abbington Falls, Iowa, United States of America_

_Time: Ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"So, it was now the moment of truth," said Doxia tensely, "The Amethyst Lord turned slowly around and said, 'Well, if that is the case… then why is the E.D.D. Lord in the clown suit still here?'"

The whole group burst out laughing at the joke's finale. All except Wild and Mattimeo, of course. Wild, because he was grumpy about the lack of real-life action, and Mattimeo, because he never laughed in the first place.

Franklin was laughing so hard that he fell out of his seat. As he pulled himself back up, breathing heavily, he said, "My God Doxia… are you EVER going to run out of good jokes?"

"I've had a trillion years to gather up all these puns, my friend," replied Doxia jovially, "So the answer is no."

Finnian wiped a tear from his right eye as he said, "Ah, I've missed these. Remember those times that we would sit in the shop and I would read stories out loud?"

Doxia nodded. "Ah, yes. Charlie's Choice. Basket of Flowers. The Hidden Hand. All of those were excellent books. We should do that again sometime."

"We should do that now!" said Discord lazily. He lay in a corner, draped across several chairs, "We're not doing anything else terrible important right now. Might as well have a little fun while we're doing it… By Equestria, what I wouldn't give for a good prank right now."

Doxia nodded. "Of course. However, I myself am a master of pranks, so don't think I won't catch you the second you try something, buddy. Oh, by the way… there's a scorpion on your tail."

Discord rolled his eyes and glanced at his tail. However, to his horror, there was most certainly a scorpion on his tail. Giving a yelp of shock, Discord recoiled and fell over. The scorpion suddenly flickered and vanished: it had been a hologram, courtesy of Doxia. The whole room (except Wild and Mattimeo) burst out laughing again.

"Oh, very funny Doxia," snorted Discord as he righted himself, "I am sure we all find that little joke so amusing."

"It was amusing according to popular vote," replied Doxia smugly.

At this point Wild simply got up and left the building, going outside to sit somewhere else. Doxia glanced at Mattimeo questioningly. Mattimeo simply shook his head slightly.

"I'm going to see what Mr. Grumpy Pony/Wolf is doing right now. I won't be a moment," said Doxia getting up. As he exited the room to seek out Wild, he called out, "Finnian! Tell them that joke about the rubber duck! You know, the one that almost caused Trent DeWhite to drown in his milkshake that one time!"

Finnain winked and said, "Oh yes… I do remember that. Here it goes…"

Finnian's voice became muffled as Doxia closed the door. After a quick glance about, Doxia noticed Wild, who was sitting on a curb.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the reincarnation of grumpiness, come to haunt us all," chuckled Doixa as he threw himself down to sit next to Wild.

"How do you do it?" muttered Wild dejectedly.

"How do I do what?" asked Doxia.

"How do you stay so happy? I mean, you've lived over a trillion years, and yet you've somehow maintained your sanity."

"Most of it. I will admit that yes… I actually do suffer from a sort of insanity, but it is not bad, nor is it unhealthy. Insanity is good in small doses. All things in moderation, as they say."

"But how do you do it?"

Doxia lay on his back on the sun-warmed concrete and looked up at the sky. He then answered that question with a question, "Look at the sky. What do you see?"

Wild glanced up. "I see a blue sky. Clear, without any pollution."

Doxia nodded. "That is what most people see. As for me… I see a wondrous creation. I can see the molecules making up the air in the sky, I can see the cosmos beyond, and I can see the gas particles on a planet a couple of parsecs away. With what I see… how can I ever be bored? The multiverse is beyond beautiful."

Wild looked away derisively. "I suppose so. But how are the rest of us to enjoy it if we do not have eyesight like yours?"

"Isn't that the question of the day? The trick is that you don't need my eyesight to do that. All you need is a healthy imagination. Once you have that, the beauty of the multiverse becomes unlocked."

"Well… what if I told you that I don't have an imagination?"

"That's an interesting concept. However, not having an imagination is like not having a heart. Not having imagination would mean that you would have to be dead. We all have an imagination, it is just that some of us have more of an imagination than others, and that some of us choose to use said imagination more."

Wild thought about what Doxia had just said for a moment. Then he sighed and said, "Doxia… I want something to do. I can't just sit here. My mind is like a pent up wolf. Ironic, I know, but it is the truth. I need something to do."

"We all want something to do," said Doxia, who sat up again and patted Wild on the back, "However, unlike you, we understand that sometimes it is best to be patient. Take Franklin for example. I can tell that he misses that one pony, Sapphire Anemone, badly. He wants to be with her. However, he knows that the situation surrounding his relationship with her is currently out of his hands, so he accepts that and moves on."

Wild paused once more as his brain processed Doxia's wise sayings. After that pause, he said, "I suppose you are right."

Doxia nodded his head. "Awesome. Now that you understand that, I have a job for you."

Wild's eyes brightened. This is exactly what he wanted. "I couldn't be happier to do something for you, my friend."

Doxia patted Wild on the back once more. "Awesome. Now listen carefully: I need you to find Jared DeWhite, the Dimensional Traveler. He was in cahoots with Evan Funsch and Jetfire, so he is in possible danger. Your mission is to get him back to here. I believe he is in the Warriors dimension as of now. Unfortunately that dimension is near the Lord of the Flies dimension, which is literally crawling with Traveler Mercenaries and Assassins. I can't go there myself for risk of being detected, but you… you know how to deal with rogues."

"So you want me to find Dimensional Traveler Jared DeWhite, who is in the Warriors dimension, and bring him safely to you?" said Wild slowly, "I can do that."

"Of course you can," said Doxia. Suddenly he began to chuckle. "However… there is a catch."

Jetfire and Rarity abruptly rounded a corner street and moved up to where Doxia and Wild sat.

"Doxia, old friend!" barked Jetfire, "I heard the old message-through-the-brain call! You need me?"

Wild's faced turned pale as he realized what Doxia was implying. He facehoofed. "For the love of God… please… no…"

Doxia began to laugh. "Sorry buddy! If you want this mission, you are going to have be going with Jetfire and Rarity."

Wild bit his lip as he considered his options. Either he could stay here and spend months or even years listening to crazy jokes from Doxia and Finnian Jones, or he could go on an awesomely dangerous mission with a kooky old Transformer Dimensional Lord and a totally inexperienced rookie. Neither seemed much like an option, but the latter did hold a certain flair…

"Fine," grumbled Wild, "They can be my team."

"YOU'RE TEAM?" roared Jetfire, "What do you mean by YOU'RE team, you young whippersnapper?!"

Doxia clapped his hands together loudly. "Yay! We're buddies! Let's not argue okay? If you guys are going to get a move-on, now might be as good a time as any. I suggest you guys start in the BIONICLE dimension. There is a Dimensional Traveler by the name of Connor Lamberlatch who can give you the low-down on the mercenary operations going on in the Lord of the Flies region. Once you guys are all caught up, jump to the Warriors dimension and keep your head down. Got it? I don't know where Jared is right now, but no doubt if you look for him… he will find you."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Gosh, the Winniex Empire has been on my mind a whole lot recently. I think I should find a way to use the story behind that empire sometime. Anyway, who is ready for a some Wild, Rarity, and Jetfire action? Additionally, does anyone want to see Discord in action, or is this team-up good? Anyway, leave me a review! Thanks!<strong>


	78. Chapter 78 - After the Picnic

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: Ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

The Paradox was simply standing in front of the energy bubble that represented Atraka's final sacrifice. As he continued to stare at the bubble of power, the Paradox felt many different emotions ripple through his head. Anger? Pain? Sadness? Regret? Indifference? He was unsure.

The Paradox had known Atraka from the old days, so having to seal his fate the way he had ate away at him. However, the fact that Atraka had so flawlessly interrupted the Great Plan also was angering. There was absolutely no way to penetrate that shield, and everyone knew it. Fortunately, the Paradox had a solution to that…

He turned at the sound of footsteps. It was Pictor. The Paradox shook his head. He was getting tired of working with that Dimensional Lord. Pictor was messy. He killed without remorse and without reserve… and he enjoyed every second of it. Pictor would kill innocent children for free, just because he loved to see their faces as he snuffed out their lives in the most painful way possible. Though he himself was a murderer, there was something about up-close personal killing that sickened the Paradox. Life was not something that should be simply dragged away from a person as a sport. Life was to be cherished. This was why the Harmony Tree system would be for the greater good. With all life gone… Life could never be extinguished again. No more orphans, no more broken hearts, no more pain…

"Paradox!" snapped Pictor. The Paradox shook his head. Apparently he had lost his grip on reality for a second, something he was doing more and more often now.

"What is it… Pictor?" asked the Paradox coldly, eying his ally.

"The scouts in the Skyrim dimension picked up two Dimensional Travelers: Desmond Butler and Emilee Walter. What do you think they were doing there? Do you think they picked up the Imagination Energy signature?"

"That is impossible. Dimensional Travelers don't understand the concept of Pure Imagination. However, that does not mean that they are searching for it. They could have easily been commanded by Doxia, or Mattimeo to search for the source."

"What do you mean? They have no technology to locate the source. Even our scanners are being scrambled by the omni-scrambling technology set around the energy source."

"Oh, they have the technology alright; my friend… the question is what type of technology. There are three things that I can think of on the spot that could help them achieve their goal of location the Imagination Energy source."

Pictor threw up his hands in disgust. "How are you so sure that they are looking for it? You haven't even seen the scan data! You don't know anything about the situation, or the environment, or the…"

"But I know Desmond," interjected the Paradox, "He is a hero. Skyrim is not a land of heroes. The only reason Desmond would be there is if he was searching for something. Skyrim does not hold any interdimensional relics of value… except for that Imagination Source, which he should be unable to detect. However, there he is anyway. Someone asked him to do it, and I am fairly sure it was Doxia."

Pictor shook his head. "You and your damned deductions. Fine. Assuming that he is there to help Doxia, how the hell is he able to locate the Imagination Source? Even we are having trouble with the scans!"

"Let me see some surveillance data," replied the Paradox briskly, turning back to stare at the energy bubble surrounding the Tree of Harmony.

Pictor sighed angrily, and imported some electronic information to the Paradox's data sieve. The Paradox then projected the info onto a screen in front of his face with a telepathic command. There was a moment of silence as he scanned the terraquad of photos, scans, and other information.

"There," said the Paradox, pointing to a photo Emilee Walter, "Look at her face. Do you see the spatial distortion?"

"Of course. We assumed that it was an EM wind-shield… or perhaps a facial-enhancing projection. Females use the latter sometimes."

"I am surrounded by idiots. No. Emilee Walter only pretends to care what she looks like. She is too secure in her affections for Desmond to really care what is on her face. The distortion is an invisibility field. The only reason there would be an invisibility field on her face would be to hide a mask. The only masks that require those fields are Kanohis, and the only Kanohi that would be of use on a mission like the one they are on is the Kanohi Elda… the Great Mask of Detection. They are using it to locate the Imagination Source."

With that, the Paradox turned off the projections and turned to face Pictor, who was staring, rather incredulously, at the Paradox. "Now," the Paradox said, "We need to ensure that Desmond believes that their little avalanche scheme worked. Desmond probably knows by now that they have been spotted, and will be wary. We need to ensure that he feels safe and secure once more. Once that has happened, he will stop trying to cover his tracks. We will trail him and Emilee right up to the Imagination Power source. Pictor… When they find it, take the power source and destroy it."

Pictor nodded happily. This sounded like fun. "Excellent. Can I kill Desmond and Emilee? I have a dagger with their names on it."

The Paradox shook his head. Why anyone would want to kill another sentient being in such a personal way was beyond him. However, it was not relevant. "You may do whatever you want," he said, "Kill them, let them go, bring them here… It is not relevant."

Pictor nodded vigorously. This meant he could torture the two until their hearts gave out with pain. After all, the Paradox didn't care.

There was a pause. Then Pictor said, "What of the Reset Dimension? Orbit? You have their council under their control, are we to bring their ships here?"

The Paradox nodded. "Yes. Once we have lured their ships here, we will destroy them all… including the council's. While the Sapphire Armada does that, you will be destroying the Imagination Energy source. In a single strike, we will have incapacitated any ships not controlled by us, and destroyed any other avenues that would allow Doxia access to this realm. With that, the next step in the Great Plan will be able to take place."

Pictor nodded his head. "It will all be done."

The Paradox shook his head. Then he said, "What of the crashed dimensional ship in the Grand Theft Auto dimension?"

"We removed all of its operating systems, it is useless now," replied Pictor, "However, it looks just fine from the outside. Doxia will never know that it is of no use until it is too late."

The Paradox glanced at Pictor and said, "Ensure that all is in order. Double check it all."

Pictor nodded his head once more and said, "It will be done."

The Paradox turned back to continue his pondering over the energy bubble of Atraka. "I have to doubt that it will be done. Leave me."

Pictor just laughed harshly. The Paradox was unstable, it was only a matter of time before the Paradox slipped, and when he did, Pictor would be there to fill the void of leadership.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Rainbow Dash's Home_

_Time: Ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"One-hundred-and-fifty-one… One-hundred-and-fifty-two… One-hundred-and-fifty-three…" grunted Rainbow Dash as she continued to do wing push-ups, "One-hundred-and-fifty-four… One-hundred-and-fifty-five… YES! A new record!"

Rainbow collapsed on the ground of her cloud-house, breathing heavily. Brushing off droplets of sweat with a hoof, she sighed and murmured, "I bet Sunset couldn't do THAT many push-ups…"

Suddenly a knock at the door rang out. Rainbow rolled over and got up onto all fours. Trotting to the door, she opened it up. It was Twilight.

"I have your tickets here," said Twilight gravely, levitating a packet to Rainbow's waiting hoof.

"Thanks," said Rainbow. She opened the packet up and checked it. An itinerary, a purchase confirmation page, a checklist, and a ticket were inside, "So… when do I leave?"

"Well," said Twilight in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, "If you will refer to section A, part B, box 5.2 of the itinerary, you will see on the right-hoof corner that the plane will leave approximately at 9:00 tonight. However, due to weather situations and the loading time, box 4.7 will point out that..."

"Wow! Great! Awesome! 9:00 PM! Gotcha!" exclaimed Rainbow loudly, "Thanks Twilight."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Right… You're welcome…"

"Well… Considering the fact that the plane leave in two hours, I better get ready!" said Rainbow, trying to break Twilight's disapproving stare.

"Not so fast," said Twilight, still eying Rainbow suspiciously, "Did you read the first three chapters of those books?"

"Um… Does half of a chapter round up or down when considering whole numbers?"

"Down."

"Oh… Then I read one… of one."

Twilight sighed. There was no point in a pop quiz now. "Rainbow Dash! What am I going to do with you?"

Rainbow just flung herself down on a cloud couch and put her hoofs up. "Um… maybe stop trying to turn me into an egghead? That might be a start."

Twilight glanced at Rainbow, irritated. "I'm not trying to turn you into an 'egghead,' Rainbow Dash, I am trying to help you to be prepared to go to the Stallion Empire! That country is NOT a nice place, and I want to make sure you don't get killed… or worse…"

Rainbow winced. She knew very well what Twilight had meant by "or worse."

"Yeah, I guess so," sighed Rainbow, straightening up and taking her back hooves off of the cloud couch, "I suppose I should do some reading while I am on the flight then. Twelve hours till arrival, right?"

Twilight smiled. At least Rainbow had glanced over the itinerary. "Yes. I suppose we get ready. You don't want to miss the flight."

Rainbow nodded. She gathered up all her packages, and began to glance over several photos of Trixie.

"What in the hay is Trixie in the Stallion Empire?" snorted Rainbow after a bit more time of glancing over the pictures.

"I did as much research I could into past events, but I can't tell you anything," sighed Twilight, "Who knows why she went there? No sane pony would usually take on such an endeavor."

Rainbow grinned nervously. Twilight was right, no sane pony would usually do what she was about to do.

There was an awkward pause as they just stood about, thinking on what would soon transpire. Twilight sighed and then said, "We should get going. The airport is an hour away, and I don't want to risk missing it."

Rainbow nodded. Loading the luggage onto her back, Rainbow trotted out of her house. Twilight followed her and closed the door behind her using magic. The two ponies then spread their wings and took off. Thought they were approximately an hour away from the airport, it took about an hour and thirty minutes due to momentary breathers… and getting lost at one point. However, eventually the two could see the airport on the horizon.

"Now, Rainbow, before you leave, make sure you look over the checklist I made you!" exclaimed Twilight over the wind.

"Yeah… sure…" said Rainbow. She felt sick to her stomach thanks to nervousness, but she refused to let it show.

"When you are on the plane, I suggest you look over those books!" said Twilight.

"Yeah… sure…" Rainbow nodded.

Twilight looked at Rainbow curiously. Then she rolled her eyes and said, "When you are half-way there, jump out of the plane and fall into the ocean!"

"Yeah… sure… wait, what?"

Twilight flew a little closer to Rainbow and looked at her worriedly. "Rainbow Dash, are you okay?"

Rainbow bit her lip, but nodded. "Yes, I am fine. I guess I'm just a little nervous."

Twilight smiled kindly. "That's normal. We all feel nervous before something of this magnitude is taking place. I am sure if Sunset or Flaming Star were here, they would tell you of all the times they felt nervous just before doing something like this."

Rainbow shook her head. "Flaming Star? No. He's never nervous! I mean, he probably hasn't panicked in his life?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow cynically as she remembered Flaming Star panicking and transforming into a houseplant (and later a couch) when confronted with a discussion about having a foal with her. However, she decided not to address that one situation.

At that moment, the two began to descend. In another moment, they landed outside the airport and trotted inside. Glancing at the airline times that were listed to her right, Twilight nodded. They had made it just in time.

There was a long pause as the two mares stood facing each other, struggling with words. Suddenly Twilight rushed forward and grasped Rainbow in a tight hug.

"You be careful, okay?" said Twilight, tears welling up in her eyes.

Looking around awkwardly, hoping no pony was staring, Rainbow slowly eased out of the hug and said, "I'll be fine. Give me a week, and I will have Trixie back in no time!"

Tears still dancing in her eyes, Twilight nodded and took a step back. Rainbow gave her friend a reassuring smile, turned tail, and trotted off to catch her plane.

Rainbow worked her way through the crowds to her terminal. In a moment, the plane started to board ponies via class.

"First class ponies may now enter the plane," said a voice over a speaker.

Rainbow nodded. She was first class. Tugging her luggage along, Rainbow passed through a group of ponies crowded around the entrance to the docking bay and trotted inside the plane. Taking her assigned seat, Rainbow sighed deep and long. Butterflies were ricocheting around in her stomach, and she felt faint. Sighing again, Rainbow closed her eyes and waited for the plane to take off, and make its way to the Stallion Empire. One step closer to finding Trixie, one step closer to arming the Resistance, one step closer to freedom.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Outskirts of Ponyville_

_Time: Ten days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Just outside of Ponyville, in a quiet meadow, was a very interesting scene. The so-called "heartless" enforcer of the Paradox, Ravencroft Solace, was sitting on a picnic blanket with Fluttershy, Sunset Shadow, and their child Starlight Amber. However, unlike what one would expect, Ravencroft wasn't busy killing them. Instead, he was eating a meal with them. As he ate, Ravencroft slowly opened about his life as Fluttershy kindly coaxed him. Though at first he was absolutely against saying anything, he eventually could no longer keep all the pain that be had bottled up inside him within him any longer. He wanted someone to know… to understand why he was allied with the Paradox.

"I lived just outside Constantinople, a great city, in the Orbis Terrarum LIX dimension. It was the year 1349… and there was a plague upon the world," said Ravencroft Solace. His eyes were unseeing, and his straggly hair covered part of his face, "This plague was nothing we had seen before. All of the physicians, magicians, and doctors of the world could not figure out how to cure it. Eventually everyone gave up and lost hope, and the disease became known as the Black Plague. It grew, and grew, and grew in magnitude until it encompasses the world. I didn't know until later that my home dimension was destined to lose all but eight human beings to that plague. I too, was supposed to die, but I was saved by the Paradox. However, the Paradox was clever, he needed me for my capacity for evil, so he let my family die. He let me see how painful and terrible their passing was, and let my desire to commit suicide grow into a passion. Then he made me a traveler, thus giving 20000 years of life. Then he gave me the special powers, like Sunset's chains of truth, that allowed me to drain life from a living being with a touch. However, this was more of a curse, because it stripped me of my ability to kill myself. The Paradox knew this, and told me that the only way I could be ever with those I loved if… if I did exactly what he said."

Ravencroft choked on his words. He took a shaking breath, and then looked at Fluttershy, who was now weeping silently. His voice husky with emotion, he said, "Can't you see? I NEED TO BE WITH MY FAMILY. I will do ANYTHING to be with them, and if that involves killing you all… I will do it."

Sunset's eyes narrowed, and he looked at Ravencroft warily. Fluttershy, however, reached up and brushed a tear from Ravencroft's face. "I understand," she whispered, "But until then… maybe we could be your family?"

Sunset glanced at Fluttershy in shock, but then realized that perhaps this was the right thing to do. Perhaps this Ravencroft character was not as twisted as he had originally thought. The Paradox had counted on the fact that Ravencroft was willing to do anything for his family, and was now using this poor man as a weapon. The Paradox was brilliant… and twisted.

Ravencroft's eyes began to fill up with tears, and he began to shake. His mind was in the grips of a battle, and it had totally compromised his emotions. His breathing became labored, and all he was able to do was shake his head silently. The group just sat there, as he struggled to get a hold of himself once more. Minutes passed in silence, then hours.

Finally Ravencroft glanced at the sky. It was beginning to get dark. Shaking his head slightly, he got up from the picnic blanket and whispered, "It is almost curfew. I suggest you two get back to your home immediately."

Sunset nodded. "You are right. We will be going. Ravencroft… if you ever need something, my wife and I will be more than happy to help you."

Ravencroft simply got up and walked away without another word. Suddenly he stopped, then sighed. "Save your breath," he whispered. Then he continued to walk away.

Sunset sighed. "That man has suffered more than even I have. His mind has been warped badly by desperation and depression. What do you see in him, Fluttershy? Do you think some of his humanity can ever be salvaged?"

Fluttershy nuzzled Sunset fondly. "I see in him what I saw in you when you first came to my little cottage, soaked and dejected. I see a someone who has been deeply hurt, and needs a friend."

"I love you," sighed Sunset. His mind nearly exploded as he tried to wrap his head around the love that radiated from Fluttershy. There was something different about his wife, something beyond powerful…

After a pause, Sunset got up and said, "We might as well get going. Let's go."

Sunset put Starlight Amber into the stroller as Fluttershy packed up the rest of the food. They then began to trot away to their house as the stars began to shine in the sky.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I had forgotten how much I personally love Fluttershy. Oh, does anyone think I should put up Regal Crescent for an OC battle? Would any of you even root for him? Anyway, I am really starting to get into the groove of things... This is fun! Don't forget to give me feedback! You give me feedback, I give you cookies, or bacon, or artichokes...<strong>


	79. Chapter 79 - Dream Team

**Note: Just want to let you all know that I will be unable to post anything tomorrow. However, everything will return to normal on Thursday! Thank you for your patience, enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Adventures in Odyssey<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Abbington Falls, Iowa, United States of America_

_Time: 2014 A.D., eleven days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"I still have no idea what we are doing," declared Rarity indignantly, as they strolled through a grass field, just outside the town of Abbington Falls.

Wild rolled his eyes. "You don't need to know what we are doing; you just have to do what we do. For the love of God, can you PLEASE turn back into a pony? You're miserable excuse for walking like a bipedal being is burning my eyes."

Rarity just tossed her head and turned away. Wild snorted, and Jetfire leaned in and whispered in his metallic, grating voice, "Having girl problems, eh, lad?"

Wild tuned his face away pointedly and snorted again. Jetfire gave the nearest thing to a grin that a Transformer could manage, and straightened up, his rusty metallic back creaking in protest.

"Why are we here?" asked Rarity after an awkward pause.

Wild sighed and said, "We are here because we don't want to randomly open a massive portal in the middle of a town. We have no idea if something might jump through the portal the moment we open it, and I want to make sure all possible venues for disaster are covered."

Rarity nodded, trying to look wise in her slightly flustered state.

Wild blinked at Jetfire, giving him the signal. Using his powers, Jetfire opened a giant portal, leading straight to the BIONICLE dimension. The group quickly stepped through, and Jetfire shut the portal.

They were in a barren landscape. Before them was a small, ragged town, which was adjacent to a massive ruin of a fortress. Behind them, the skyline was covered with similar ruined fortress, which dotted the landscape like cacti in a desert.

"Where… where are we?" breathed Rarity, awed by the desolation of the land they were in.

"This is the land of Zakaz. I will not get into too much detail, but let's just say that it is inhabited by a barbaric species that would probably try to kill us on sight," replied Jetfire in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"K-k-kill us?! Then why are we here?" exclaimed Rarity, starting to tremble a little.

Jetfire chuckled. He was usually irked by "young'uns" like Wild and Franklin, but Rarity just amused him. "We are here," he explained, "Because Connor Lamberlatch is here. It would be best if we ask him what mercenary operations are surrounding the Lord of the Flies dimension, that way we will be able to steer clear of any gang wars."

Wild winked at the nervous Rarity, "I've been in several of those fun little things. People don't usually survive very long."

Rarity paled (which was impressive, since she already was fairly pale) and gulped.

"Well now," exclaimed Jetfire, waving his walking stick in the air, "We might as well get going! Follow me! I know exactly where Connor is residing in this hellhole."

The group began to set off towards the small town that was in the distance. Rarity glanced around as they continued to move through the barren landscape. "Barren" was an apt description. All that the eye could see was rocks, ruins, and small spiked plants. Rarity was about to comment on the fact that the environment lacked charm and needed a makeover when Jetfire suddenly exclaimed, "Feel the breeze! By the Primes, this is the place to be. The only thing I can think of that is better than this place in this dimension, is the island of Metru Nui! Say… we should go there next!"

"I don't think we should," commented Wild dryly, "We're on a mission, I suggest we keep to the mission."

Jetfire rolled his eyes and muttered something about whippersnappers having no respect for their elders, but kept quiet of the most part. The group lapsed into silence once more.

After an hour of walking, the group made it to the outskirts of the town. It seemed abandoned, however, there was a large sign that read: "Gone to war against Warlord Nektann, be back later."

Jetfire rolled his eyes, and Wild facehoofed. Rarity just looked at the sign curiously.

"Why does it say that?" she inquired.

"Because the species here are so barbaric, that they consider war to be a game," explained Jetfire, "basically this entire town decided to have a battle-to-the-death war as a form of a community activity."

Wild shook his head. "They are a bunch of idiots. However, Connor is not one of this island's natives; thus, he probably didn't run off to get himself killed like the others here. Thus, on the bright side of things, at least we don't have to worry about being ambushed while we look for Connor's home. Jetfire, do you know where it is?"

Jetfire tapped the side of his metallic skull and winked. "I've got the location right in here, young'un. I may be old, but I've got the damn brain power!"

Wild nodded and said, "Great. Would you mind showing us the way?"

Jetfire turned and began to scan the environment. "Of course! Um… So… They moved that house over there I think… Then that must mean we need to take a left… No, that is a right, then go straight ahead… Is that the intersection that we're looking for?"

Wild facehoofed again. "We're lost, aren't we?"

Jetfire slammed the butt of his walking stick into the ground. "We're NOT LOST you young whippersnapper! I'm NEVER lost! We're just… er… um…"

Wild was about to comment dryly on the fact that, in truth, they WERE lost when Jetfire exclaimed, "There we go! Follow me!"

Suddenly Jetfire lurched forward and began to lumber off to their left. Eyebrows raised cynically, Wild followed, with Rarity trailing behind. After taking several sharp turns, a few U-turns, and a couple of fence-jumps, Jetfire stopped before a small hut. Unlike all the other huts in the dilapidated town, this hut actually looked clean, and did not have the heads of enemies on stakes outside its lawn.

"This is the place," said Jetfire smugly, giving Wild a pointed look. Rarity nodded her head as she looked it over.

"What a nice place," she said, "As compared to the other huts, of course. At least the pony, er, person had a sense of organization. However, they could use a hoof – I mean hand – in choosing an agreeable color scheme."

Jetfire just chuckled and strolled up to the door. Crouching down, Jetfire rapped his massive metallic knuckles against the door of the hut. The sound reverberated inside and outside, but no one came to answer the door. Wild then walked up to the door and gave it a push. It swung open…

Wild glanced at Jetfire in alarm. In such an unhealthy environment as this barbaric town, an unlocked door was never a good sign. Taking a deep breath, Wild trotted in and Jetfire attempted to stick his head through a window. As Wild had feared, the place had been ransacked, and, in the middle of the hut's main room, was a very dead human being.

Wild groaned audibly. "Is that Connor?"

Jetfire nodded his head grimly. "That is most certainly Connor. Someone, or something has killed him."

"Well? Should we just leave now?" said Rarity in hushed tones, "There is obviously nothing we can learn from him now. Maybe we should just go on to the Warriors dimension and go find that Jared character."

Wild shook his head slowly as he moved languidly around the room. "No, no, we should stay for a bit and see if we can figure out anything. Perhaps we could try and find the killer…"

"The killer, or should I say killers, have just been found," said a voice behind them.

Jetfire pulled his head out of the window, and Wild and Rarity whirled around. Standing before them was the Ninth Doctor, of the Doctor Who dimension, an incredibly famous Dimensional Traveler.

Unfortunately, he was eyeing them truculently. It appeared that Jetfire and his team were about to be framed. However, before Wild was able to exclaim that the scene was not actually what it looked like, a voice from behind the Doctor drawled, "Don't be stupid, Doctor. It is obvious that they are not the killers."

From behind the Doctor came another incredibly famous Dimensional Traveler: Sherlock Holmes. Standing about 1.8 meters tall with sharp blue eyes and curling brown hair, Sherlock eyed Wild and Rarity cynically.

The Ninth Doctor glanced at Sherlock and exclaimed, "What do you mean they're not the killers? There's the body… and there they are!"

Sherlock sighed and strolled up the body of Connor, "Look at his color. He's been dead for six, maybe seven, hours. This lot has been here for only about five minutes, given the dust from their feet that has gathered on the ground. That is not it. See the furniture? They have all been knocked to the right, indicating a struggle. The direction they were knocked in shows that the dust trail to our left is the actual dust trail of the real killer. See how the dust in that specific trail is only brownish-red? These two culprits have brownish-red dust on their feet too, granted, but higher up on their shins is a gray dust from the mountains to the east. However, if those two had just killed this man, then there would be the gray dust in the trail to our left as well, but there is only the brownish-red dust. This indicates that the killer teleported outside, broke in, killed the victim, searched about, and then left. This lot teleported in around the east rocks, walked here, and found this man like this."

"Well, they are still on the wanted list, right? Shouldn't we bring them in anyway?" asked the Doctor, still looking a bit hostile.

Sherlock sighed, as if he was talking to a one-year-old. "No, Doctor. The moment those wanted lists showed up, I did some researching on the whole group. The Paradox has been lying to us. There is quite the conspiracy going on right now, and I have yet to get to the bottom of it."

"Wait," said the Ninth Doctor slowly, "You mean to say that the Paradox has been lying to us this whole time… and you never mentioned it?"

"You didn't need to know," said Sherlock simply, putting his hands in the pockets of his navy blue overcoat, "However… now you do. No hard feelings, hmm?"

The Doctor sighed. He didn't seem too put out by the fact that the Paradox had lied to him. He actually seemed to accept it quite easily, suggesting that he had always had his own doubts. "I suppose you are right, Sherlock." Then he suddenly grinned and extended a hand to Rarity. "Why, hello!"

Rarity looked incredibly flustered, but took his hand. The Doctor shook it firmly, and let it go. Rarity stared at her hand in confusion… is that how a handshake worked?

Wild nodded his head towards Sherlock. "Greetings, I have not seen you in years. How are you?"

Sherlock just ignored him. Instead, he was strolling about the corpse of Connor, muttering to himself.

"Can't get much out of him," said the Doctor, almost apologetically, "He's just like that. How are you by the way? Nice weather isn't it?"

Wild blinked, but then nodded slowly. "Yeah… sure…"

Suddenly Sherlock said loudly, "Connor was guarding something."

The Doctor turned his head and said, "What?"

Sherlock continued to walk around the room, muttering, "I am sure of it…"

The Doctor gesticulated in Sherlock's direction, "And you see that? That's as far as I get! Who knows why I stick around with him! I can tell you, just the other day, I was trying to buy some chips from a vendor in France when Sherlock…"

"Look!" interrupted Sherlock, "He was most certainly guarding something!"

"H-how can you even tell?" exclaimed Rarity, her eyes wide with confusion.

Sherlock rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious? Look at the scuff marks the victim made with his feet here: he was fighting the attacker, but kept his back to something. You can tell that by the curvature of the scuff marks in the floor. If I take the edge… Radius… Here…"

Sherlock strolled up to a blank wall across the room. He then put his ear to it and tapped. After a minute, he punched the wall lightly and took a step back. A hidden compartment opened to reveal a key-pad locked safe.

"Bravo!" exclaimed the Doctor good-humouredly. He then leaned in close to Wild and whispered, "Never get tired of that. Never."

"Well? What do you do now? Should I punch it open?" exclaimed Jetfire impatiently as Sherlock looked the safe in the wall over carefully.

"If you want to be idiotic, then I won't stop you," muttered Sherlock pointedly, "But I might want to mention that it would not be a good idea. The safe is protosteel, see the edges? There are also explosives inside that are rigged to the front. I can tell that because there are special markings here and here, meaning that there are pressure pads. Why else would there be pressure pads behind the metal unless to trigger something in the event of blunt force? Of course you wouldn't know that because the ridges that represented the pressure pads have been filed down, clever man, our victim, but he forgot that filing the ridges down would leave a slightly dimming effect on the reflection of the protosteel. So now if you all would shut up, I need to figure out what the combination is."

The entire room went quite, but the Ninth Doctor was winking at Wild. Wild rolled his eyes in return. It was beyond him how someone like Sherlock Holmes had ended up in cahoots with the Doctor.

"Hmmmmm," muttered Sherlock as he looked at a nearby sofa, "He would have thought up the passcode here… This should be the place, the frayed seams suggest it was the most used…"

Sherlock sat down on a sofa and glanced around. Then he suddenly got up and said, "There is nothing there to give him a spur-of-the-moment idea which means he was probably sentimental when he decided on the passcode. The passcode will be something that he loves. Ah, it was his dog. There is still dog hair higher up on his pant legs; obviously he never bothered cleaning it off. Sentimental value or poor hygiene, either works fine. There is also the picture on that wall, but no name of the dog visible. The tear smudges on the cover suggest he has cried over it once or twice, meaning that it is dead. That means that there will be a keepsake, hopefully a collar with a tag. Where would he put it? Ah, his shoes. He is wearing a well-worn shirt, and the seam patterns and material suggest it is from the Waydia nation of Orbis Terrarum XIII. Since it is well-worn, I can safely assume that he is a Waydian. The skin shades above his wrists confirm it as well… Waydians always keep their special belongings in their shoes, as they are nomadic by nature, and it is part of the culture."

With that, Sherlock pulled off the right shoe of Connor and looked inside. A small dog collar was at the bottom, tucked in the front of the shoe. Sherlock pulled it out and read the tag of the collar. It read: "Millie."

Nodding, Sherlock went up to the key-pad lock and began typing in words. As he did so, he muttered, "This will be it. The name and three digits. It's always three digits at the end. Look at the wallpaper; it seems unimaginative, perhaps reminiscent of the unimaginative thought-processes of the owner. Perhaps… Yes, it will be 123. That is always the case."

With that, Sherlock finished typing in "Millie123" into the lock. He took a step back and hit the "enter" button. The safe opened with a hiss.

"Brilliant!" exclaimed the Ninth Doctor happily, "I never tire watching that work! Fantastic!"

Sherlock glanced at the Doctor and said, "That's the one-hundredth-forty-second time you've said that out loud. Do you know you say that out loud?"

The Doctor just grinned happily.

Sherlock sighed, as if he was perpetually surrounded by idiots, and turned back to the opened safe. He pulled out a stone tablet that was hidden in the vault. He glanced it over and said, "Wild… you are all looking for Jared DeWhite, correct?"

Wild nodded slowly. "Yeah… but how do you know?"

"Simple. Jetfire is here, and the only reason he would be here is to meet up with either DeWhite or Finnian Jones. However, it is easy to see that you three were just from the not-so-secret Abbington Falls, because there is Abbington oak sap on Jetfire's left shoulder plate. Obviously you were just from seeing Finnian, and the only reason you would have left a safehouse would be to find an important person. If Jetfire is with you, and since he has no other interest than helping his friends, namely DeWhite, it is understandable that he would have only accompanied the rest of you on such a dangerous endeavor if his friend DeWhite was involved. Since DeWhite is in the Warriors dimension, and not here, you three must have been preparing to launch a retrieval mission, but wanted to gather data first. Well… I have some data for you."

Sherlock held out the tablet to Wild. Wild took it in his hoofs and looked it over. He then raised an eyebrow.

"This mission has suddenly become painfully relevant," he said.

Rarity looked at him curiously. Wild then said, "DeWhite has been working on an interdimensional ship, something that we badly need. If we can get a hold of it, we will be able to bypass the Phantom Devices with ease ahead of schedule."

"An interdimensional ship, you say?" exclaimed Jetfire loudly, not wanting to be left out of the conversation, "Then let's go get it!"

The Doctor grinned. "This sounds like an adventure! What do you say, Sherlock?"

Sherlock rolled his eyes. "I suppose…"

"Wait a second," said Wild, "We still haven't figured out what criminal activities are going on in the Lord of the Flies dimension."

"Of, that's simply child's play," said Sherlock briskly, "There is none. The Lord of the Flies dimension was just a front for the operations of this mysterious character I have been tracking called Pictor. However, the place has been quiet recently, but there is never an end to the steady stream of rumors. Obviously this mantle of fear has been well set by this Pictor character. My sources say that he is allied to the Paradox in some way…"

"Of course he is! He's also a Dimensional Lord!" exclaimed Rarity.

"I'm sorry, a what?" said Sherlock quickly, even though he was making obvious that he was not paying any attention.

"A Dimensional Lord! That's like the Paradox, Doxia, and Pictor!" replied Rarity readily.

Sherlock then glanced at Rarity in surprise, "How do you know about Doxia? I've been trailing that myth for some time…"

"Oh, he's not a myth," exclaimed Rarity, quite into her explanation now, "He's a Dimensional Lord. He was the one who gave me my powers! He's funny, smart, and brave…"

Sherlock actually looked interested, and that look of interest made the Doctor very happy.

"I've never seen his face look like that!" whispered the Doctor gleefully to Wild, "Your Rarity friend is quite clever, thinking up that story… what a delivery too!"

"Oh, she's not lying," said Wild with a grin. The Doctor suddenly adopted the look of interest as well.

However, before Rarity could go any further, Jetfire said, "I know that we would all love to stop and chat, but we really should be getting a move-on. The natives will be back eventually, and we cannot be here when they do."

Sherlock sighed heavily, as if that was the last thing he wanted to do, which it probably was, "Oh, very well. Shall we be going then, Doctor... What was your name again?"

"Wait," said the Doctor, "You've known me for how long, and you still don't know that I am JUST called the Doctor?"

"Wasn't important!" replied Sherlock briskly as he began to open a portal to the Warriors dimension, "However, what is important is that we find DeWhite. This interdimensional ship sounds interesting, and I am dying for something interesting."

The Doctor shook his head, but then beckoned for Wild, Jetfire, and Rarity to follow him and Sherlock through the portal to the Warriors dimension… and DeWhite.

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><p><strong>Note: The plot thickens, and the team expands! I have to say, I believe that at least Sherlock Holmes will be a valuable addition, and that's not counting the Doctor! Hmmm... Does anyone want to update my "A Mending Soul" MLP wikia page for me? I really don't want to do it, because it takes forever. Anyway, don't forget that R&amp;R stuff! If you give me feedback, I will give you an invisible Porsche!<strong>


	80. Chapter 80 - Great Loss

**Note: It is official! I have reached over 200 reviews! Awesome! Now let's celebrate with some ACTION!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Skyrim<em>

_Planet: Nirn_

_Specific Location: Northeast of Riften_

_Time: Eleven days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"Soooooo... Where are we, again?" asked Desmond slowly. He and Emilee slowly trudged through the snow. Behind then was a vast stretch of sparkling snow, and before them was a gigantic ruin of stone and masonry.

"We are in Mzulft, as I have already stated," replied Emilee cheerfully, "Gosh… this place seems quiet, am I right?"

"Of course," said Desmond, his eyes darting around. He had been positive that, when they had been spotted by the Shradian Tanks, they were going to be pursued or ambushed, but every shred of evidence cried otherwise. They were completely alone. By some miracle, they had shaken loose of their pursuers.

"You're not still worried about being followed, are you?" asked Emilee, smiling sweetly at Desmond, "Come on now, buddy, we have ninja skills! I will have to admit, though, that I expected more of an exciting chase… but, meh, I'll take this as well."

Desmond nodded, still looking very distracted. So distracted in fact, that he almost ran into a tree. Smiling a little, Emilee planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Come on now, it's no problem!" she exclaimed, "We've lost them, and that's that."

Desmond grinned sheepishly, and pulled himself back into reality. He then looked at the Dwemer ruin, Mzulft, that leered before them. "I guess we have to go in there?"

"Yep!" chirped Emilee. She than began to practically skip up to the decimated stone steps that led to a dilapidated oaken gate. Sighing in resignation, Desmond followed her, still keeping an eye out for pursuers. Still he saw nothing.

Emilee looked the gate up and down skeptically as she approached it. "Boy," she said, "I'm surprised this thing has even held up…" With that, she tapped the wooden surface, and the whole thing fell backwards. Fortunately, the thick dust muffled the sound, and so all that resonated from the collision of wood with ground was a dull thud. Emilee winked at Desmond and strolled inside, saying, "The Great Mask of Detection is pointing me in this direction. Follow me!"

With that, she ran down one of the halls of the ruined city.

"Wait!" exclaimed Desmond. Unfortunately, Emilee kept running. Gritting his teeth, Desmond sprinted after her, using his superior speed to catch up with her in a matter of seconds.

"Careful Emilee!" he said sharply, "We have no idea what is down here!"

"Of course, Mr. Grumpy," snorted Emilee good-humouredly, "I will make a note of that. Have any ideas of what catastrophically dangerous hostiles might be lying in wait for us in this lofty, abandoned city?"

"There are plenty of things that come to mind."

"Name one."

"Um… Er… Uh…"

Emilee smiled at him fondly. "See? You worry too much. She then turned and continued through into a massive circular hall. "There source is somewhere around here… I know it…" she muttered.

Desmond bit his lip and rushed in after her. "We should still be careful, Emilee! I mean, even though I can't think of any possible hostiles that could attack us right now, that doesn't mean there could be something hostile lying in wait that we don't know about!"

Emilee nodded sagely. "Of course! However, what here could possibly harm us?"

Suddenly the ground began to reverberate with heavy, powerful, footfalls. The room shook, and dust fell from the rafters. It was obvious that these powerful footsteps were heading in their direction. Desmond facepalmed. It was Emilee's turn to grin sheepishly. "Oh well… I've been wrong before. Can't blame a girl for trying to be too optimistic."

Desmond sighed and extended a hand. A longsword conjured up in his fist, and then began to crackle with electricity. With his other hand he pulled out one of his beretta 45 custom cutlass handguns, which he tossed to Emilee. He then armed himself with his remaining gun. The two turned to face the source of the sound, which was echoing from behind a massive wooden door opposite to where they were standing.

The footfalls grew louder and louder as the unknown being approached the hall from the other side of the door. Suddenly, the sound stopped. Both Emilee and Desmond tensed, as they waited with baited breath for some form of attack. They were not disappointed. Abruptly the door that had separated them from the owner of the heavy footfalls blasted from its hinges and flew towards them. Desmond pulled Emilee behind him and slashed at the door, severing it in two with one humongous blow. The door caught fire and split down the middle. The two pieces flew by them and smashed into the wall behind them and lay on the ground in flaming splinters. Emilee and Desmond then turned to face their attacker, what they saw shocked them.

Before them was a massive mechanical humanoid. It was covered entirely with thick metal plating, and was armed with a massive warhammer and battleaxe. For a moment, it stood there tall and menacing, facing the two.

"Well," said Emilee brightly after a pause, "Look on the bright side! There is only one!"

Suddenly the mechanical creature moved aside, and two more identical metal monstrosities filed in.

Emilee continued to smile, but now it looked strained and forced. "Well. Look on the bright side! There are only… um… three! Yay?"

Desmond conjured up a warhammer of his own and whispered, "You take the one in the middle, and I'll take the one on the right. As we speak, I am conjuring up a miniature black hole in the heart of the one on the left, so that one is taken care of for now. When I say go, we rush them. Get in close, but watch out for their feet."

Emilee nodded, her eyes now alight with the flame of determination.

"Ready… set…" whispered Desmond, slowly taking a couple of steps forward, "GO!"

With that, Desmond released the energy he had been building up within his body and conjured up a mini black hole within the metal monster on the left. Immediately the thing began to fold in upon itself and crumble to nothing. Then, with a yell, Emilee and Desmond rushed the other two. The metal monsters began to lumber forward, warhammers raised. Emilee fired off a well-aimed shot with her handgun, clipping some vital gears in the armpit of her target. The arm of the robot suddenly flopped down, useless. Unfortunately, this did not deter it from continuing its headlong rush. Desmond dove under his enemy, while conjuring up a giant spear. Superheating it with plasma, Desmond then proceeded to hurl it at his target's back as he passed under it. The spear sliced right through. Unfortunately, it did not stop the robot from turning around and swinging its warhammer. Desmond barely ducked the attack, but it still smashed into the wall behind him, bringing down a great section of it, almost burying him.

Emilee glanced in alarm in his direction, but Desmond only yelled, "I'm fine! I'm fine! Keep fighting!"

Emilee nodded and opened up with her handgun, hitting her target in a couple of vital spots. Suddenly, the machine jerked, and looked like it was about to topple over. However, instead of doing so, it fired a thick stream of extremely hot steam in a powerful jet aimed directly for Emilee's head. By some miracle, Emilee managed to scramble out of the way. As she did that, she quickly fired off a bullet straight through the hole in the machine that was releasing the jet of steam. It was a brilliant idea, and it paid off. The metallic monster abruptly stopped firing the steam attack, and collapsed. The bullet had struck a vital component. Emilee was about to twirl her gun in the air when Desmond shouted, "Emilee! Look out!"

Emilee turned just in time to see the battleaxe of the last surviving monster swing down on her. She barely managed to dodge the attack, but the explosion of masonry and stone shards from the contact point of the axe with the stone ground sent her flying backwards. The metal being then turned slowly and began to lumber towards the fallen Emilee, almost complacently.

However, at this point, Desmond erupted from the debris that buried him and sprinted towards his girlfriend. As he did so, he conjured up a giant double-handed sword. Charging it with dense lightning, Desmond then leapt high in the air and landed on the shoulders of the last metal monster. With a yell, he drove the blade into the skull of his target, splitting the head in half, and sending billions of joules worth power streaming through the metallic frame. The thing practically exploded in a blinding flash of plasma and fire. Desmond jumped off just in time as the metal monster was consumed in flames and toppled over.

"Are you okay?" Desmond asked anxiously as he helped Emilee to her feet and hugging her tightly.

"Yeah, just a little shaken up," she murmured. Suddenly she exclaimed, "Wow! It's incredible!"

Desmond let Emilee go and asked, "What?"

Emilee pointed to where Desmond had been buried in rubble. Apparently the wall the one metal creature had brought down on Desmond had been hiding a secret hallway.

"That is exactly where the Great Mask of Detection is telling me to go!" she explained excitedly.

Desmond smiled. "Awesome! Let's go!"

With that, the two quickly sprinted across the hall and into the secret passageway. Emilee began to navigate the twists and turns of the path as if she had done the same thing a thousand times before. All of a sudden, the narrow passageway widened into another circular hallway. It was a whole lot bigger than the one they had been in previously, and in the center was a small raised platform. A stone table, basically. In the center of that table was a small cube of glass. Within that cube was a globule of some strange solid-gas-liquid that was glowing an eerie purple. It was the Imagination Energy source.

Desmond smiled triumphantly and hugged and kissed Emilee. "We did it!" he exclaimed, letting out a huge sigh of relief.

"We sure did!" replied Emilee happily.

"Oh my God, you did!" echoed another voice, dripping with sarcasm, hate, and sadistic joy.

Both Desmond and Emilee stiffened and turned around slowly. The voice belonged to Pictor.

"Fancy that," snorted Pictor as he strolled purposefully into the chamber, "You led me right to my missing Imagination Energy cube! I thank you for that, my friends."

Desmond then realized that this was Pictor, the monstrous serial killer that Alyss had talked a bit about.

"Stay away from us," he said slowly. Pictor just grinned and turned around to signal someone behind him. In the split second that he did that, Desmond grabbed the small cube of Imagination Energy and stuffed it in his back pocket. In the same instance, he conjured up an exact (yet totally fake) replica using his molecular constitution powers. He then placed the fake cube in the exact spot the real one had been in not a second before. Pictor then turned around again and took a step to the side. A troop of Phasetroopers marched in and blocked the entrance. They then aimed their guns straight at Desmond's and Emilee's chests.

"I would love to stay and chat," said Pictor gleefully, greatly anticipating watching the bodies of Desmond and Emilee fly across the room while being torn apart by energy blasts, "But I really have things to do."

Emilee smiled. "So do I."

There was a pause as Pictor stared blankly at her, his right hand in the air as he prepared to signal his troops to fire. Then Emilee said, "Sorry that I couldn't think of a better comeback, but I am under pressure. However, actions speak louder than words, so hopefully this will help get my point across."

Emilee then suddenly whipped up her handgun and fired. By pure skill, pure luck, or a combination of both, the bullet from the gun flew straight into the charge core of the singularity grenade launcher of the Phasetrooper in the middle of the trooper group. The core exploded and then imploded at the exact same time. Physics and Molecular Chemisty went momentarily haywire as the blast of pure power enveloped the Phasetroopers and Pictor. However, as the energy blast cleared, Pictor was still standing, minus his entire troop of Phasetroopers, of course. Emilee had killed the entire team of hostile Phasetroopers with one shot.

Pictor actually looked stunned. Then he pointed a finger at Emilee and said, "That was pretty badass."

Emilee smiled and put an arm around Desmond. "You would be surprised what the power of love can do."

Pictor shrugged. "Can love block this?" He then released a beam of pure power... and it struck Emilee straight in the chest.

She flew across the hall as the beam exploded and blew her body open. She was dead before she even smashed against the wall on the opposite side of the chamber.

Desmond… screamed…

Stumbling, he scrambled towards the dead body of his girlfriend as Pictor laughed sadistically.

"Emilee? Emilee!" yelled Desmond as he grabbed Emilee's shoulders and shook her. Her head lolled to one side, and her eyes stared off into the distance, unseeing and unblinking. She was dead.

Desmond wanted to deny it, to think of a rational explanation as to why she could not be truly dead, but there was no way around it. His loved one had finally met her end. He was about to slip into pure oblivion when the voice of Pictor interrupted his slip from reality.

"Did you see that?" the sadistic Dimensional Lord exclaimed, "She flew across the room like a flying squirrel! I can tell you, I have never seen something so funny! That was the best death yet! I will have to remember this one."

Desmond's mind snapped. Emilee had died at the hand of this monster, and he would pay. Oh, he would suffer a million times more than anyone had ever suffered before. He would make Pictor beg for a quick death before he gave it to him. Desmond would slowly drag the life from this hated monster until Emilee's memory had been avenged. Pictor would pay… he would pay…

Shaking with rage and grief, Desmond slowly stood up and turned around. Pictor was just in the process of smashing the replica of the Imagination Energy source (which he believed was the real one) when he noticed that Desmond was back on his feet.

Sprinkling the dust of the destroyed Imagination Energy container copy as if it was confetti, Pictor commented dryly, "Look what we have here: an angry weakling here to take his revenge. What are you going to do? Poke me with a sharp stick?"

Desmond went nova. The massive release of explosive energy ripped from Desmond's body and tore through the Dwemer ruin, turning everything within a ten kilometer radius into pure nothing. The molecules constituting every piece of matter in the blast radius simply drifted apart due to the explosion of power.

Sadly, as the dust cleared, Pictor was still there, with an energy shield shimmering around him.

"So… predictable," sighed Pictor dramatically, "You know, you really need to think of a different opening line. I mean… that one I could see coming from a mile away…"

It was obvious that the death of Emilee had put Pictor in his element.

Desmond was not deterred. Though the nova blast had greatly drained the energy from his body, he was not even close to giving up. Now shaking with exhaustion, along with grief and rage, Desmond extended a hand and conjured up sword. However, unlike the quick melee weapons he usually conjured up at a seconds notice, this sword was practically the definition lethal. The sword that slowly came into being now was beyond deadly, constructed out of the strongest materials known to Dimensional Travelers, and charged with a mix of dark matter, light energy, shadow energy, and pure power. This was a true weapon. This was THE weapon.

Pictor eyed the thing that was now in Desmond's hand with an air of interest. "Oooooh… what do we have here? You know what? I accept your challenge, mewling child. I will play your little game."

With that, Pictor conjured up his own sword, and held it in front of him in a ready stance. There was a deathly quiet as the two stood facing each other, in a massive crater full of ash and soot. The only thing is sight was dust, ash, Pictor and Desmond, and the dead body of Emilee.

Then, with a yell, Desmond rushed Pictor and began to attack. Hacks, slashes, and cuts rained down on Pictor with blurring speed as Desmond used his grief and fury to fuel his attacks. Pictor, however, was completely ready. With an elegance that resembled pure nonchalance, Pictor deflected each attack. Then, with a quick flick of his wrist, he disarmed Desmond. Then Pictor smashed the butt of his sword into Desmond's stomach, sending him flying high into the air.

Incredibly, Desmond recovered, and he landed on his feet. Ducking a blurring cut from Pictor, Desmond dove for his sword and seized it. However, as he got up, he found himself now under attack from Pictor.

Pictor's attacks, unfortunately, were not as sloppy as Desmond's. They were calculated, calm, and precise. Each was designed to set Desmond off balance, and suddenly Desmond found his feet slipping from underneath him. With another quick flick, Pictor tripped Desmond and disarmed him again. Desmond fell heavily. Pictor then drew pack his sword and drove it towards Desmond's heart. By some miracle, Desmond rolled out of the way in the nick of time. The blade only nipped the side of his arm. Desmond scrambled to his feet once more and dove for his sword. Whirling, Desmond raised the weapon high above his head and rushed again. Then the fight began in earnest. Now more familiar with Pictor's fightning style, Desmond was able to keep himself from being totally humiliated again. Sadly, it was obvious to both of them that Pictor was still just toying with his prey.

"After this is over, I think I'll skin you both," commented Pictor airily as he parried, struck, dodged, and then thrust before doubling back to perform a cutting sweep, "After that, I will make you into rugs. Don't worry, I will put your rugs next to each other, so you will always be together. That's what you wanted right?"

Desmond grit his teeth as he pressed his attack. Pictor barely ducked a sweep. Straightening up once more, Pictor laughed, "Don't be so touchy! I've only separated you two momentarily! You'll be together again soon!"

With that, Pictor tripped Desmond and threw him down. Now Desmond lay on the ground, breathing heavily. Pictor chuckled harshly in triumph.

"If it makes you feel any better," he said, "This was never any effort. What can I say? I like playing with my food."

Desmond looked up at Pictor, hate dancing in his eyes. "I will avenge Emilee. I will avenge her."

Pictor shook his head dramatically. "What is with revenge, anyway? It only leads to mistakes, and by the time you get your anger under control, you no longer feel the need for revenge. Revenge really just gets in the way if you ask me, I should know. But it doesn't matter… You're dead."

Pictor reared back his sword, and prepared to decapitate Desmond. Then Desmond struck.

Putting every ounce of strength into this final attack, Desmond swung his sword with blurring speed. The sharpened endge of his powerful blade slammed into Pictor's left arm. The sword cut through some of the Dimensional Lord's armor, but failed to sever the arm. In fact, it barely even made it through the protective plating. However, as Desmond fell over and passed out, and the sword was wrenched out of Pictor's armor, a small trickle of Dimensional Lord blood dribbled from the wound. The cut was not very big, but Pictor had been marked.

Pictor was in shock. No one… NO ONE had ever drawn blood from him in combat before besides Doxia. This was something new, this was something strange. As if he was in a trance, Pictor slowly reached up with his right hand and dabbed at the wound. It was not too bad, but he had been hurt. He had been hurt by a weak little Dimensional Traveler.

Pictor suddenly felt something he had never felt before: Awe. Pictor dissolved his sword into thin air and then inspected the face of Desmond as he thought up all the things he could do to him. However, only one option was really predominate in his mind: let him live.

"Yes… this one deserves it…" muttered Pictor, "I think I will let him survive a little longer…"

With that, Pictor hoisted the unconscious body of Desmond and draped him across his shoulders. He then glanced over where the dead body of Emilee lay. After a moment of fighting with himself, he snapped his fingers, and a hole besides Emilee opened up. Emilee's body rolled into the fresh grave, and it closed upon her. Then, a single, blood-red rose grew out of the ground at an accelerated rate where the ground had covered Emilee's body.

Pictor blinked. Had he really just buried an enemy? He had never done that before. In fact, one time he had killed an entire orphanage, and he had simply laid their bodies out for the birds to devour. Why had this been different? He shook his head. This Desmond person had hurt him… and therefore warranted respect, no matter how little. Desmond had earned it, and the Pictor was going to respect him in this way.

Pictor then turned and opened a portal back to the My Little Pony dimension.

Taking a deep breath, Pictor stepped through with Desmond on his back and closed the portal behind him. Little did Pictor know, he was bringing the true Imagination Energy source with him.

The portal closed with a pop, leaving behind a massive blackened crater. For miles there was nothing but black rock and ash… save for a single red rose, which marked the place of the fallen. The final resting place of Emilee Walter, the best friend and love of Desmond Butler.

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><p><strong>Note: I actually don't have much else to say other than that this chapter was rather tragic. What will become of Desmond now? Find out tomorrow! By the way, don't forget to leave a review! Thanks!<strong>


	81. Chapter 81 - Darkness on the Horizon

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Eleven days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Caustic Rain opened his eyes, yawned, and looked around. The first thing he noticed was that he was not in his chambers anymore. He raised an eyebrow in interest. Was he still dreaming? Probably? However, he remembered just waking up from a dream, so why was he still in one?

He was standing in the middle of a plane of white. In all directions, the glossy white ground stretched in all directions. Caustic Rain shook his head. Why was he here? Was this a game Luna was playing?

He was stopped from asking further questions when a massive blast of pure light blossomed before him. In shock, Caustic Rain stumbled backwards and fell over, face to the ground. An Archangel had arrived.

As the light cleared, Caustic Rain looked up and saw that it was Archangel Michael.

"Archangel!" exclaimed Caustic Rain in relief, "How did you find me? What's going on?"

"After some deliberation, I chose to open a dream connection with you," stated Michael calmly, "This is a way we will be able to communicate, without Pictor or the Paradox discovering our meetings."

Caustic Rain nodded his head readily. He was more than happy to talk to someone he could completely trust. "That's amazing! What do you need to talk about?"

Michael stood there for a moment, as if in thought. Then he said, "How is your relationship with Princess Luna developing?"

Caustic Rain suddenly blushed a bit. "Ummmm… fine?"

Michael looked at Caustic Rain for a long pause. Caustic Rain then sighed and said, "We are doing okay. We have not been able to spend much time together, and I have to say that I rather like it this way. I don't know… I just feel so nervous about her! How can there be love if I'm afraid to talk to her face-to-face?"

"I understand that it is difficult," replied Michael calmly, "But learning to face your fears is part of life. To move on, you must conquer your fears."

Caustic Rain sighed again, but nodded. After a short moment of silence, Michael then said, "I have some important news that you must relay to Princess Celestia."

Caustic Rain's ears perked up, indicating that he was listening.

"There is a human being coming to the Harmony Tree dimension," continued Michael, "His name is Desmond Butler. He has been taken prisoner by Pictor."

Caustic Rain blinked. From what he understood, Pictor was not the kind who took prisoners. "Pictor? Then… then why isn't this Desmond person dead?"

"Pictor was wounded by Desmond," replied Michael. Caustic Rain's eyes widened in amazement.

"Pictor was not hurt badly, but it was enough to draw blood, something unheard-of. Pictor was impressed, and decided that he would let Desmond live. Thus, he was brought to the Harmony Tree dimension," continued Michael.

"Okay," said Caustic Rain, "What do you want me to do about it?"

"I want you to have Celestia give a personal request for Desmond to be released into Ponyville," answered Michael, "The Paradox will not refuse, since he is not keen on starting a insurrection on a global-wide scale due to disgruntled royalty."

Caustic Rain nodded. "Okay. That makes sense. However, I can see that this Desmond person is important… why?"

"I will tell you," said Michael, "But you cannot divulge this information to anyone, not even Princess Luna. Keep away from the Dimensional Lords, and try to avoid physical contact with any Elite Phasetroopers. This will keep the chances of the information I am about to tell you being discovered down."

Caustic Rain glanced around, as if there was a chance that they were being eavesdropped-upon (which it was obvious that they were not) and then leaned forward slightly.

After a momentary pause, Michael said, "Desmond holds an Imagination Energy source."

Caustic Rain blinked. "I'm sorry… what?"

Michael nodded sagely. "You will not necessarily understand that, but Flaming Star will. I will find a way to send him a message. You two need to meet momentarily in Ponyville when I give the word, so that he may read your mind, and draw out this information."

Suddenly Caustic Rain's eyes widened as some more information poured into his head. Images, data, and calculations swirled by his vision in a mad dance as his brain absorbed it all.

Breathing heavily, Caustic Rain shook his head as if to clear it. "I… I don't understand."

"You will never be able to understand, but that is not the point. You are a carrier. A messenger," said Michael emotionlessly.

"So wait… have I always been a messenger?" asked Caustic Rain, a little bit shocked. He had never seen it that way.

"Perhaps, but that does not mean you are any less important. You are under my protection, Samuel Dellor. Remember that. And remember; though you may not think yourself important in the grand scheme of things… there is a Princess of the Night who thinks otherwise. Now, carry out your mission. Talk to Celestia, ask her to ask for Desmond Butler. Then wait for my return."

With that, Archangel Michael exploded in blast of light. With that, Caustic Rain's eyes snapped open. He was in his chamber, he was finally awake. He was lying on his bed, with light streaming through the windows. The second thing he noticed was that Luna was sitting at the base of his bed, staring intensely at him. He literally leapt out of bed in shock, and Luna let out a feminine squeak, falling over backwards.

"What… what's going on?" gasped Caustic Rain, scrambling back on to his bed.

"I am so sorry!" exclaimed Luna, scrambling back on to the bed as well, "It was just that I could not see you in your dreams! Where did you go?"

Caustic Rain paled as he gaged his answers. To his horror, he realized that he could not tell her the truth, and that tore him up inside. Though he still was not sure of his feelings towards Luna, he knew that he could trust her with his life. But what he was doing now was willingly withholding the truth. But he had to do it… he HAD to do it.

"I don't know. I just don't know," Caustic Rain sighed.

Luna looked at Caustic Rain curiously, but then she nodded in acknowledgment. Taking a shaking breath, Caustic Rain then said, "I need to go talk to Princess Celestia. Do you know where she might be?"

Luna looked at Caustic Rain for a bit longer curiously, but then said, "She is talking to the Vaporis Dimensional Lord with Princess Cadence."

Caustic Rain bit his lip. There was something about Vaporis that absolutely terrified him. However, Archangel Michael needed him to talk to Celestia, so that was what he was going to do. He exited the chamber and began to look around. In a couple of minutes, he noticed the telltale spatial turbulence in a corner a dozen meters away that denoted the presence of his personal Phasetrooper, who was eavesdropping on him and spying on him every second of the day. Caustic Rain nodded his head slowly. Now he knew where his Phasetrooper lackey was, he needed to plan how to proceed with his request to Celestia involving Desmond. Taking a deep breath, Caustic Rain turned around and began to trot down the massive staircase before him, working his way to the Hall of Thrones, where Celestia would undoubtedly be. As he had assumed, there was Celestia, on her throne with Cadence by her side. Standing behind Celestia was Princess Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie. Unfortunately, Vaporis was there as well, talking to Celestia.

"We're not asking much," pleaded Cadence despondently, "We just want the Paradox to give us leave to continue the Equestria Games! So many ponies have worked towards the games in the Crystal Empire this year…"

"Stop your begging, you worthless filth," snapped Vaporis harshly, "I don't care what you think. The Equestria Games could just be a front to facilitate a meeting for the Resistance."

"What Resistance?" asked Celestia coldly, "You are chasing a shadow."

"I NEVER chase shadows," hissed Vaporis, raising a hand to strike Celestia across the face. Suddenly he stopped though, and turned around. He had sensed the presence of Caustic Rain.

"What the hell do you want?" snapped Vaporis, look straight at him. Caustic Rain froze like a deer in headlights. Whatever ideas, excuses, and ploys he had planned on his way to the Throne Room had melted way like ice on a hot day.

Vaporis was about to say something else when he stopped. He put a finger to the side of his helmet and stood stalk still, as if he was listening to something, which he was. It was the Paradox, contacting him over a telepathic link.

"What? Okay, I do not understand, but I rarely ever do," snapped Vaporis through the link. He then turned to Celestia and said, "The Paradox said that the Equestria Games will be able to continue. However, they will be shifted down a month. Is that understood? I hope so, because the Paradox will be coming to talk to you in a moment, Celestia."

Celestia bowed her head slightly, as the faintest sigh of resignation escaped her lips. Shaking his head, Vaporis turned around and teleported away. Caustic Rain then entered the room timidly.

"Greetings, Caustic Rain," said Celesita as he entered, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," said Caustic Rain slowly, his mind racing to find ways to distract the Phasetrooper he knew was spying on him, "I really was just… Oh, hello, Twilight Sparkle! What are you doing here?"

Twilight gave him a smile and said, "I was just here to talk to Cadence about the Equestria Games. However, since they are going to occur now without any hindrances, I suppose I can go now. Come on Pinkie Pie!"

Suddenly Caustic Rain's eyes widened as an idea struck him. Pinkie Pie could be the distraction.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie…" said Caustic Rain casually, "Have you ever heard of the mysterious invisible cupcake of Canterlot?"

Everypony other than Pinkie Pie looked at him as if he had gone mad.

"An INVISIBLE cupcake?! I looooove invisible cupcakes!" exclaimed Pinkie, hopping up and down.

"It's the best invisible cupcake there is," agreed Caustic Rain amiably, "I knew that you loved those delicate pastries so much that I decided to help you track it down."

Pinkie was now absolutely exuberant. "Oooooh! Show me! Show me! Show me!"

Caustic Rain winked and said, "You can usually tell were the invisible cupcake is by a slight ripple in the air. Kind of like the one that is twelve meters behind me…"

Caustic Rain then waved a hoof in the direction of the spying Phasetrooper, who was standing a respectful distance from him. Pinkie Pie noticed the ripple effect immediately, and shrieked, "CUPCAKE!"

With that, she rocketed forward and tackled the invisible Phasetrooper.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Caustic Rain quickly trotted up to Celestia and whispered in her ear, "There is no time to ask questions; you need to do exactly what I say. When the Paradox shows up, you need to ask a royal favor of him. Ask him for a human named Desmond Butler. Have him brought to Ponyville. I will be waiting there. Do you understand?"

Eyes wide, Celestia nodded her head quickly. This was no time for formality and rank. Caustic Rain then trotted back to where Pinkie Pie was perched on the head of the invisible Phasetrooper, shouting, "Cupcake! Cupcake! Cupcake!"

"Yes, yes, you've captured the cupcake, Pinkie," said Caustic Rain with a grin, "I think you might want to let it go now. It's really not edible."

Pinkie Pie's face fell a little. "Aw… Okay…"

She hopped down and pranced over to where Twilight stood, staring at the scene with an air of interest.

Caustic Rain gave Celestia a meaningful glance. Then he turned around and prepared to leave. But just before he was about to exit, the Paradox arrived.

A massive jagged portal exploded from nowhere, and a troop of three Elite Phasetroopers entered the Hall of Thrones. Then the Paradox strolled in. Quickly he glanced around and said, "Celestia, Cadence, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Samuel Dellor… how nice to see you all…"

"What do you want, Paradox?" snapped Celestia coldly.

The Paradox shook his head, almost mournfully. He then walked up to Celestia and took her beautiful face in his hands. Celestia's eyes widened in fear, and her muscles froze up. Twilight's own eyes hardened, and she began to grit her teeth, but she knew she could do nothing to stop what was happening.

"Such a beautiful creature," sighed the Paradox, putting his masked face close to Celestia's, "I would be loath to ruin it."

"What… do you want… Paradox…?" stuttered Celestia again, her voice a little higher than usual.

"I want nothing. I just wanted to see your eyes personally. I can see now that you really never did intend to host insurrectionist operations under the guise of the Equestria Games. That is good. I know we can trust each other then."

The Paradox let go of Celestia's face and was about to turn around and leave again when Celestia said loudly, "I have a request!"

The Paradox stopped. He then slowly turned around to face Celestial and said, "A… request…?"

Celestia couldn't help but shiver a little under the scorching gaze of the Paradox, nevertheless, she straightened up and said, stoutly, "I have a royal request. Something I personally ask of you, as the Princess of all of Equestria."

The Paradox crossed his arms and said, "I am listening."

"I have sources that tell me that you have brought a human named Desmond Butler to my land. I want him to be set free, and sent to Ponyville," said Celestia, trying to sound brave.

The Paradox cocked his head to one side. "Desmond Butler is here? I could have sworn Pictor was going to kill him. Very well, if your sources are accurate, and Desmond is indeed alive and in our custody somehow, I will gladly set him free and send him to Ponyville. Are you satisfied, Princess?" He said the last word as if it was an insult.

Celestia drew herself up regally and said, "I am satisfied. I thank you."

The Paradox just ignored her. Raking the rest of the group with a penetrating stare, the Paradox proceeded to turn around once more and stroll through the portal from which he came. The accompanying Phasetroopers put up their weapons and followed him. The moment the last one went through, the portal slammed shut.

"I want to be in Ponyville when Desmond arrives," said Caustic Rain, "I need to meet up with Flaming Star anyway. I will be leaving for there immediately.

"Pinkie and I were just leaving ourselves," said Twilight, "We will go with you! I don't know much about you, Caustic Rain, so I would love to learn some more on the train ride home."

Caustic Rain couldn't help but pull a face, but he then nodded. With that, he turned around and trotted upstairs. As he did so, he ran into Luna.

"Caustic Rain!" she exclaimed, a little surprised, "Where are you going?"

"I am going upstairs to get packed," he replied, almost apologetically, "I need to go to Ponyville."

Luna blinked. Then her eyes hardened in determination and she said, "Then I will accompany you."

Caustic Rain grinned and blushed, "Um… sure! I would love that."

Now averting his gaze, Caustic Rain hurried past her and galloped to his room. He needed to be in Ponyville as soon as possible.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: Eleven days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

The sounds of birds chirping and the echoes of animal calls filled the Everfree forest. The evil that regularly lurked in the forest did nothing to reduce its beauty. Its wonderful landscape didn't even reduce in its awe-inspiring luster when a portal opened up in a small clearing, and the sadistic monster, Pictor, strolled through with Desmond Butler slung across his back.

Pictor glanced around with an air of interest. He felt immensely braced, now that he had killed a person and ruined the life of another. After a moment of soaking in the sunlight, he tossed down Desmond Butler and stared at him. Desmond's body shimmered, and began to transform into a pony as his body adapted to the dimension's laws of Physics and Chemistry. He became an Earth Pony, with a grayish red coat. His hair became a mane of violet and black in alternating streaks, and his cutie mark took the form of a two light gray swords crossed across a light gray infinity sign.

After another moment of looking the unconscious form of the ponified Desmond over, Pictor muttered, "You know… I might just kill you after all. I think the green in this place could use a little red…"

However, just before he could decide on a course of action, he was contacted by the Paradox over a telepathic link. Grumbling to himself about business calls, Pictor accepted the link and snapped, "What the hell do you want?!"

"My sources say that you brought Dimensional Traveler Desmond Butler here," stated the Paradox.

Pictor shook his head in disbelief. "That was fast. I only arrived here a moment ago. How did you find out?"

"I have eyes and ears everywhere. Very little escapes my notice," replied the Paradox emotionlessly.

"That's stupid. But I might want to point out that you sounded like Lord Kytax, just then."

"Do not speak of Kytax to me. EVER. Now, do you have Desmond Butler with you?"

"I do. However, I was just about to kill him. Sorry, I am so changeable!"

"It is not relevant. However… did you destroy the Imagination Source?"

Pictor nodded and chuckled a bit. "I dissolved it into the surroundings. I crushed the container right in my hand."

There was a long pause. Then the Paradox said, "Was there a sub-space distortion as you destroyed the container?

Pictor shrugged. "I don't know. I was not really paying attention."

There was another long pause. Finally the Paradox said, "Do not kill Desmond. Let him go and bring him to Ponyville. Give him to Sunset Shadow and Fluttershy. They should know what to do with him."

"What would I want to do that? I kind of killed Desmond's girlfriend in an extremely painful way. I think he wants revenge."

"That is understandable. However, I am making the calls, not you. You will simply have to accept that fact that you will now have to watch your back from here-on-out. Do you understand? I need you to bring Desmond to Ponyville."

Pictor shook his head. The Paradox thought he was so high and mighty. One day he would be brought to his knees. Unfortunately, today was not that day. Taking a deep breath, Pictor slung Desmond back onto his shoulders and prepared to teleport to Ponyville. As he did so, he said, "Paradox. Tell me, what are we going to do when we destroy all of those extra ships that are coming to us from the Reset Dimension, Orbit?"

"Nothing. I have a plan, and part of it hinges off you obeying my wish to bring Desmond to Ponyville ALIVE," snapped the Paradox over the link.

Pictor stopped his actions for a moment to think about what the Paradox had just said. The Paradox was planning something no doubt. However, that was not what bothered him. What bothered him was the fact that he knew very well that the Paradox was withholding information from him, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

Sighing, Pictor decided to let this one slide, he was in a good mood after all, and teleported to Ponyville, right outside Fluttershy and Sunset's house. Not even bothering to knock or leave a note, Pictor tossed the unconscious form of Desmond onto their doorstep. He then turned around and teleported away to the Tree of Harmony without another word. However, as he materialized in the new location, he contacted the Paradox and said, "I've dropped him off. Is that it?"

The Paradox's voice rang back, "Yes that is it."

"Great. Now could you tell me why Desmond is so suddenly important to the plan?"

"I am basing this new step of the Great Plan off a deduction. I cannot tell you anything until I have confirmed it. I will be coming to meet you at the Tree of Harmony in a moment. I think I have figured out a way to destroy the Energy Bubble of Atraka…"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I would like to let you guys know that I have a DeviantArt account! My name is "Aganonce." I make digital art. Check it out! Also, I would like to mention that I have removed the OC Gene Grayson. I will be reintroducing him later, when a better time has come about. Thanks! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review!<strong>


	82. Chapter 82 - Ice and Snow

**Note: I REALLY enjoyed writing the Rainbow Dash part of this story. That being said, I have to mention that it is a little disturbing. The Stallion Empire is not a healthy place to be in. You have been warned. Anyway... enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The air above the west coast of the Stallion Empire_

_Time: Twelve days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Rainbow Dash bit her lip as she gazed out of the window of her plane. The flying machine had already made two stops, and now, a day later, it was almost completely empty. No one ever went to the Stallion Empire. The only ponies on now were burly and scarred, and one was eyeing her hungrily. Suppressing a gulp of apprehension, Rainbow Dash continued to look out the window intently, though she could see nothing through the thick clouds that enveloped her.

"Why am I doing this again?" groaned Rainbow after another ten minutes of intent staring. She sighed and picked up the Trixie intelligence file that she had lying next to her. She glanced it over for the thousandth time.

"Oh Trixie," sighed Rainbow, almost mournfully, "Why did you have to go here? What are you doing?

The picture that Rainbow was staring at did not reply. It was a picture, after all.

Suddenly, the voice of the air attendant rang out. Even the air attendant sounded scared and reluctant as she said, "We are now approaching the Stallion Empire. ETA in twenty minutes."

With that, Rainbow could notice that the plane was slowly beginning to descend. It was flying straight from the skies into the jaws of hell.

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow put down the file and shivered. Her nervousness was really getting to her, and she could feel her bladder weakening. Shaking her head as if to clear it, she then straightened up and tried to look nonchalant and brave. It was true that she was practically terrified, but she could not let if show. According to some information compiled by Twilight, the first place Trixie had stopped was the Black Hind Tavern, which was just outside the airport in the city of Stalliongrad. That was one of her very few leads that Twilight had been able to give her. From there, she was going to have to hoof it, using whatever information she could gather, all the while avoiding the customs police of the Stallion Empire and the mercenaries and assassins that filled the streets.

Though the flight attendant had said twenty minutes, it seemed like an instant. There was no time to prepare, no time to worry, and no time to steel herself. They were just there.

Rainbow almost let out a little "eep!" of horror when the voice of the flight attendant's voice rang out over the speakers, "We are now at the international airport of Stalliongrad. The temperature outside is negative one degrees Celsius, and the sky is overcast. Thank you for riding Grand Pegasus Airlines… have a nice day."

With that, the seatbelt lights went out overhead, and the cabin lights brightened. The docking clamps moved up and connected with the front exit of the plane, and the door opened. Butterflies rocketing around in her stomach, Rainbow got up and began to drag her luggage up the aisle. In a moment, she was out in terminal of the Stalliongrad International Airport. She was now in the Stallion Empire. The place was certainly grand, with light blue lights illuminating grand pillars and wide halls, but that was not really what stood out. What stood out were the Customs Police, that infested everywhere… and the silence. Gulping, Rainbow Dash slowly began to work her way towards the exit of terminal area B, and to the main exit. According to the information given to her by Twilight, the Black Hind Tavern was a couple of kilometers away from the airport, forcing her to take a taxi. She was not looking forward to any form of interaction with any of the Stallion Empire's natives, but Rainbow had no choice. Keeping her eyes down, Rainbow did her best to suppress her quivering as several rowdy (and probably drunk) ponies called out to her:

"Look what we have here! That is one hot rainbow rump!"

"Hey pretty one! I would love to have you between my hind legs, if you know what I mean!"

"Come back! We haven't finished talking to you!"

Rainbow began to worry that she would have to fight them, which would end in complete disaster, but they did not pursue her. Breathing a silent sigh of relief, Rainbow Dash continued to drag her luggage to the exit. Outside was extremely cold. Snow was drifting from the sky lightly, and a bone-chilling wind was shrieking through the trash-filled streets. Shivering, Rainbow raised a hoof high and shouted, "Taxi!"

In less than a minute, a yellow motorized cab pulled up next to her. Rainbow hopped in and dragged her luggage in after her.

"Where too, little one," chortled the cabdriver in a husky, alcohol-soaked, voice.

"Um… yeah… Black Hind Tavern," said Rainbow, doubt riddling her voice.

"Oh, you don't want to go there, too bland," guffawed the cabdriver, "Why don't you come home with me? Free of charge. We can see if we can make your night more… interesting."

"No," said Rainbow, doing her best to sound stout and determined, "I am the one holding the bits. You want to get paid? Do what the customer wants. Got it?"

Grumbling to himself, the cabdriver nodded and started the engine. With a roar, the taxi shot forward and blasted down the streets at a dangerous speed. Rainbow Dash gripped her luggage tightly to her to ensure it didn't go flying every which way as the vehicle sped forward. At the speed they were going, they made it to her destination in only a couple of minutes.

"There you go," said the cabdriver, still a little disappointed, "That will be six bits."

Thanking Celestia that the world had at least had the sense to standardize currency, Rainbow pulled six bits out of her pouch and handed them to the cabdriver. With that, Rainbow got out and pulled her luggage out with her. She then turned to face the Black Hind Tavern. It was a very large concrete building, with garbage cans overflowing with trash piled around its entrance. Taking a deep breath, Rainbow straightened up and tried to look no-nonsense. She then pushed through the tavern door. For a second, all banter and music stopped within the rowdy tavern as Rainbow made her entrance. But, fortunately, things started again as the ponies went back to their conversations and gambling. Looking about for a moment, Rainbow then trotted up to the counter.

"What can I get for you, pretty one?" asked the bartender roughly.

"I'm not here for a drink. I am here for some information," said Rainbow.

"Ahhhh… information. That is like buying a premium beer, and it is going to cost you. If you buy enough information, though, I might be tempted to throw in a shot of tequila as a bonus," said the bartender, leaning in close and glancing about to see if anypony was eavesdropping.

"I will be buying information, but you can leave the bonus out… it will save you money," replied Rainbow, leaning in close as well.

The bartender winked, and then said, "Very well. What do you need?"

"I need to know about this pony," replied Rainbow Dash, pushing forward several pictures of Trixie, "My sources told me that she was here a while ago."

"Well, your sources were accurate," said the bartender, "However, it will cost you for me to say anymore, as I said. I feel in a good mood today, so I will say about… fifty bits."

Rainbow's eyes hardened. That was an exorbitant price. "Twenty-five bits."

"Forty bits."

"Thirty-five bits."

"Done," exclaimed the bartender. Rainbow pushed forward a small pile of bits and then leaned in close once more.

"Her name is Trixie the Great and Powerful, as I am sure you know," said the bartender, "However, what you don't know is that she was arrested after causing a drunken bar-fight. The custom police burst in here and arrested her and several others. They immediately could tell that she was not from the Stallion Empire, so had her dragged off for 'special' accommodations. You know how the Empire is to non-natives. However, a couple of days later, a special tidbit-gatherer of mine informed me that she had broken out of the jail, and had fled to the Iron Hoof mountains of the north. That is where his sources had lost contact. That is all I know."

Rainbow massaged her temples as she contemplated the information. Then she nodded decisively and said, "Thanks."

The bartender winked, and then reached under the table and pulled out a small glass. He then reached behind him and pulled forward a bottle of silver Tequila. He poured a bit into the glass and pushed it forward with a smile. Rainbow eyed the glass with a worried air. She had never tasted alcohol before, however the bartender continued to grin at her, so she felt pressured to drink it nevertheless. Sighing, she picked up the cup and downed it. Immediately she started to cough, and darkness ate away at the edges of her vision. A warm feeling blossomed forth in her stomach, her nerves began to buzz, and her ears started to ring. She shook her head and swayed in her chair as she struggled to regain her sensibilities. As she did so, the bartender laughed, "Never had a drink before, eh? Well, let's just hope that you aren't also a virgin. We ponies of the Stallion Empire have a bad habit of fixing that one issue."

Rainbow finally pushed the feeling of the drink down, and shook her head vigorously. She decided that that was one of the worst mistakes of her life, drinking that.

"Thanks…" she mumbled, a little embarrassed by the laughing bartender, "Could you tell me the best way to get to the Iron Hoof mountains?"

"Of course, pretty one," chuckled the bartender, too amused to take any more advantage of the innocent mare, "You cannot actually get INTO the mountains, due to a military perimeter being drawn up in the foothills before it, but you can get really close to it. Hop onto a train that is going to Sallianger. When you are there, head west into the thick forest. There is a breach in the security fencing about half a kilometer into the forest… just watch out for the Sliverwolves while you are in there. Nasty things… just like the Timberwolves you ponies have in the Everfree Forest.

"How… how did you know that I was from Ponyville?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, that's easy. You've rarely ever had a drink, your back legs tell me you're a virgin, and your eyes radiate innocence. You are the typical Ponyville pony; seen quite a few die here in my day. Don't worry my friend, if you leave the Stallion Empire alive, I have no doubt you will become one of us. You know what? I like you. When you find the Trixie pony, come back, and we'll have a drink together," chortled the bartender with another friendly, yet creepy, wink.

Rainbow Dash nodded, still a little perturbed about it all. She then turned around and began to trot away. As she did so, the bartender called out, "The train station is not too far from here! Just a block down! Then take a right!"

Rainbow glanced back at him in thanks, and then proceeded to exit the building. She then began to trot down the trash-clogged street in the direction the bartender had pointed her in. As she cantered along, she thought about what had transpired. In Ponyville, she had always considered herself to be the toughest pony around. She could wrestle down the best (with the exception of the resident Dimensional Travelers) and she could easily intimidate a pony if she wanted to. But here… here was a different matter. In this decrepit land of the Stallion Empire, she felt as innocent as a young school filly. Doing her best to push down the creeping thoughts of doubt, Rainbow sped up her pace. Though she had not been in Stalliongrad for long, she knew very well that if she stood in one place for too long, bad things were bound to happen. In a couple of minutes, she arrived at the train station. As luck would have it, a massive iron locomotive was just pulling up to the same station in a hail of sparks and a cloud of soot and smoke. Rushing quickly up to a ticket dispenser, Rainbow checked the train schedule. Yes, luck was on her side this time: the train that was just arriving had its final stop in Stallianger. Quickly Rainbow bought a one-way ticket to the Stallianger and hopped aboard. Like the Black Hind Tavern, the compartments of the iron train were full of smoking fumes, as well as rowdy laughter. And just like the Black Hind Tavern, everypony present stopped their conversation to momentarily stare at Rainbow Dash as she entered the train. Fortunately, the banter resumed once the train resumed motion.

Doing her best to look inconspicuous, Rainbow scurried to an empty train compartment and slid inside. There were two benches on either side of the small room, facing each other with a window on the side. The benches were rusty, chipped, and discolored, and looked like it was being held together with duct tape. The window was broken (allowing the biting wind and drifts of snow to blast inside), and there were several bullet holes in the door. Shivering out of disgust for her surroundings and out of the sudden chilling wind, Rainbow Dash pulled out a blanket from her luggage and wrapped it around her.

Doing her best to not let the doubts about her survival get to her head, Rainbow Dash rocked back and forth in the bench. As the hours passed, the Rainbow got more and more tired. Soon she began to slowly fall asleep. This was an incredibly bad thing, for if one falls asleep in the freezing snow, the chance of ever waking up again is quite slim. Sadly, the thought of that did not cross Rainbow Dash's mind, for the need for sleep drugged her brain. She most certainly would have fallen asleep (and subsequently died) if not for a sudden bang on the door. The loud noise shocked Rainbow Dash into wakefulness. What had just happened? There was a moment of silence. Then, suddenly, the door shook again under the poundings of a firm hoof. Then the door blasted inward as another pony smashed it in. Four burley ponies filed in, eying Rainbow Dash aggressively.

Rainbow Dash, though thoroughly terrified, straightened up and managed to surprise even herself as she snapped, "What do you thugs want?"

"We didn't like the way you were sleeping in here," stated one of them coldly, "We want you to leave the train."

"If you have a problem with the way I sleep, then you are just going to have to live with it!" shouted Rainbow.

The four thugs just laughed. "Whenever Diesel has a problem," chortled another pony, "He doesn't 'live with it,' he fixes it. Permanently."

With that, the first pony, Diesel, whipped out a six-shooter and pointed it in Rainbow's face. Rainbow Dash stiffened.

"I want you to leave the train… NOW," hissed Diesel.

"The train's moving," replied Rainbow, doing her best keep her voice from quivering.

"Do you think I care?!" shouted Diesel. He moved forward, and Rainbow moved backward.

"I don't like you," snarled Diesel, "So you are going… to leave… NOW."

As he said that, he trotted a couple of more steps, causing Rainbow to trot a couple of steps back. Now her back was to the broken window. Her blanket was sucked from her grasp by the icy wind, and tossed away into the snow-infested night.

"Look," said Rainbow, now quivering a bit from cold and fear, "I don't want any trouble…"

She didn't get any further. With a yell, the pony named Diesel seized Rainbow by the throat and hurled her bodily out the window. By some miracle, she was thrown free from the tracks, but her momentum caused her to skip and bounce at least a dozen meters before coming to a rather painful stop in the snow.

She had lost her luggage, she had lost her ride, and now she was trapped in the snow with no coverings, and she was badly bruised to top it all off.

Groaning, Rainbow pulled herself out of the snow and looked around. To her right was a massive forest of pine trees and to her left was a frozen mash. Behind her she could see nothing but snow, and before her were the distant silhouettes of the Iron Hoof Mountains. She was stuck in the middle of it all.

Struggling to all fours, Rainbow spread her wings and attempted to take to the air, but they were practically frozen stiff. There was no other choice but to try to make it to the forest, and hope that there was some form of shelter to protect her from the icy winds. Teeth chattering, Rainbow Dash struggled through the snow as she worked her way towards the pine trees in the distance.

Little did she know, however, that there were many pairs of malicious eyes, watching her from that pine forest.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Ponyville train on the way to Ponyville_

_Time: Twelve days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"So… How old are you?" asked Twilight, giving Caustic a friendly smile.

Caustic Rain tried to smile a little, but failed. He then looked away and mumbled something unintelligible.

"Okay… What is your favorite color?" persisted Twilight.

"His favorite color is green," Luna replied for him, "His favorite food is spaghetti."

"Oh… okay," said Twilight, looking at Luna in surprise. She did not know of Luna's relationship with Caustic Rain.

"Are you okay Caustic Rain?" whispered Luna to Caustic Rain. He nodded. He was just feeling very nervous around the curious Twilight.

"I believe he is nervous," stated Luna, "I think he wants to be left alone for a bit."

Twilight nodded, a bemused look plastered on her face. She got up and beckoned to Pinkie Pie. The two left the train car.

"What is the matter, Caustic Rain?" asked Luna, draping a wing over his shoulders.

"I don't know, it's just that… I guess I'm still a little nervous about other ponies. I can't stand them watching and judging silently. It's not my fault I had such a history! I didn't mean to…" Caustic Rain's voice choked, and he looked away. He was going into relapse.

Luna looked at him for a moment with pain in her eyes. Then she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Then she nuzzled him. Caustic Rain's heart started racing, and it pulled him out of his depression a little bit.

Unfortunately that was as far as they got, for the train began to slow down, as a voice over the electronic speakers said: "We have arrived at Ponyville station."

"We are here!" exclaimed Twilight, returning to the train car with Pinkie Pie, "Everypony ready to go?"

Luna nodded and got up regally. Caustic Rain, eying the ponies bustling outside in the station nervously, got up as well and began to follow Luna. As the door opened, the group was met by Applejack. Caustic Rain immediately shrunk to the back.

"Howdy y'all!" exclaimed Applejack, "How you doin'?"

"We're fine, thank you," replied Luna amiably (though her voice was a slight bit regal), "How do you find yourself?"

"I'm all fine mahself," replied Applejack, "Just a teensy bit bored. Don' get me wrong, I has mah apples an' the likes, but that is it. Rainbow's got her mission, Twilight's a Princess, and Rarity… we don't know where the hay Rarity is."

"I am sure you will find something worthwhile to do soon," said Twilight cheerfully, "We just need Rainbow to come back from her 'vacation.' Oh! I would like you to meet Caustic Rain!"

Caustic Rain blanched, and tried to pull back a little bit further, but Luna shoved him forward.

"Please to meet you!" exclaimed Applejack jovially.

"Ummmmm… likewise?" stuttered Caustic Rain. He smiled weakly.

Applejack winked. "Don't be nervous 'round me, sugar cube!"

There was an awkward pause. Finally, Caustic Rain somehow found it in himself to break the silence and say, "Well… I really have to get going… I have something I need to do."

With that, he began to trot off in a randomly picked direction. Then he stopped. After another pause, he sighed and came back. "Could… um… could any of you ponies be so kind as to point me in the direction of Sunset Shadow's house?"

"Oh… I was going there myself!" exclaimed Twilight, "Follow me!"

Caustic Rain eyed Twilight suspiciously. Had she just made that up so that she could get to know him better? Sighing in resignation, he began to follow her, with Luna right behind.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Twelve days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Fluttershy and Sunset were sitting together in a diner with Mr. and Mrs. Cake.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" asked Mrs. Cake sweetly.

"Oh, we were just wondering if you know a nice place we could donate our stroller," replied Sunset, "Starlight is trotting around just fine now, so we decided we might as well donate it to a good cause."

"What… not planning on having another?" said Mr. Cake, with a grin.

Fluttershy immediately began to blush a deep red. She looked down at her hooves, and her face became covered by her long flowing pink mane.

Sunset grinned nervously. "Ummmmm… Is that a serious question?"

Mrs. Cake lightly slapped Mr. Cake's hoof. "Of course not! Mr. Cake was just being silly! We're so sorry, Fluttershy. However, I do believe we have a nice place for you to donate the stroller."

Fluttershy peeked through her mane. "You do?"

Mrs. Cake nodded. "Oh yes. A while back, in my younger days, I used to do volunteer work for this nice shelter in Canterlot. They are a little bit underfunded, so they really appreciate any support that is given to them. A donation like that would be quite welcome."

Sunset nodded readily. "Great! What is the name?"

"West Wing Homeless Shelter, Canterlot," replied Mr. Cake promptly.

There was a short pause as Sunset wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to Fluttershy.

"Speaking of strollers, where is Starlight Amber anyway?" asked Mrs. Cake.

"Oh, we left her in the care of Flaming Star. He insisted. Something about another argument with Twilight," replied Fluttershy quietly.

"Another argument? Oh dear," said Mrs. Cake, "That doesn't sound good. Do you know the details?"

"Of course I do, but I never gossip, so you will just have to imagine it," replied Sunset with a wink.

"That is probably a good idea," said Mr. Cake, "However, how is Starlight?"

"She is just fine, thank you…" murmured Fluttershy, leaning her head on Sunset, "She's talking in sentences now! It is all wonderful…"

"It is," added Sunset, his face beaming with pride, "However, I do believe we must get going. There are things that we have to do."

"Of course," said Mrs. Cake, getting up, "We do too. It was quite nice touching base with you! Have a good day!"

"You too," said Sunset. With that, he and Fluttershy got up and followed Mr. and Mrs. Cake out the door. On the doorstep of the diner, the group exchanged hugs and went their separate ways. Mr. and Mrs. Cake went to Sugar Cube Corner, and Fluttershy and Sunset went to Flaming Star's house.

In a couple of minutes, they arrived at his house and knocked on the door. Immediately the door opened. Flaming Star smiled. "I'm glad you guys are here," he said, "I was actually going to go and find you two."

With that, he stepped aside and Starlight Amber trotted into the waiting hoofs of Fluttershy. She swept her up and nuzzled her as Sunset said, "You were just leaving?"

"Yeah, there is something important I have to do. I would tell you more, but the cat has the salad."

Sunset nodded his head, "Okay. I understand."

"We should go home now," said Fluttershy quietly. Sunset nodded, but instead of trotting away, he said, "Flaming Star… are you still arguing with Twilight?"

Flaming Star facehoofed. "Yeah… Look, it's no big deal, alright?"

Sunset blinked. "Um… yes. It IS a big deal. She is your future wife. You can't start endangering your bond by arguing. What are you arguing about anyway?"

Flaming Star sighed and looked around, to ensure that no pony was listening. "It's the same as last time. She wants to have a foal, I don't. It's as simple as that."

"Wait… if you don't want a foal, then why did you volunteer to take care of Starlight?" said Sunset.

"I wanted to be sure that I just didn't want to have a foal because I would be a bad father!"

"…And…?"

"It's not that. I love foals! It's something else…" Flaming Star looked away.

Sunset blinked. Then it was his turn to facehoof. "You're still scared of girls. Aren't you?"

"Terrified," agreed Flaming Star.

Fluttershy looked at Flaming Star curiously. Then she moved up and gave him a hug. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" she said quietly.

Flaming Star nodded. "That wasn't so bad. But you're Fluttershy! Twilight is a little bit more pushy than that."

"Are you calling my wife a push-over?" asked Sunset cynically.

"No. I am calling your wife awesome," said Flaming Star, raising his voice a little, "And I really don't want to talk about what is going on between Twilight and me."

"It would be a good idea if you did," murmured Fluttershy.

"I agree," said Sunset, almost apologetically, "If you are having problems, you should talk about it. Fluttershy and I are always here to give you advice if you need it."

"Okay…" sighed Flaming Star, calming down as well, "I do need a bit of advice now…"

"Okay," said Sunset, "What do you want to know?"

Flaming took a deep breath. "Well, how do you think I should go about apologizing, without giving her the idea that I want to have a foal?"

"Just tell her you are sorry," said Sunset simply, "If you love her, and she loves you, an earnest apology will fix things. However, as for the second part… I have no idea how to keep her from thinking that."

Flaming Star groaned. "Aw man… Did you guys ever have this problem?"

"No," said Sunset, who couldn't help but smile a bit, "We did not. It sort of just happened. However, I can tell you that we did not regret it."

Flaming Star sighed loud and long. Then he nodded his head. "Okay. I suppose I might as well get it over with. See you two later."

Fluttershy, Starlight, and Sunset smiled and then began to make their way to their house.

"I do hope that Flaming Star and Twilight get their problems sorted out," sighed Sunset, "It would burn me up inside if they break up."

"They won't, don't worry," said Fluttershy, "I know them both. They love each other."

"Mommy? Daddy? Who's that?" piped up Starlight.

"Hmmm? Who is what?" said Sunset, looking up. Then he noticed the pony lying on his doorstep like a discarded piece of paper. He was just lying there, breathing faitly.

"Oh my gosh," breathed Sunset. He rushed up to him and rolled him over. He put his right ear to his chest and listened. He was indeed breathing, but he was out cold. He then looked up at the ponies face. He looked somewhat familiar…

"Sunset…" whispered Fluttershy, "Look at his cutie mark…"

"Why does that have to sound so feministic…" muttered Sunset as he glanced at the cutie mark. His voice caught in his throat. It was the infinity sign. He was a Dimensional Traveler. Then it all clicked. He knew this pony's face. This was Desmond Butler. However, if Desmond Butler was here… then where was Emilee Walter?

Icy claws of fear gripped Sunset's stomach as he considered the worst possible scenario. At this moment, Desmond let out a groan. He opened his eyes groggily.

"What… the… hell?" he gasped. He got up, fell over backwards, and then tried to get up again.

"Hey, take it easy Desmond!" exclaimed Sunset, "You were out cold. You will feel a bit disoriented."

"What… who… where?" Desmond looked around quickly, totally unsure of his surroundings.

"Desmond, calm down. We are your friends. Tell me… where is Emilee Walter? Where is your friend," said Sunset slowly.

At the sound his Emilee's name, Desmond stiffened as all of his memories came flooding back. A single tear rolled from his eyes and fell to the ground. Light danced through it as it spiraled, almost like in slow-motion, through the air.

That was all Sunset needed to see. "Come inside," he said sadly.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I hope Starlight Amber's maturation was not too accelerated. However, it has been a year, so she should be fine now. I generally base aging and the learning curve off of human parameters, if that makes any sense. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review! You leave a review, and I might get Sherlock Holmes to sign an autograph for you. Man, that guy is awesome. I cannot wait to write more about him...<strong>


	83. Chapter 83 - One More Step

**Note: I had NO idea that the Stallion Empire was like the Soviet Union. In fact, the connection never crossed my mind. I called its capitol Stalliongrad because I thought it was a cool name. Technically the two aren't that closely related; Russia actually takes good care of it's important cities, unlike the Stallion Empire. Also the Stallion Empire is a monarchy, so it is despotic because of its singular ruler. I would like to apologize to all those who were offended. Sorry!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Warriors<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Hunter Lake_

_Time: A month after the events of the Warriors Book Eclipse, Twelve days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

It was a perfect day. The sky shimmered on the enormous blue lake, a cool wind rustled through the trees and grasslands, and birds twittered through the sky. Then a massive portal opened up and a gigantic Transformer step through.

"By the Primes! Nature is the best thing for rusty old bolts!" exclaimed Jetfire, stretching.

Sherlock stepped through, his hands in his navy blue overcoat. He looked around and rolled his eyes. "Nothing here. If Jared was in this area, I would know."

He then looked to his left. In the distance, there was a small town.

"We're going to go there first," he said in a no-nonsense voice. He immediately began to walk in that direction.

"Wait… is Jared there?" asked Rarity, struggling to keep up.

"Of course not," said Sherlock briskly, "He is building an extremely powerful object, so he will need the upmost secrecy. This dimension is not hidden, so one would not simply hole themselves up in a perfectly obvious town by the sea."

"Well… why are we heading in this direction, then?" snapped Wild, who did not appreciate Sherlock's attitude.

"Yes, Sherlock," said the Doctor, a little more amiably, "Why are we going in this direction?"

"We are going to this place because it has a network. The homeless network. It is far more reliable than any database or police," sighed Sherlock.

"You have a homeless network HERE?" exclaimed the Doctor in admiration.

"Obviously. I have these networks on every dimension in the inner ring. This one is no exception. They will know exactly where Jared is," replied Sherlock.

"If you have it all sorted out then," said Jetfire suddenly stopping and sitting down, "I will be here. Sitting in the grass. It has been a while since I have been able to enjoy nature."

"I'll stay with you," offered Rarity.

"The hell you will not!" exclaimed Jetfire, slamming his walking stick on the ground, "Did I say I wanted company, whippersnapper?"

Rarity paled a bit, and took a step back. Jetfire looked at her face, and then laughed. "Of course you may, young gal. Come over here and sit next to me."

Rarity smiled winningly, and went over to sit next to the aging Transformer.

Sherlock had not even broken his stride to listen to the conversation, and was now far ahead of the Doctor and Wild. "Do hurry up," called Sherlock.

The Doctor and Wild sprinted and quickly caught up to him. Sherlock nodded to them and kept walking. The group was now entering the outskirts of the small town. They were beside the main road, which intersected with a landfill, and the suburban houses.

Suddenly Sherlock raised a fist and stopped. He looked around, his eyes narrowed.

"Doctor, I told you to hand me my phone," said Sherlock.

The Ninth Doctor blinked. "You did? When?"

"About three hours ago. Any time now would be a good time," replied Sherlock curtly.

The Doctor sighed. He reached into Sherlock's overcoat and pulled out his phone. He then put it in Sherlock's hand.

Wild just rolled his eyes.

Sherlock turned on his phone and opened his photo manager. He began to flip through a couple of photos. After a minute, he put his phone back in his pocket and walked towards the landfill. He strolled straight inside and stood in a certain spot next to a pile of garbage. He stood there, looking about. Suddenly a mangy cat strolled around the pile of trash and sat next to Sherlock.

Sherlock got down on his knees and pulled out his phone. He showed the cat a picture of Jared DeWhite on his phone and whispered several unintelligible things to it. The cat nodded, and scampered away.

"What the hell was that?" insisted Wild, looking at Sherlock as if he was insane.

"That was a rogue. A cat that is not part of the clans. They are my homeless network here. Don't look so stupid. You knew that the cats were a sentient species here… right?" said Sherlock disbelievingly.

Wild just snorted derisively and turned away. Sherlock rolled his own eyes and got up.

"Come Doctor," said Sherlock, "There are things to be done."

"Things…?" asked the Doctor.

"Yes! Things! Thing things!" exclaimed Sherlock, who exited the landfill and began to walk back to Jetfire and Rarity.

"You. Rarity," said Sherlock quickly, "Could you tell me more of Pictor and his kind? Be quick and to the point. We have no time to waste."

Rarity nodded; her eyes were wide. Sherlock's curt attitude was quite flustering. She immediately began to explain, from the beginning, all that she knew about Doxia, Pictor, Paradox, Mattimeo, and the rest of the Dimensional Lords. Then she went on to describe what she had seen of the Amethyst Dimension, and the effects of the Phantom Devices. Sherlock listened attentively, only breaking into the conversation with a valid question once and a while. After about a hour, Rarity finished divulging all of the information she herself knew.

"Rather interesting," said Sherlock airily, "It all makes sense, though."

Wild was about to insist that Sherlock explain what he meant by that when another cat streaked onto the scene and stopped at Sherlock's feet. It slapped at his shoes with its paws (claws retracted) and looked up at him.

Sherlock nodded to the cat respectfully, and got down on one knee. He put his ear close to the cat, and it mewed a couple of times. Sherlock thanked it in English, and then straightened up. The cat then left.

"I know where Jared DeWhite is," stated Sherlock simply, "It was quite obvious actually. He has set up a secret base underneath a place called 'Abandoned Twoleg Nest,' which is northwest of the Thunderclan Camp. I know where that is. Follow me."

With that, Sherlock snapped a finger. The group was surrounded by a shimmering bubble of energy. The environment around the group outside the bubble blurred and warped. The next thing everyone knew, the bubble popped and they were outside a run-down cottage. A white cat with ginger patches was digging around the plants just outside a ivy-ridden wall near the building. The cat suddenly noticed the group and fled in a panic.

"Hmmm," murmured Sherlock dryly, "I am sure Brightheart will have something to tell the whole clan now…"

"Do you know ALL of the cats here?" exclaimed Wild indignantly, completely befuddled by Sherlock's knowledge.

"Only most of them!" called Sherlock briskly as he strolled into the abandoned building. He then glanced about the place with a disinterested eye. After a moment of silence, Sherlock chuckled and said, "Oh, Jared… too obvious…"

Rarity blinked in confusion. However, before she could ask what he meant, Sherlock began to explain.

"Look at the dirt. It has been scuffed. A normal person would say that it was a cat rolling around, but the streaks are too evenly distributed. No, it was someone attempting to cover their tracks. I would say that his foot size is about 10. His weight seems to be 55 kilograms. That means his height will come out to be… I would say 170.2 centimeters at the least. With these parameters, it would be safe to assume that it is a 15-year-old boy. Jared DeWhite is actually 28 years old, but due to a time flux that surrounded his home dimension, he always comes out to be a 15-year-old boy elsewhere. Who would be here that would be 15-years-old? Jared DeWhite. That is who. It seems like his footsteps are recurring the most right here. Look, dust has been displaced here and here… that means…"

Sherlock reached forward and placed his fingers over the stone wall in front of him. He then put his right ear near to the wall and began to tap. After a minute of tapping, he took a step back and lightly pressed the masonry in several places. The wall began to rumble.

"What is going on in there?" insisted Jetfire loudly, "Tell me you little fleshlings!"

"Nothing, just Sherlock showing off… like usual," snorted Wild.

"It is elementary," stated Sherlock rolling his eyes. The wall continued to vibrate. Suddenly it folded in on itself, revealing a portal gate.

"Well, Jared certainly took it to the next level since I last saw him," exclaimed Jetfire, now looking through a window, "That lad was quite bright."

"And too suspicious by far," interjected Sherlock, "See those ripples and bright blue points of light? DNA cross-scanners. They are quite hard to set up. One would be fine… but Jared has set up twelve. Fortunately for me, there is a loop-hole with these systems."

Sherlock reached into his navy blue overcoat and pulled out a little metal cube. He squeezed it, and it unfolded into a giant strip of leathery material. Strapped to the stip were every useful tool known to mankind (and probably any sentient being's kind).

"Is that… is that a sonic screwdriver?" exclaimed the Ninth Doctor.

"Maybe," replied Sherlock curtly, pulling out a strange tubular device (which was not the sonic screwdriver). He then squeezed the tip of the leathery strip of material, and it all folded back up into the small metal box. He then put the box away in his pocket.

Sherlock then said, "Rarity. Hand me my phone."

"But… But you just had your hands in your…" stuttered Rarity.

"I didn't say 'Sherlock, hand me my phone,' now, did I? Could you please hand me my phone?" interrupted Sherlock, leaning in close to the portal, and gently running his instrument through the air around the rippling distortions that surrounded the edges.

Rarity sighed in resignation and reached into his pockets. She pulled out his phone and put it in his hands. She then took a step back and tossed her hear indignantly.

"Oh, don't worry about him;" whispered the Doctor to her in a jocund manner, "He acts like that sometimes."

Sherlock opened an app on his phone, and began to alternate between typing on his phone, and swiping his instrument through the air. He continued this process for at least three minutes. Suddenly, the blue points of light flickered and went out.

"What did you do?" asked Wild, actually interested for once.

"I overloaded the scanner with false information. The scanners are designed to project a wall of molecularly-blocking semi-energy sheets in the event that any DNA that does not match Jared's is detected. Thus, if you are not Jared, your entrance is barred. However, there is a flaw. The flaw with the system is that if you feed the scanners too much false information, the system will continually project the sheets of power and eventually short-circuit itself."

"Is that what that instrument is for?" asked Rarity, "What is it made of? Did the phone make some sort of calculation?"

"This instrument? This is made from moss, macaroni, and the handle of a tennis racket. The diverse bacteria community is stellar to disarm these systems. I was just using my phone to check my local blogging website. It appears that people here have a lot more interest in the science of chewed gum then the people in my home dimension. I've gotten quite a few hits…"

Sherlock dropped the tubular instrument and his phone into one of his pockets and strolled through the portal. Wild and the Doctor followed. Rarity herself was about to go when she remembered Jetfire and turned around.

"Are you not coming?" she asked.

"Oh no, m'gal," said Jetfire, sitting down outside, "Too large. I will wait here for him to come to me."

Rarity smiled sweetly, and then went to sit next to him. "I will wait with you."

The room that the Sherlock, Wild, and the Ninth Doctor found themselves in after entering the portal was amazing. It was a giant cave, supported by massive steel beams. Equipment lay around, and computer banks lined the side of a wall. However, that was not the most amazing part. The most breath-taking spectacle of all was the interdimensional ship that sat in the center of the room.

It was no larger than a bus, but was sleek and shiny like a jetfighter. Blue-glowing energy channels lined the outside of the ship, and it had long sweeping wings. Imagine a B2 stealth bomber, but white with glowing lines of power crisscrossing the wing-span.

"Now THIS is rather interesting," breathed Sherlock, strolling towards ship.

However, before he could get any closer, a voice called out: "Stop! You get any closer… and you'll have it!"

The group turned to the left, and saw Jared DeWhite, pointing an energy blaster straight at Sherlock.

Sherlock blinked, and then began to scrutinize Jared and his weapon. After a moment of silence, he said, "That gun is empty. Don't embarrass yourself, DeWhite."

Jared threw away his weapon and plunged his hands in his pockets. His eyes light up as he wrapped his fingers around something and whipped it up to aim it at Sherlock's face. It was a banana.

"That is a banana," sighed Sherlock.

"Good source of potassium!" called the Doctor from the background.

Jared stared at the banana, and then eyed Sherlock suspiciously, "I know who you are," he said, trying to sound mysteriously nonchalant, "But do you know who I am?"

"That is really not a good idea to ask of him…" exclaimed Wild, but he was too late.

"You are Jared DeWhite," interrupted Sherlock, "Height 170.2 centimeters, weight 55 kilograms, foot size 10. You have a brother named Trent DeWhite, and you were in the Witness Protection program for about a year. When you turned eighteen, you got a job as a junior CIA analyst. You are terribly suspicious of everything, and once even made yourself a suit out of sponges to protect yourself from aliens. In fact, you are right now debating whether or not Wild is an alien, and not actually a pony."

There was a long pause.

"What IS the definition of an alien to a Dimensional Traveler, anyway?" mused the Ninth Doctor to himself as the quiet continued to reside in the large room.

"Uhhhhhh… yeah…" said Jared, looking a little surprised, "Yeah. I have a size 10 foot? No one ever told me that!"

"Okay, okay, okay," snapped Wild loudly, "We have no time to continue debating this! Jared, does the ship work?"

"It does," exclaimed Jared, "I have all the components…"

"How DID you get all the correct pieces?" interjected Sherlock, strolling around the ship.

"Oh, I found this here. Apparently this was an abandoned hangar for the Winniex Empire," stated Jared proudly.

"It looks like your consistent suspicion of everything in existence finally paid off," snorted Wild as he, too, began to trot around the ship.

"Suspicious? Who me?" laughed Jared nervously, "Who said I was ever suspicious? Come on…"

The Ninth Doctor suddenly pointed behind Jared and shouted, "Alien! Behind you!"

Jared dove to the floor, rolled over, and pointed his banana like a weapon. "Eat blaster slime alien!" he yelled. His voice died in his throat when he realized nothing was there. There was another long awkward pause as everyone stared at Jared.

"Look, I'm just a little nervous," said Jared, grinning sheepishly.

"Does this thing actually fly?" said Sherlock, coming back to stand by the Doctor.

"Of course! Sort of… maybe… no…" muttered Jared as he got up and dusted himself off.

"What?" said Wild from behind the ship.

"It doesn't really fly. We need an Imagination Energy source," confessed Jared.

"Of course," muttered Sherlock, "Otherwise a portal will be unable to sustain itself. Tell me, Jared, do you know where one might be?"

"Actually, no…" sighed Jared.

"So, we come all the way here to look at this ship, only to find out it has no fuel?" snapped Wild.

Sherlock smiled his shrewd smile. "Perhaps not. But not all hope is lost."

The Doctor's eyes brightened, "Are you telling us that you might know where one is?"

"Exactly," said Sherlock with a sweeping gesture, "I know exactly where one is."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" exclaimed Jared, Wild, and the Doctor at the same time.

"You all did not need to know," stated Sherlock, "But now you do. A couple of months into my time as a Dimensional Traveler, I was obsessed with finding out about the beings who had given me my powers. I know now that it was the Dimensional Lord Mattimeo. Anyway, back then, I knew for a fact that they were somehow connected with the mysterious substance known as Imagination Energy. I spent months hunting a sample down, and, eventually, I found some. I had hidden it away for a good time to study it, but this could possibly be more important."

"Really?" said Wild doubtfully, "How did you manage to hide an Imagination Energy source? That makes no sense. Aren't they supposed to give of a unique energy signature or something?"

"Obviously," sighed Sherlock, as if he was still mourning the fact that he was surrounded by idiots, "But that doesn't mean it cannot be hidden. I used some interesting techniques to hide the source… and it worked."

"Well?" said Wild, "Where is it now?"

"Oh, it is with an acquaintance of mine," replied Sherlock smugly, "Charlie Brown. Peanuts Dimension."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's house_

_Time: Twelve days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

"She's dead… she's dead… she's dead," repeated Desmond to himself over and over again. He was in absolute shock.

Tears were brimming in Fluttershy's eyes as she leaned over and whispered in Sunset's ear, "He's been like this for an hour. What should we do?"

Sunset sighed and shook his head mournfully. "There is nothing we CAN do," he replied, "He is mourning Emilee's death; just like I mourned Melissa's before I met you. I mourned my way: by destroying everything and trying to commit suicide; and he is mourning his way. However, you are right, he has been at this for far too long. There has to be a way to snap him out of it."

Suddenly the door opened and Flaming Star ran in, "Ditzy Doo told me about the pony on the doorstep. What's going on?" he exclaimed.

Sunset motioned to Desmond. "This is him. It's Desmond Butler."

"Desmond, yeah, I remember him," said Flaming Star slowly, "Didn't he have a friend? They were inseparable… Ummmm… Emilee, right?"

"Emilee died," said Sunset sadly, "Hence the lying on the doorstep and such."

Flaming Star winced. "That must have hurt, losing her. However… how did he get here? The phantom device is still closed to everyone, right?"

"It is," agreed Sunset, "This means that either Pictor or the Paradox brought him here."

"You are right," said Flaming Star, "The Paradox, however, was in Canterlot this whole time… this means… this means PICTOR brought him here. Why?"

"I am unable to answer that," sighed Sunset, biting his bottom lip hard.

"Maybe we should stop worrying about what we cannot understand, and help this poor pony," said Fluttershy soothingly. She sat next to the devastated Desmond and hugged him tightly to her.

This act of kindness suddenly snapped him out of his stupor.

"I'm sorry, I think I blacked out… Wait… What's going on? What happened to me?!" he exclaimed. He wrenched himself free of Fluttershy's grasp and looked at himself, "What am I?!"

"You are in the My Little Pony dimension, Desmond," said Sunset, trying to keep him calm, "Don't worry: you are amongst friends."

"I'm… I'm in the My Little Pony dimension? I thought this place was blocked off…" murmured Desmond.

"It is. You were brought here by someone. Do you know who it is?" asked Flaming Star quietly.

"No, no… I don't know…" sighed Desmond, struggling to pull himself together, "Who are you?"

"I'm Joseph Torrus. And please… I am not a crazy psychopathic killer anymore. I have a wife and a foal, I am reformed," replied Sunset, trying his best to keep Desmond calm.

"I am the Firstborn," said Flaming Star, "Both Torrus and I take residence here."

"Wait, so the two most powerful Dimensional Travelers of all time live here?" asked Desmond, rubbing his eyes and looking around at the brightly colored environment, "Why?"

Sunset spread a wing over Fluttershy. "We have our reasons. Hey… are you okay?"

Desmond, who was staring blankly at the floor, looked up and said, "No… no… I'm not okay…"

"And he is about to be ever more 'not okay,'" said a voice behind them. It was the Paradox.

Immediately Fluttershy, Flaming Star, and Sunset barred his way from approaching the Paradox. The Paradox didn't even break his stride. Snapping a finger, the three ponies were tossed aside like leaves in the wind.

The Paradox strolled up to Desmond, who was eying the Paradox.

"You… YOU KILLED EMILEE!" he screamed. In his taxed state, he could not recognize the difference between the Paradox and Pictor. Desmond tried to get up, but was blasted back down with a shockwave of kinetic energy.

"No… I did not kill Emilee," said Paradox quietly, "That was my trusty lieutenant. Keep still, little foal."

With that, the Paradox crouched down until he was eye-level with the infuriated Desmond. Desmond struggled to rise up so that he could smite the Paradox, but he was stuck to the ground as if by glue. After about a minute, the Paradox got up and walked away without another word. The door slammed shut, and everyone was left bruised and breath-taken.

"What… just… happened?" asked Flaming Star quietly as he struggled to his hooves.

"I am not sure," admitted Sunset as he got up and helped Fluttershy to all fours.

Fluttershy immediately rushed to Desmond, who was staring at the door venomously. "Desmond… are you okay?" she whispered.

"Pictor… he's here… I need to go," said Desmond as if in a trance. He struggled to his feet, and began to walk to the door. However, before he got far, he was blocked by Sunset.

"Wait. Where are you going?" said Sunset worriedly.

"I'm going out there to find Pictor… then I am going to kill him," hissed Desmond.

"No… you can't!" exclaimed Sunset, "You can't!"

"I can do whatever the hell I want to do!" shouted Desmond. He shoved past Sunset and continued to drag his battered and bruised body to the door. Once again Sunset tried to restrain him. However, when Sunset put a hoof firmly on Desmond's shoulder, Desmond whirled around and attempted to strike Sunset across the face. Sunset dodged the attack, and Fluttershy screamed. Desmond then attempted to hurl a bolt of power, which Sunset promptly blocked. Desmond was about to release a seismic blast which would have leveled the house when he jerked and his eyes rolled back in his head. He then flopped on the ground senseless. Behind him was Flaming Star.

"What? Did I do wrong?" he asked.

"Of course you did you big bully!" exclaimed Fluttershy, rushing to Desmond's side. "You poor soul… Don't worry, I'll get you all fixed up!"

Flaming Star looked at Sunset with a bewildered face. Sunset just grimaced and shrugged.

"He's staying with us tonight" said Fluttershy firmly. Though Fluttershy was ninety-percent of the time a pushover, when she wanted something badly… she got it. Sunset nodded his head, knowing that it was not a good time to argue with her.

"I suggest you go home," said Sunset to Flaming Star, "We have things handeled here…"

Flaming Star nodded, and turned to leave. But just before he could, there was a knock at the door. Flaming Star opened the door, and Caustic Rain, Luna, and Twilight trotted in. Twilight looked at the strained faces of Sunset, Fluttershy, and Flaming Star and said, "Hi guys! What… is this a bad time?"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Everfree Forest_

_Time: Twelve days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

"Where the hell have you been?" snapped Pictor as the Paradox teleported in next to him.

"I've been confirming my thesis," replied the Paradox, "all is in order."

"What do you mean by 'all is in order'?" snarled Pictor. Now that the buzz of excitement of slaughtering Emilee had left his system, he found himself now in a very bad mood.

"Nothing. However, I would like to comment on the fact that I am impressed by your idiocy," said the Paradox quietly.

"Say that to my face," hissed Pictor.

"Of course. You're an idiot. However, before it comes to blows, may I explain?" said the Paradox airily.

Pictor took a deep, shaking breath. Then he nodded.

"You failed to destroy the Imagination Energy source," explained the Paradox, "What you destroyed was actually a fake."

"A fake? What do you mean fake?! The scanners pointed straight to the damn thing!" yelled Pictor.

"The scanners pointed to the general vicinity of the source, but not directly to it," said the Paradox quietly, "The real source was in the same vicinity. It just so happens, though, that you were being fooled."

"Explain, or I will be doing some explaining with my fist," snapped Pictor.

The Paradox just shook his head. He grew weary of Pictor's worthless violence. What was the point anyway? Death was all relative, so why glorify it like Pictor had? It only lead to unhealthy results, imperfection. That was what the Paradox was seeking destroy: imperfection. Perhaps… perhaps Pictor was even part of that imperfection.

"I will explain, my friend. Desmond switched the Imagination Energy source out with a fake one, the one you destroyed," explained the Paradox.

"That little son of a… I knew I should have killed him," snarled Pictor.

"It was a good thing that you didn't," said the Paradox, "He still has the energy source on him. He has brought us the only contained Imagination Energy source in existence."

"How does that help?" snapped Pictor, "We have countless ships that run on that stuff! We don't need it!"

"We don't need it, but the Resistance does," said the Paradox, "I intend to let them use it."

"I don't understand. But then again… I never do," sighed Pictor, working to keep himself from blowing a gasket.

"You do not need to understand, you just need to obey. I need Desmond to use the Imagination Energy to get a ship."

"That's ridiculous," snorted Pictor, "I thought we were trying to keep the Resistance from getting a ship!"

"We WERE. But now I have a new addition to the Great Plan. I intend to let them get a ship, but that is where it gets risky. I need them to get a ship, but I need them to think that it is more important to shut off the Harmony Tree by destroying the Crystal of Harmony than to bring Doxia here. I need them to go for the Crystal of Harmony."

"I thought we were trying to keep them away from it," said Pictor, eyeing the Paradox in confusion.

"Originally we WERE. But, as I said, the plans have changed. I have discovered a way to shut off the Shield of Atraka, which is blocking our access to the Harmony Tree. What we need to do now is to get Desmond and the rest a ship. Then we need to convince them that we are days away from deactivating the bubble shield. They will panic, and immediately take it to find the Crystal of Harmony. If I am not mistaken, they now know where the Crystal of Harmony is, thanks to Finnian Jones. Yes… Finnian Jones exists, Pictor, don't be stupid. Well, I suppose I will explain the rest later..."

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait," interjected Pictor, "How are they going to get a ship? We cannot just hand them one of ours. It would look suspicious!"

"Of course it would," said the Paradox, "That is why we are going to bring in the Reset Dimension's fleet, Orbit. We will lure their fleets of ships in now, destroy the entire group, but let one single one land."

Pictor nodded his head slowly. Though he understood absolutely nothing of the Paradox's plan, he knew that he could trust the Paradox's ability to cause destruction and death, something that he himself fed off of. "Okay. I see what you are getting at here… That one ship that will land will look like a miracle to everyone, so they will not be suspicious. When should we prepare for the trap to be set and sprung?"

"In a couple of days," replied the Paradox simply, "Give me a little time. That is all I need. A little time."

With that, the Paradox snapped a finger. A small shockwave rippled out, and a slight ringing noise echoed through the forest. In a minute, Ravencroft Solace teleported in.

"You called, Paradox?" he asked, his head bowed.

"I need you to watch Desmond Butler carefully," said the Paradox regally. Personally, he enjoyed toying with this poor soul almost as much as Pictor enjoyed cutting up people while they were still alive.

"Ensure you know exactly who he talks to at all times, I cannot have him getting any ideas while he is here at this moment," continued the Paradox.

"Very well. However... What of the other one? He had a friend, did he not?" asked Ravecroft, still looking at his feet.

"Oh yes," chuckled Pictor, "He HAD a friend. I blew her chest apart a bit ago. She is as dead as a doornail. He is all alone."

Suddenly, Ravecroft stiffened and drew in a sharp breath. He then looked up at Pictor, and there was pure hate dancing in his eyes. Pictor had not been fazed when Desmond had glared at him with anger, but this... this was different. His eyes were completely unnerving, even for him.

"What are you waiting for?" snapped Pictor loudly, "Get the hell out of here and do your job!"

"Gladly," whispered Ravencroft. He then shimmered, and teleported away.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I have decided that I will no longer post on Fridays. I will post at 4:00 PDT every Monday through Thursday. This is because this will give me more time to write stuff up in advance. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I enjoyed writing it. Don't forget to leave a review! If you give me feedback, I will give you an invisible mansion. It's on Invisible lane near the city of Invisibility.<strong>


	84. Chapter 84 - Frozen Escape

**Note: I would like to note that this chapter is a tad bit disturbing, because it once again involves the Stallion Empire; all resemblances to real-world nations are completely coincidental... Insert more legal stuff here. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Stallion Empire, the frozen planes of the north_

_Time: Twelve days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"I don't think I'm going to make it," gasped Rainbow as she continued to drag herself forward through the snow. She had made it to the pine forest, but there was no cover for her here. The pines grew thick and tall around her, but their bases were frozen and cold, and they did nothing to shield her from the biting wind. It was no use. All she could see was frozen tundra, marsh, and pine trees in all directions.

She felt very sleepy, and she could no longer feel any part of her body. Even her mind had gone numb. It had gone so numb, in fact, that she barely felt any sadness as she felt herself slip into oblivion. She felt a dull pain for her passing, and the void that would be left inside the hearts of her friends, but that did not matter now. All the mattered was sleep…

Suddenly she was jerked awake roughly by grasping hooves. They seized her bodily, and began to drag her away. Rainbow gasped in shock as she felt several sharp stones cut through her skin, but she was still too numb to really feel any pain.

"Where… where are we going?" she slurred, her brain slowing down her speech down even more.

"She's still alive," chuckled a voice, "That's good."

"Ah good, then we can hear her scream," chortled another, "I am looking forward to this…"

Rainbow Dash blinked as she continued to be dragged along. What had they said? Screaming? What?

Suddenly she and her captors reached a large cave hidden cleverly by bushes and trees. Inside the cave were more ponies huddled around a huge bonfire.

"Icicle! What did you find there?" called out one pony.

"I've found us a bit of fun!" replied the pony called Icicle.

"Oh… THAT kind of fun. It's a female. The boss won't like that," snorted another pony.

"The boss needn't know!" snapped Icicle, "She's in the back, resting. She won't bother us havin' a bit of fun. It will raise morale."

At this point, Rainbow Dash slowly came back to her senses.

"What's going on?" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, now struggling vehemently to free herself of their grasp.

"Oh ho! We've got a real live one now!" laughed Icicle harshly, "Frozen Heart! Get over here with that rope! Gag her! Rest of you boys, hold her down! I found her, so I get the first go! We will all have had a turn by the time she drifts away!"

"W-what are you doing?!" yelled Rainbow Dash, "Let me go!"

"Not a chance, missy," sneered Frozen Heart as he gagged her, "Icicle's gonna rape you. Then I'm gonna rape you. We are gonna have SOOO much fun before you go blank."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened with horror as the full realization of what was happening hit her. This was it. She was probably going to die in the worst way possible. She tried to struggle again, but there were too many thugs sitting on her hooves. They spread her legs wide, exposing her marehood. It was over. Rainbow Dash shut her eyes tight as she silently screamed.

However, just as she was seconds away from getting it, a sharp voice abruptly barked out, "Get back! Back all of you!"

Suddenly the bodies that pressed all around her moved aside, and she was roughly un-gagged. Rainbow opened her eyes, and blinked. Then she rolled over and looked up. The voice that had told them to all back off… it was Trixie.

"We are so sorry, Trixie the great and powerful," murmured Icicle, his eyes downcast, "We just wanted to have a bit of fun."

"You can have a bit of fun tomorrow, when the storm has cleared up and there is fresh prey wandering about, lost," replied Trixie curtly, giving him and Frozen Heart venomous stares, "This one is mine."

"T-T-Trixie?" stuttered Rainbow Dash, utterly stunned.

"Get up!" snapped Trixie. She roughly forced her onto her hooves with magic. "Now," she hissed, "Walk!"

Rainbow Dash quickly hurried after Trixie as the pony thugs parted ranks, looking at her with a mix of awe and lust.

"What… what's going on?" whispered Rainbow Dash.

"Shut up!" interrupted Trixie sharply, "Keep walking!"

In a moment, they were at the back of the large cave. At the back, there was a smaller alcove. Two burly guards armed with shotguns stood on either side of the alcove.

"You two are relieved. Join the rest," ordered Trixie briskly. The two guards nodded and quickly galloped off.

There was a long pause. Then, suddenly, Trixie gave a long, drawn-out, sigh.

"By Equestria!" exclaimed Trixie, rubbing her temples with the tips of her hooves, "What in the HAY are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, still a bit dumbfounded.

"You were looking for ME?" gaped Trixie, "ME? Trixie the Great and Powerful? Why?"

"Well… we need your help! Wait… Why are you here? My sources told me that you were in the Iron Hoof Mountains!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, you got that information from the Black Hind Tavern, didn't you," snorted Trixie.

"Ummmm… yeah…"

"Of course you did. I told Brandy, the bartender, to tell anypony that knew me that I was there. In fact, every Customs Police, Stallion Empire soldier, and assassin thinks that I am there. Thus, no one ever would actually know that I was, in fact, here! Mareskov Forest. Quite brilliant if I do say so myself…" chuckled Trixie, more to herself than anypony else. Trixie then shook her head as she brought herself out of her memories and said, "Oh… Sorry. Rainbow Dash! Why the hay are you here?"

"I already said I was looking for you!"

"And I already said WHY?"

"Ummm… you still have the alicorn amulet, right?"

Trixie winked. "Of course I do. It's back in my personal alcove. It was that that won me all these followers. I have gathered about a cartel of mercenaries and assassins because of it. They all think I am some super-soldier killer, devoted to the downfall of the Stallion Empire's government."

Rainbow Dash nodded her head slowly as this all sunk in. "Okkkaayyyy… Well, ARE you trying to bring down the Stallion Empire's government?"

"Of COURSE not!" laughed Trixie, "Trixie the Great and Powerful would never waste her efforts on such a simple endeavor!"

Rainbow Dash blinked. "Riiiigghhhttt… What are you doing then?"

"What am I doing now? Great things!" chortled Trixie nervously, "Why… Right now… I'm… um… er…"

Rainbow Dash sighed and rolled her eyes. "You just like the attention, don't you?"

Trixie drew herself regally up. She then opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it. Then she opened it again, and then closed it again. Then she sighed and slumped down slightly. "Yes, Trixie has no idea what she really is doing," she admitted.

Rainbow Dash saw her chance to complete her mission. "Actually, I have something that you might want to consider doing!"

Trixie looked at Rainbow skeptically. "I doubt that very much."

"Perhaps you do," persisted Rainbow, "But it is for a good cause."

"The word 'good' has no meaning anymore. Just look at me! I am the queen of thieves! Morality doesn't come with the package."

"The word 'good' should still apply! You are an Equestrian! Born and raised under the glorious hoof of Celestia. We were all raised to spread friendship and happiness. How can you do it here? You are right; you are in a den of thieves, queen of assassins, but that doesn't mean that cannot all change!"

"What are you implying?"

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. This was it. "We need you to come back to Equestria with the Alicorn Amulet. With your powers, enhanced with the amulet, and coupled with Twilight's magical abilities we will be able to breach Canterlot's royal treasury. We plan to rob it, and use the money we steal to pay for weapons so that we can begin to battle the Paradox."

There was a uncomfortable pause. Then Trixie began to laugh.

"By Equestria! If only you could hear yourself!" she laughed, "Here you were, telling Trixie the Great and Powerful about how we Equestrians were all raised to spread friendship, only to turn around and pitch me a plan of bank robberies, weapons, and insurrections! Just admit it, Rainbow Dash, you've lost your innocence. You've ALL lost your innocence."

Rainbow Dash's face paled. Trixie was right. She was more than right. She was DEAD right. Rainbow sighed. "You're right," she mumbled, "We are no longer who we once were. Times have changed us. We are no better than the assassins you live amongst."

Trixie immediately stopped laughing. At first she looked confused, even mournful, but then a small grin crept upon her face. "Then you all are just like Trixie, the Great and Powerful, and you all know how much I enjoy my own company. I am willing to help you. When do we leave?"

"Immediately, if at all possible," said Rainbow Dash, a warm explosion of hope bursting within her chest.

"Done," said Trixie, "Just give me a moment to pack."

With that, she turned and trotted into her alcove. Rainbow could hear the clattering of objects as Trixie prepared to take her leave of the Stallion Empire's frozen planes.

"If you don't mind me asked," called Rainbow into the alcove, "Why were you here in the first place?"

"Oh… that… Wellllllll, I made a couple of powerful enemies during my final performances in Equestria," explained Trixie as she continued to sort through her stuff in her alcove, "I needed to disappear. Sadly, I had little to no money when I realized that. Fortunately, I had just enough money to pay for a flight to the least traveled place in the whole world: The Stallion Empire. I was scared and desperate, so I chose to take the trip to Hooviski International airport. Unfortunately, the plane I was flying on was so third class that we crashed here, in the Mareskov Forest. I wandered bout for days, but soon I was out of hope. It was at that point when I met Icicle and his gang. They would have raped me for sure, but I showed them the meaning of power with my Alicorn Amulet. They submitted to me, and helped me find my way to Stalliongrad. The first thing I did was go to the Black Hind Tavern. Icicle told me that I could gather information on worthwhile, yet shady, job opportunities for such an amazing pony as myself. Unfortunately, I had a little too much to drink… and a fight ensued. I was arrested, and was placed in solitary confinement in a terrible prison designed to hold non-natives. Stallion Empire soldiers despise non-natives more than anything. Ugh… it was a terrible experience. They raped and beat me, and I thought I was going to die. But one day I managed to start a riot and break into the superintendants office. I found my Alicorn Amulet, and destroyed the facility. Now I was a five-star wanted criminal here as well, and needed to vanish again. I decided that I would fake an escape to the Iron Hoof mountains. The diversion worked, and then I fled to Icicle and his lot. They welcomed me back as their leader… and now here I am! Trixie the Great and Powerful has a great and powerful life story, no?"

Rainbow Dash bit her bottom lip. It sounded like Trixie had gone through some terrible ordeals. "That's amazing…"

"Yes, it is," commented Trixie dryly, "However, the most ironic part is that Brandy the bartender told me that if I survived, I would no longer be an Equestrian of Celestia's… and he's right. I am a Stallion Empire immigrant through-and-through."

Rainbow shivered. She hated the sound of that. At this point, Trixie came out, with the amulet around her neck, and a huge suitcase levitating besides her.

"I'm ready to go!" she declared dramatically.

"Great!" exclaimed Rainbow, "Ummm… just one question… How do we leave the Stallion Empire? I know that I'm not wanted… but you are probably could never set hoof in the Stalliongrad International airport."

"Of course I couldn't! Perish the thought!" chortled Trixie, "Anyway, whatever gave you the thought that Trixie the Great and Powerful would ever think of leaving such a bland legacy? Oh no, I have something much grander in mind."

"Okkkaaayyyyy… what is it?" asked Rainbow Dash, though, in her gut, she felt like she really, really, really did not want to know.

"We're going to steal a Stallion Empire fighter jet from the Army Base north of here, and fly out in style!" crowed Trixie.

Rainbow Dash facehoofed. "That's your plan? To commit suicide?"

Trixie just laughed lightly. "Trixie the Great and Powerful NEVER commits suicide! That plan is sound!"

"If your plan is to commit suicide, then yeah, the plan is sound," snapped Rainbow Dash.

Trixie continued to look very pleased with herself. "Oh ye of little faith... It will work! Come, we have not much time to lose!"

Trixie trotted past Rainbow and continued on into the main portion of the cave. The moment she entered the area, all talk from Icicle and his group stopped. They got up respectfully.

"Icicle," snapped Trixie in a rough tone of voice, "We are beginning operation Silent Snow."

Icicle nodded his head. "Understood. But... Trixie the Great and Powerful, when will we see you again?"

"I might just return," stated Trixie regally, "Until then, keep my ponies safe. Your life depends on it."

Icicle smiled and saluted with a hoof. "Yes ma'am!"

Trixie nodded. Then she shouted, "What are we all waiting for? Begin operation Silent Snow! Go! Go! Go! Go!"

The group of mercenary ponies scrambled up and began to grab their shotguns and rifles. Head held high, Trixie trotted to the entrance of the cave. She stood there, star-filled cape flapping in the wind, looking like a total badass.

Rainbow started to canter up to the entrance as well, but was momentarily stopped by Frozen Heart.

"Ummm... I would just like to apologize, ma'am," he mumbled, "We didn't know you were one of Trixie's."

Rainbow was about to indignantly exclaim that she WASN'T one of Trixie's but then decided against it. "Eh, it's okay. Just watch what you're doing, or you'll end up at the bottom of a frozen lake, with a millstone tied around your neck."

The threat actually seemed to cheer Frozen Heart up. The scarred and burly pony winked and took a step to the side.

Rainbow returned the wink and trotted up to Trixie. "Hey, Trixie," said Rainbow tentatively, "You aren't actually thinking of coming back here, right...?"

"Of course I am thinking of coming back here," replied Trixie briskly, "Trixie the Great and Powerful adores fans... and I think I have finally found my forever fans... right here. This life may be hard, but if it is the life I want, don't you think it is worth it?"

Rainbow sighed and shook her head mournfully. Trixie's words were hollow, with no substance to them. Hopefully, one day, the unicorn magician would come to realize that, and understand that her life did not need to be that way. She opened her mouth to tell Trixie that, when Trixie interjected, "This is my life, and this is how I want it to be. I will help, but then I am finished. WE'RE LEAVING IN FOUR MINUTES! MOVE!"

The ponies behind Rainbow and Trixie scrambled to pack up ammunition and supplies. As they did so, Trixie explained the situation, "We've been running low on supplies recently. However, there is massive Supplies Bunker east of here. Unfortunately it is made of thick steel on concrete, and is impossible to breach with a stealth attack. To crack it open, we needed real firepower. That is when we took into account the army base to the north. It had tanks and jetfighters, just what we needed, and it was not as heavily guarded. Thus, we would launch an attack on it, seize their military hardware, and launch a joint attack of the supplies bunker. At this time, I would leave the picture, to draw away attacks. Icicle doesn't know that I will actually be leaving with you."

"That's lying," said Rainbow, "Don't you think that would damage his trust in you when you finally return?"

"What trust?" laughed Trixie, "There was never any trust, just power."

Rainbow turned her head away. The lack of morality in the world sickened her.

"Trixie the Great and Powerful," murmured Icicle, approaching them respectfully, "We are ready."

Trixie sighed deep and long, breathing in the frozen air, "Wonderful," she said, "We leave now."

With that, Trixie used the power of her magic to cast a large, snow-deterring, bubble shield around her, Rainbow, Icicle, and the rest of the pony gang. The large group then began to gallop to the north, where the unsuspecting army base was positioned.

"When we get there," explained Trixie to Rainbow between breaths, "Stay out of the way. You were not part of the plan, so you are a dangling asset that we do not need. Just watch from a distance. ICICLE! BEGIN MOVEMENTS!"

Icicle nodded and exited the bubble shield with a small group of mercenaries. In seconds they were engulfed by the raging snowstorm outside.

"FROZEN HEART! BEGIN YOUR ATTACK!" shouted Trixie.

Frozen Heart grinned voraciously and nodded as well. They, too, exited the bubble. Now Trixie was left with Rainbow Dash and her own small group of followers.

"We are about a score of meters before the base. See? You can see the outlines of the watch towers..." said Trixie squinting through the raging storm. Rainbow looked in the direction Trixie was looking, and could see the faint outline of two towers.

Suddenly Trixie stopped. "Time to cause a little distraction," she muttered. She closed her eyes and aimed her horn at one of the towers. Red energy began to bubble around the tip of it as her magic began to infuse itself with the magic of the Alicorn Amulet. A massive beam of red and light blue power sizzled from her horn and struck the tower. It exploded with a rending blast and caught fire. Fiery masonry rained down as the tower collapsed. An alarm within the base began to ring. It was muffled by the howling wind, but an alarm had no doubt been raised.

"It's party time boys," said Trixie. Then, with a yell, the group charged. Rainbow immediately stopped and let everypony pass by her as per Trixie's request. In less than a minute the whole army base was consumed in chaos. Just as Trixie blasted her way in from the front, explosive charges blew openings in the west and east side of the base. From those breaches Icicle and Frozen Heart led their teams in. It was absolute chaos.

The Stallion Empire soldiers were in complete disarray. They ran around, shooting at Trixie's group and at their own comrades, only to get shotgunned in the face moments later. Trixie's plan was well performed, and in less than a minute the resident troops all had holes in their faces, and were bleeding out into the snow.

"That was easy," chuckled Icicle as he shotgunned a dead Stallion Empire soldier for no reason whatsoever.

"Trixie," reported Frozen Heart as he approached Trixie and Rainbow from behind, "We killed them all, but one of our lot found and killed the radio operator while he was sending an S.O.S. signal."

"Was the operator successful in sending the signal?" asked Trixie curtly.

Frozen Heart nodded. "He was."

"Oh well, that is of no consequence," sighed Trixie dramatically, "Grab the tanks and get them off into the hiding spot. I will take the fighter and draw off all response attackers. Icicle, get the tanks to safety, and then prepare to break into the supplies bunkers take it all. Use it to feed yourselves, and maybe even spare a little for the surrounding towns. The Stallion Empire has been starving its people for far too long."

"Trixie Great and Powerful, you should not have to put yourself at risk like this," interrupted Icicle, "I should go."

"Don't be silly," laughed Trixie, "If I'm gone, then you'll be in charge! It's a whole lot easier then murdering me in my sleep, right?"

"We mercenaries have honor too," replied Icicle stoutly. He then bowed his head. Trixie smiled. To everyone's surprise, she planted a kiss on his forehead.

"What are you all staring at? GET MOVING!" yelled Trixie. The entire group began to mobilize. Icicle, and the rest of the mercenaries rushed to commandeer the tanks while Trixie and Rainbow Dash streaked off to the airstrip where the jetfighters lay in wait.

"Trixie, tell me, have you ever flown before?" yelled Rainbow over the shrieking wind as the rushed for the airstrip.

"No! But I have you! You can fly us out!" replied Trixie loudly.

"But I haven't flown anything before!" shouted Rainbow.

"You can fly! It cannot be too different!" yelled Trixie.

At this moment, they reached the airstrip. Frozen Heart was waiting for them.

"Here are the command codes for fighter 401B," said Frozen Heart, tossing Trixie a small metal cube, "That fighter is in the best condition."

"Thank you, Frozen Heart. While I am gone, keep an eye of Icicle. Don't let him get too cocky, or too comfortable with his position," said Trixie as she winked at him.

Frozen Heart hefted his shotgun with a hoof as he winked back.

Trixie and Rainbow Dash rushed past him and entered the hangar. In a moment they found fighter 401B. They unlocked the cockpit and jumped inside. As Trixie did that, she quickly pressed a button on the wall, commanding the bay doors to open. The whole hangar became enveloped by the wind and snow just as Trixie slammed the cockpit shut.

Rainbow Dash inserted the small metal box into an opening, and the jetfighter suddenly roared to life.

Suddenly a massive explosion tore through the base. The Stallion Empire army had begun to bombard their own base with shells.

"I hope Icicle got out in time," said Rainbow through gritted teeth as she searched for a way to start the plane. She pressed a large red button. Missiles detached themselves from the fighter and ignited. They streaked out of the hangar and collided with the hangar opposite to them, obliterating it with a rending explosion.

"Well, I know what button NOT to hit now," muttered Rainbow. Then she remember the throttle and what it did. Seizing a lever besides her, Rainbow then shoved it forward. The engines roared to life, and the fighter began to roll out of the hangar. It was just in the nick of time as well, for the whole hangar went up in flames as several shells blew the thing apart.

Rainbow did her best to align the nose of the plane with the runway, and then she opened the throttle to maximum power. The jetfighter shot forward as flames exploded from the jet engines. Trixie screamed at the top of her lungs as the fighter took off. She continued to scream without taking a breath as Rainbow Dash took the fighter to the air.

It was only when Rainbow managed to level out did Trixie stop screaming.

"That was... that was rather fun..." gasped Trixie, placing a hoof over hear chest as she calmed herself down.

"Don't worry, it is about to get more fun," said Rainbow grimly as she gazed at the radar panel. Two red dots... that meant that they were being approached by two fighters, no doubt out to shoot them down.

"Hang on!" yelled Rainbow Dash. She suddenly took a sharp loop-the-loop, cutting the engines and stalling at the apex the of turn. This was a little trick she learned for herself at the Wonderbolts academy. Rainbow's fighter stopped at the apex and preformed an incredibly sharp turn. It was so sharp, in fact, that the enemy fighters could not follow up with the turn, and suddenly found Rainbow Dash behind them.

"Let's see... two are here, and there will be more coming," muttered Rainbow Dash, using all her skills as a flier to keep herself alive, "They will no doubt be rolling Anti-Air hardware... I can see a STING launcher setting up below... we need to move."

Suddenly Rainbow Dash pressed the button that launched the missiles. The storm was so great that the locking systems were scrambled, but Rainbow didn't need any of those things. She was a Wonderbolt.

A missile streaked ahead and made contact with the starboard wing of the enemy fighter on the left. It was perfectly timed. The wing exploded, and the fighter spiraled to the right, colliding bodily with the fighter on the right. Two birds with one stone.

Suddenly a missile whipped by the cockpit window of Rainbow's jet. Since the locking systems were useless in this weather, the Stallion Empire AAs were randomly firing hails of missiles in their direction like Ack-Ack guns.

Explosions began to rip the air apart all around them as Rainbow swerved and dived.

"This is going to get a little hot!" yelled Rainbow Dash as she went into a dive. She quickly glanced back to see how Trixie was doing... she had passed out.

Grinning, Rainbow shot up and pulled a sharp turn, barely avoiding several missiles. Two more red dots showed up on the radar.

"I can't keep this up," grunted Rainbow, "We're going to have to make a run for it."

Rainbow flipped a switch that read "afterburners" and went supersonic. With that, she turned the fighter to face the west. It was now a race to see if Rainbow Dash and Trixie would make it to Equestria air first... or if they would just get shot down in the process.

Fortunately, Rainbow had a head start, and the fighter she had was in good condition. Despite several attempts of the Stallion Empire to shoot her down through fighters, AA guns, and battleships, it was no avail. The enormous snowstorm that swept through the land sent long-range radar and missile locking systems haywire, so all attempts to take out the rogue jetfighter were futile.

Rainbow glanced at the panel to her right. She still had two more afterburner reserves... a little something to speed her along on the journey. She then glanced at the radar and smiled. The two red dots that had been ever-present radar since she had left the army base had vanished after they had passed over Stallion Empire waters. They were home free. Or, at least they thought so…

For the first time since taking off, which had been almost more six hours ago, Trixie spoke. "Ummm… Rainbow Dash? Trixie the Great and Powerful has been thinking… the Stallion Empire is an enemy of Equestria right?"

"Uh, yeah, of course," mumbled Rainbow, "Why?"

"Well, we are flying an armed Stallion Empire fighter over Equestria air-space right now…"

"Oh. Oops."

Almost immediately after that word left Rainbow's mouth and drifted into the air, explosions began to rip through the air. The Equestrian Ground Forces near Manehattan was opening fire.

"You think the Paradox would have suppressed all military by now!" yelled Rainbow as she sent the plane into a spiraling dive. However, she too late… the jet was hit.

"I think that is it for us!" yelled Rainbow Dash, "I hope these parachutes work!"

"Parachutes? What parachutes?!" screamed Trixie.

Rainbow Dash didn't answer. Reaching forward with a shaking hoof, Rainbow seized a red pull-cord and jerked it. Both Rainbow Dash's and Trixie's seats blasted into the air. Trixie started to scream again.

Fortunately, the parachutes worked fine, and they were deployed. The AA fire from Manehattan ceased their fire as the Stallion Empire jet exploded.

"Don't EVER do that again," gasped Trixie as they continued to drift lazily through the air.

"What, the Great and Powerful Trixie can't take a little excitement?" chortled Rainbow Dash

"No… It's just that…" mumbled Trixie

"It doesn't matter," sighed Rainbow Dash, "We will be landing soon. No doubt we will be immediately surrounded by Phasetroopers or Equestrian soldiers the moment we land. Hopefully it is the latter. Anyway, when we land, we need to get to Ponyville. We can meet up with Twilight and get on with this whole mission!"

"Let us just hope this mission is worth it," muttered Trixie.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I really enjoy writing these types of chapters. Anyways, don't forget to leave a review! I would appreciate it if you let me know what you thought of it! If you do that, I will possibly maybe perhaps give you a microwave. I don't know why... But someone might possibly find a use for it... maybe.<strong>


	85. Chapter 85 - The Heist Begins

**Note: I would like to point out that I actually wrote this thing this Monday, so it was right after "Twilight's Kingdom," was released. Gosh... that two-part episode WAS SO AWESOME. Considering it was awesome, I decided to ensure that I referenced it. Anyway, enjoy my latest masterpiece!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Eath_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's house_

_Time: Twelve days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

"Um… Is this a bad time?" asked Twilight again, after her first question had only been met with stares.

"Welllll… yeah, this is a bad time," said Flaming Star, pulling a face.

"Er, on a scale from 1 to 10, how bad?" persisted Twilight, still completely confused.

"Let's just say his is as bad as the time when I accidentally blew up your Friendship Empire Castle thingy," said Flaming Star.

"Wait… YOU blew up my castle?" exclaimed Twilight.

"What? Yeah! I did! I thought you knew!" replied Flaming Star loudly.

"YOU WERE THE ONE WHO BLEW UP MY CASTLE?!"

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU THAT ALREADY!"

Suddenly an extremely loud bang resounded through the air, and everpony stopped arguing. Sunset lowered a hoof, which was still smoking from the sound/energy discharge.

"Now," he said quietly, "If you two want to go outside and scream it out like a loving couple, than that is fine by me, but right now we need to get things sorted out. Fluttershy, take Desmond up to the spare bedroom. I will go up there myself later. We need to keep him calm; I can tell he is thirsting for blood."

Fluttershy nodded, and she began to take Desmond up the stairs with the assistance of Princess Luna. Flaming Star nodded in acknowledgment to Sunset's plan, though he was eying Twilight with a disgruntled air, and she was doing the same to him. Flaming Star then noticed Caustic Rain, who was looking at him pleadingly.

Then Flaming Star remembered: he had woken up with an urge to meet Caustic Rain. Suddenly, he felt an urge to use his Stare-of-the-Souls on him as well. The urge was foreign, obviously caused by an alien power, but it was strong nonetheless. Without being able to stop himself, he suddenly read Caustic's mind as his special power triggered. It was all there: Imagination Energy, the use, its abilities, the interdimensional ships, and Desmond Butler.

Flaming Star staggered back as the information forced itself into his mind. He tripped and fell down hard. Though she was annoyed at Flaming Star, Twilight was immediately by his side.

"Flaming Star, are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

Flaming Star nodded his head, breathing hard. "Yeah… yeah… I'm fine… It's just that… I'm fine…"

Caustic Rain nodded his head. His mission was complete. The message had been passed along, and it appeared that no hostile had detected anything.

"That was all I really came here for, if you know what I mean," murmured Caustic Rain in a low voice, "Angels are on the move."

Flaming Star made eye contact with Caustic Rain and nodded. Caustic Rain then called up to Luna, "Luna! I got what I came for! We should be going now!"

Luna poked her head down the staircase, bewilderment plastered on her face. "What? Already?"

Caustic Rain nodded. "I delivered a message… But… if you want to stay a little longer, that would be okay," he mumbled. Luna still looked very confused, but then she realized that Caustic Rain felt exposed when he left Canterlot.

"I understand," she said kindly, "We can leave as soon as I ensure that all here is settled down."

"Oh, don't worry about us, Princess Luna," said Twilight, trying to sound cheerful, "We've got this all under control."

"You said that when Tirek showed up for the second time," chuckled Flaming Star, "That didn't turn out too well. Second time I almost had to go nova." Twilight gave him a quick glare.

Luna trotted down to join the group at the bottom of the stairs, while Sunset passed her to join Fluttershy on the second story where she was attending to Desmond.

"Shall we be going?" asked Luna, cocking her head to one side and staring curiously at Caustic Rain.

He blushed and then mumbled something unintelligible. Luna spread a wing over his back and guided him out. "We will be taking our leave," she said regally, "I wish you all a good day."

"Um… Goodbye!" said Twilight as the door slammed shut.

There was a pause. Then…

"Soooooo… you were the one who blew up my castle. How did you do that?" said Twilight, giving Flaming Star a side-long glance.

Flaming Star facehoofed. "It was a mistake, okay? How was I supposed to know that parasprites were immune to explosive energy? I mean, what creature even has that ability? Seriously!"

There was another pause. Then both Twilight and Flaming Star burst out laughing.

"Is there something going on down there that I would regret missing?" called Sunset from a room upstairs.

"Oh no," gasped Twilight as she wiped a tear from her eye, "We're fine. Just a little bit of silliness."

Suddenly a firm rap sounded against the front door. Blinking in surprise, Twilight answered the door. It was a royal guard from Canterlot. He was with a convoy of some more guards and a couple of Phasetroopers.

"Princess Twilight, we were told you would be here," he said stoutly. Princess Twilight nodded her head. "Er, yes. What is it?"

"We found two important ponies who have been quite insistent on seeing you. They were found parachuting from a stolen Stallion Empire jetfighter."

The guard then bowed his own head in return and stepped aside. Behind him was Rainbow Dash and Trixie.

"Uh… hey Twilight! What's up?" said Rainbow Dash with a sheepish grin.

Twilight rushed forward and hugged Rainbow Dash tightly. "Oh Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed, tears squeezing out from the corner of her eyes, "I was so worried about you!"

Glancing nervously at the guards standing around her, Rainbow Dash quickly extricated herself from Twilight's hoofs and motioned towards Trixie, "I found Trixie for you."

Trixie grinned a little foolishly and said, "Uh… Hello! Trixie the Great and Powerful gives you greetings."

Twilight smiled at her, and then nodded to the guards. The guards backed up, and then trotted away. However, the Phasetroopers just stood there, staring at them. After a minute, they finally turned around slowly and walked away. Twilight let out a huge sigh of relief, then turned her head to look at Rainbow Dash and Trixie.

"Trixie," she said, "I am sure Rainbow Dash has filled you in on what is happening?"

Trixie glanced around, and then nodded her head quickly.

"Good," said Twilight, "We will begin tomorrow. Rainbow Dash? Gather all my friends, we are going to have another Pinkie Pie Party. Wolf Charades."

Rainbow Dash winked and blasted off into the air. Twilight then motioned for Trixie to come inside of Sunset's house. Looking around nervously, Trixie quickly followed Twilight into the house.

"Who was it?" asked Flaming Star. Then he saw Trixie. He grinned, "Oh my God! It's Trixie! How are you?"

"I-I-I am fine, thank you," stuttered Trixie. Last time they had met was during a battle with Queen Chrysalis, and she had been exposed to Flaming Star's full power. Thus, she was a little scared of him.

Flaming Star winked, and then looked at Twilight, "You going to have another Pinkie Pie Party, then?"

Twilight nodded. "You bet! Come, Trixie, I will take you to my library."

Trixie blinked. "Library? Did you not get a castle some time ago?"

"It's under construction still," said Twilight almost apologetically, "SOMEPONY blew it sky high. Fortunately I was able to stay at the new library, so it is like old times."

Flaming Star just grinned and chuckled. Twilight then motioned for Trixie to follow her, and the two mares left the house. Flaming Star stood there, staring at the closed door for a moment. Then he called up to Sunset and Fluttershy, "I think I will go home now! You two enjoy yourselves!"

"Yeah… sure…" Sunset's voice echoed back.

Upstairs, Sunset looked at Desmond with a worried eye. When Desmond awoke, Sunset had no idea how he would react. The colt was so blinded by rage that it was obvious he would do anything to take a crack at Pictor, which would obviously end in a sudden and painful death. They all knew this, but Desmond wanted revenge so bad that he simply ignored the obvious. Sunset's ears pricked up as someone rapped at the door downstairs.

"Oh my," murmured Fluttershy, "Our house seems quite popular these days…"

"Solicitors, am I right?" chuckled Sunset softly. He trotted downstairs and opened up the door. He almost slammed it shut immediately afterward as he realized that it was Ravencroft Solace. However, he resisted the urge and looked at the Dimensional Traveler through narrowed eyes.

"Can I… help you?"

Ravencroft Solace bowed his head. "I… I wanted to see Desmond."

Sunset eye's narrowed further. What business could Ravencroft possibly have with Desmond?

"You want to see Desmond?" he said.

"I want to see Desmond," repeated Ravencroft Solace, "Please…"

Sunset sighed. He did not trust Ravencroft at all, but he still felt inclined to not deny him out of pity.

"Okay," he said, stepping aside, "Okay, come on in."

"Thank you," murmured Ravencroft, "I appreciate it."

"I'm sure you do," muttered Sunset. He felt bad for the man, but he still felt rather aggressive towards him. The Paradox held sway over that Dimensional Traveler, so that made him dangerous and unpredictable.

Ravencroft entered the house and looked around. "Where is he?"

"He is upstairs. Actually, I don't think it would be a good idea to…" said Sunset, but his voice trailed off as Ravencroft immediately began to stroll upstairs.

Fluttershy looked up from where she sat, looking over Desmond. At first her eyes widened in horror as Ravencroft entered the room, but then she calmed down and smiled.

"Hello Fluttershy," Ravencroft whispered. He walked up to Desmond and got down on his knees.

"Desmond," he said, his eyes beginning to tear up, "I am SO SORRY for what Pictor has done. I know these are all just words, and I know I cannot do anything against him, but… but I hope you get your revenge someday. Pictor needs to be stopped, and what he did to you was wrong. I am SO SORRY."

With that, Ravencroft got up and left. He walked past Fluttershy, walked downstairs, and walked out the door without another word. Sunset blinked in surprise. He was really quite unsure of what had just happened. Fluttershy smiled. Ravencroft was changing. She was sure of it.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Eath_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's house_

_Time: Twelve days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

Later that same day, Trixie and the Harmony bearers (with the exception of Rarity) gathered together for one last meeting.

"So, Twilight, what's the plan?" asked Rainbow Dash excitedly as she entered a side room of Sugar Cube Corner. She was with Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Trixie, and Pinkie Pie.

Once again, Vinyl Scratch was pounding out music in the room adjacent, so that any eavesdropping Phasetroopers would have a hard time hearing anything.

"We take the train to Canterlot tomorrow morning, so that we can arrive at Canterlot that night. I have gotten a message to Celestia secretly through Spike that has alerted Celestia of our movements, so there will be a lack of guards on the path that I have set out," replied Twilight as she spread out the map that Flaming Star had drawn some time ago onto a table. It was a blueprint of Canterlot Castle with a highlighted path that represented the secret passageway through the sewers that led straight to the royal treasury.

"I-I don't do well in closed spaces," murmured Fluttershy, who was beginning to look very nervous.

"Don't worry Fluttershy," said Twilight, "You don't have to go."

Fluttershy looked immensely relieved. Rainbow Dash grinned as she looked over the map herself, "This looks interesting," she commented, "So, we go in there, kick the rumps of any bad guys that get in our way, and then break into the vault?"

"It is a little bit more difficult than that," said Twilight. She then cleared her throat and repeated to her friends what Flaming Star had told her not four days ago, "The secret passageway leads all the way up to the hallway outside the royal treasury. That hallway is protected by seven unicorn guards and perhaps even Phasetroopers now. The hallway also has a network of three interlocking portcullises. We need all three of them raised simultaneously for us to get into the second hallway, and they weigh enough that we needed all seven unicorn guards to lift it. Of course this is not an issue now, because we have Trixie. The second hallway is full of enchantments for defense: invisible walls and pitfalls, time-slowing spells, and other traps. However, if we get by there, we should be fine. That hallway leads directly to the treasury. All we need to do then is open the double doors, which only open if two levers are pulled simultaneously. Those levers are conveniently positioned scores of meters above the ground. That is also not an issue, because we Rainbow Dash."

"That sound 'bout right," chuckled Applejack, "I wouldn't have expected less for somethin' as important as the royal treasury."

"Right you are," said Twilight, folding up the map with magic, "Here is the rest of the plan: after we arrive at Canterlot, we will go straight for the sewers and the secret passageway. Trixie, Rainbow Dash, and I will go in, while you, Applejack, stay at the entrance of the passageway to ensure our escape route is clear. We need to make sure we steer clear of any Phasetroopers if possible, because they, unlike Celestia's guards, will likely to pursue us. Once we're in, we will use Pinkie Pie's pinkie sense to avoid the hidden pitfalls. Then we grab what supplies we need, and then leave. After that, Applejack will take the correct share of bits that we seize to Appaloosa, where the transaction between her and the weapon-dealing griffon takes place. Got it?"

"Right as rain!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"This is wrong," sighed Fluttershy suddenly. The whole assembly stopped talking and looked at her.

"We can't do this," added Fluttershy, now looking VERY nervous, "We have no right to steal from the treasury. What makes matters worse is that we are using those stolen assets to buy weapons to kill. Two wrongs. We can't do this."

"Well, as everypony says two wrong make a right! Right?" laughed Rainbow Dash nervously. Her face fell immediately.

"Look, sugar cube," sighed Applejack to Fluttershy, "I know that you are against such things, but we have no choice! I mean, I am the element of Honesty for Tarnation's sake! But the Paradox has threatened us and our families, and we have the right to fight back! This is the way that has been set out for us, so we must continue on it in order to protect what is ours."

Fluttershy just shook her head. She then turned around and left the room. Twilight bit her bottom lip as doubt ate away at her heart. Was Fluttershy right? Should they even do this? Should she call the whole thing off? As if she had read her mind, Trixie suddenly said, "Trixie the Great and Powerful did leap through the jaws of death coming here from the Stallion Empire to NOT have an adventure. I also fully expect to reimburse myself a little while I am in the treasuries."

"Celestia said it was fine," snorted Rainbow Dash, "But I will have my eye on you. If too many bits go missing, or a powerful artifact vanishes, I am coming for you."

"Look who's talking!" exclaimed Trixie indignantly, "If any pony should be watching any pony, it should be us for you! I do recall you talking about a little monetary reimbursement in the treasury yourself during the flight here."

"Wait… you were awake?"

"STOP IT!" yelled Twilight. The whole assembly stopped arguing again to now look at Twilight.

"We have to keep it together," she continued, "The reason the Paradox was able to seize control of our planet so easily was because he was coordinated. If we want to fight back, we have to be the same. Teamwork and friendship... that is what all of this is about."

"Teamwork… heh… right…" muttered Rainbow Dash. The group then dispersed, but it was completely obvious that each one felt absolutely terrible about the upcoming ordeal. What Fluttershy had said had greatly weakened their resolve, and what was worse was that she was absolutely right.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Eath_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's house_

_Time: Thirteen days after the Paradox took control of Equestria_

The next day was bright and cheery. There had been a slight rainfall last night, so the air had been washed clean. The air was crisp and fresh, and birds twittered in the air.

Twilight's eyes opened to a rapping on the door downstairs. Yawning, she rolled out of bed.

Still half-asleep, she dragged herself to all fours and smacked her lips. "Coming!" she called down sleepily. She immediately missed the first step of the stairs that led down to the ground floor and tumbled down. Rubbing her head ruefully, Twilight got up again and trotted to the door as she sleepily thanked her lucky stars that she had not been in her Friendship Castle when that had happened. Last time she had fallen down those crystal stairs (courtesy of a startling jump-scare from Spike during the eve of Nightmare Night) she had only been saved from cracking her head open by Flaming Star at the last moment. Pushing her reminiscing aside, Twilight rubbed her eyes and opened the front door. It was Flaming Star.

"Rise and shine sleepyhead!" he exclaimed cheerfully. He trotted in and mussed up her mane (which was already pretty tangled) affectionately.

"Is it time already?" sighed Twilight, who was now terribly regretting staying up all night reading that one book, "Can't I sleep for five more minutes?"

"We can all sleep when we're dead," commented Flaming Star in the same cheery voice, "And believe me, I've been saying that for the last six thousand years, and if I can say it for that long… it must be true."

Twilight tottered on her feet, and almost blacked out. Flaming Star caught her and looked into her eyes.

"You've been wondering if we should have a foal," he said, his voice now serious, "What would you say if I said yes?"

Immediately Twilight's eyes brightened and the mantle of sleepiness fell off her. "I would say that I am happiest mare alive!" she exclaimed.

Flaming Star grinned, "Well… I still say no, but that did wake you up."

Twilight's face fell.

Flaming Star, still grinning, planted a kiss on her forehead and said, "However, I would like to apologize for arguing with you lately. I understand that we are at odds right now, but I still love you. I might love you even more than I ever have."

Twilight face brightened a little. "Thank you. I love you too."

"Now, have you packed?" said Flaming Star trotting up to her room.

"I did," replied Twilight, following close behind, "Oh! You can help me go through my checklist's checklist!"

"I am sure Spike would appreciate that," commented Flaming Star dryly as he looked at Spike, who was still fast asleep in his bed. He then trotted over to a long piece of parchment and levitated it in front of him. He quickly scanned it as his eyes darted back and forth from the parchment to the small pile of luggage beside Twilight's bed.

"All seems to be in order," said Flaming Star, putting down the parchment, "The train leaves in an hour. Are you ready?"

Twilight sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Flaming Star blinked. Then he trotted up to her and lifted her chin. "Hey," he said kindly, "What seems to be the matter?"

"Oh, it's just something Fluttershy said," muttered Twilight, her eyes downcast again, "What we are doing is wrong, and there is no way to justify it. What are we to do?"

"You are protecting your friends and family," said Flaming Star simply, "Is there nothing you would not do for them?"

Twilight shook her head. "You are right… It just FEELS so wrong."

"I am not to judge you, I am here to love you for the pony you are," said Flaming Star, "Now get ready. As I said, the train leaves in one hour."

Twilight nodded. She then finished packing and then gave Flaming Star a kiss. Then she hugged him tightly.

"Look after Spike, will you?" asked Twilight.

Flaming Star chuckled, "You will only be gone a couple of days… But yes, I will watch over him. You are the one who needs to be careful."

Twilight smiled, and then left the library. In a couple of minutes, she made it to the train station platform, where Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Trixie were waiting.

"Umm… Where's Pinkie Pie?" asked Twilight as she trotted onto the scene. Suddenly the bench next to her rose up and tackled her.

"GOTCHA!" exclaimed Pinkie triumphantly. She was dressed in a skintight cover-all suit that was colored the same green shade as the bench.

"What… how…" breathed Twilight as she scrambled back onto all fours.

"My own line of urban camouflage, Rarity would be proud," said Pinkie roguishly "Geez, where IS that fashion pony anyway? She's missing all the fun!"

"She's, um, greatly occupied," said Applejack, doing her best to smile at the situation, "She'll, er, see you sometime again, we just don't know when."

"Eh… I can wait for that," said Pinkie Pie, "Now… WHO IS READY TO PARTY?"

"I guess all of us," sighed Twilight, "Come on, let's board the train."

"I better get the proper reimbursement for this," muttered Trixie as Pinkie suddenly pulled out her party cannon and fired it off into the air.

Fluttershy smiled shyly, and waved to each of her friends as they gathered at a corner of the platform as a train to Canterlot pulled up. She then sighed sadly and turned around. She then trotted away.

The rest of the group jumped onto the train, and the locomotive started with a screech. Slowly and surely it began to chug off towards Canterlot. It was the beginning of a new adventure. However, it did not seem that any pony going on said adventure enjoyed their role in it one bit.

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><p><strong>Note: What do you guys think of me making Digital Art MLP Comics? I think that would be fun, and I could release them in supplement to these chapters. I might even submit them to Equestria Daily...<strong>


	86. Chapter 86 - The Robbery

**Note: To all those who were wondering, you can find the wikia page by googling "A Mending Soul MLP wikia." It should be the first result. Additionally, I put a poll up on my profile. I would appreciate it of you took just 10 seconds out of your time to vote! Anyway, here is the newest chapter... Enjoy! **

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot_

_Time: Thirteen days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

It was midnight. The train slowly chugged up to Canterlot station. Steam blasted from the sides in massive jets as the locomotive finally came to a stop beside the platform. Twilight glanced outside and bit her bottom lip. Phasetroopers armed with high-powered rifles. Laser tracers swept the skies, denoting that deadly weapons were active all over the city.

"This… is going to be difficult," she sighed.

"How in the hay are we supposed to get through to the main sewer system without being spotted?" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

There was a pause. Suddenly… "Urban camouflage anypony?"

Everyone glanced at Pinkie Pie, who had just spoken. She was grinning wildly and was holding up a chest full of her special skin-tight suits.

"At least Rarity isn't here," muttered Applejack as she grabbed one, "She would have had a fit."

The group pulled on the suits and trotted outside. The Phasetroopers on the roof looked directly at them, but then looked away. Had it worked? Probably not. Had it passed them off as uninteresting lunatics wearing spandex? Probably. Either way, the Phasetroopers saw no use in killing or apprehending them, so the suits had done some good. Twilight beckoned to the group and they crept through the sleeping city. Once and a while a Canterlot guard or one of Luna's Night Guard soldiers would pass by, but no pony seemed to pay any attention to them. In several minutes, they had made it to the town square. Twilight pulled out the map Flaming Star had drawn up and looked at it.

"This is where we start" she whispered. She then trotted up to a manhole and pulled off the iron cap. A metal ladder led down into the inky blackness. Taking a deep breath, Twilight used her magic to illuminate her surroundings and began to climb down. She was followed by Trixie, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack. In a minute, they were all together at the bottom.

"What does the map say next, Twi?" whispered Applejack.

"Ummm… this way," said Twilight. She projected her magic forward to illuminate the passageway before her. It was dark and damp, and the masonry arching overhead was covered with moss, but other than that it was just silent, "Follow me."

The group went trotting for about ten minutes before Twilight stopped and looked around.

"I… I don't know…" she muttered.

"What? What did you say?" said Rainbow Dash.

"I said I don't know. We are there… but I can't tell where the secret entrance is," mumbled Twilight, looking about frantically.

"Psshh… What did you expect? A sign that says 'secret entrance'?" snorted Rainbow Dash.

"Trixie the Great and Powerful will handle this," said Trixie regally. Closing her eyes, she called upon the magic of the Alicorn Amulet and released a blast of pure light. The entire damp passageway of the sewer was illuminated like it was high noon in the middle of summer. Squinting their eyes against the bright light, the ponies looked about.

"I don't see anything," sighed Twilight as the claws of icy fear gripped at her.

"Yeah… this could be a problem," said Rainbow Dash, shading her eyes with a hoof.

"Mayhap we should start breaking down the walls?" suggested Applejack.

"Hey guys! I don't know if this solves anything, but I found a secret passageway behind this wall," called out Pinkie Pie from behind them. The group turned around and stared. Pinkie was standing next to a small passageway. Apparently a door painted in a pattern that matched the masonry of the walls had been inserted in the same spot. It was a clever disguise, but Pinkie's pinkie sense had somehow seen through the deception.

Sighing with relief, Twilight smiled as she trotted over to where Pinkie stood. "Yes. That solves the problem in its entirety."

"Okie dokie lokie!" called Pinkie. She immediately began to prance through the door.

Twilight turned to Applejack. "You stay here and watch the door," she said.

Applejack nodded. Twilight then turned back to her friends. Trixie winked and turned out her magically-induced lighting. Twilight nodded in thanks and then said, "Let's go."

The group (now with the exception of Applejack) trotted through the passageway. It twisted and turned sharply a couple of times, and then eventually ended with a stairwell. The group galloped up it and found themselves behind a fake wall. Twilight glanced meaningfully at the group behind her and then pushed the wall open. It swung slowly on hidden hinges and revealed a large hall. At the end of the hall was the first hallway of the Royal Treasury. There were no guards. Celestia had kept up her end of the mission. There was not even a Phasetrooper.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight motioned for her friends to follow her, and the group trotted after her. As they reached the base of the massive triple-portcullises, Twilight turned to Trixie and said, "This is where you come in. Do you think you will be able to help me lift these things?"

Trixie nodded her head slowly as she looked the portcullises up and down. "Heavy things. About 5000 kilograms each. Trixie thinks, if we do it together, with the help of the Alicorn Amulet, we should be able to do it. Trixie the Great and Powerful is ready. Are you?"

Twilight nodded her head. She then closed her eyes as she started up her magical horn. The three portcullises began to glow with a faint purple aura. Sweat began to trickle down Twilight's face as she continued to strain. Trixie then nodded her own head and closed her eyes as well. Her horn began to glow light blue. Suddenly the aura circling her horn began to crackle with red sparks as the power of the Alicorn Amulet infused its power with hers. The portcullises began to shimmer with red, purple, and light blue light as all that magic fed into it. Slowly the metal gates began to creak as they were lifted from their heavy-set trenches in the ground. Second by second, minute by minute, the portcullises rose through the air. It seemed like an eternity, but eventually the massive gates locked in place in the ceiling. Twilight and Trixie let go of their powers and collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.

"Trixie the Great and Powerful is unbeatable!" gasped out Trixie.

"Well done Trixie," gasped Twilight as she struggled to stand on all fours.

"That… was… AWESOME!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash in hushed tones.

"It was okay," said Pinkie nonchalantly, "I've seen better. Follow me ponies!"

Pinkie then skipped off through the first hallway as Rainbow Dash helped Trixie and Twilight up. They then caught up with Pinkie who was standing at the border of the second hallway. It looked totally empty, and at the end of the hall was a giant double-door gate. Two levers high in the air were positioned above the gate.

"It looks empty," commented Rainbow Dash.

"That's what they WANT you to think" whispered Pinkie dramtically, "It is all a ploy by the government to hide the fact that THEY ARE BUILDING NUCLEAR WEAPONS!"

There was a long pause.

"Just messin' with you ponies," chuckled Pinkie Pie. "Follow me!"

She trotted down the hallway as if her life was not even close to being in danger. Once and a while her muzzle would twitch, tail would swipe through the air, or her ears would flop. When that would happen, Pinkie would stop and sidestep and invisible object. It was slow going, but the group made it across with stellar timing.

"Well done Pinkie!" exclaimed Twilight silently. Pinkie Pie just winked. Twilight then looked up at the levers; she then glanced at Rainbow Dash and nodded her head. Rainbow nodded back.

The two ponies spread their wings and flapped upwards. They reached the levers, and then they pulled the two simultaneously. The massive gate before them opened with a rumbling noise.

Trixie hopped up and down, unable to contain herself. "Oooooh! So much gold!" she squealed in hushed tones.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Trixie," said Twilight, "You aren't taking more than a bagful for your troubles."

"Rainbow Dash and the Great Trixie went through Stallion Empire hell to get here, Twilight," exclaimed Trixie indignantly, "Trixie deserve at least TWO bagfulls."

"I was there, Trixie," commented Rainbow Dash, "And I've decided that I'm not taking anything for myself. It would be wrong."

"Well, the Great Trixie is no stranger to 'wrong'" commented Trixie dryly. She conjured up a sack and she tossed it over her back. She then trotted into the royal treasury with the rest of her team right behind.

The room was circular and was colossal. It was even bigger than the Hall of Thrones. It was illuminated by many large torches set in wall rings everywhere. The entire room was piled high with bits, gold bars, jewels, and strange artifacts made of unusual metals, crystals, and woods.

Trixie let out a little "sqee!" of excitement and began to shovel bits into her bag. She then emptied it and began to fill it with jewels. Then she emptied it again and began to try to stuff a strange blackwood box covered in archaic runes into it. At this point she was stopped by Rainbow Dash.

"Remember what I said, Trixie," she said reproachfully. Trixie sighed and resigned to filling her sack with a mixture of gold and jewels.

Twilight filled seven bags of bits, and then turned to Rainbow Dash who was keeping a lookout behind them. "I think we're good, Rainbow Dash," said Twilight, "We should get going."

Rainbow Dash nodded her head and motioned for Trixie and Pinkie Pie to leave the room. Twilight tossed them the sacks via magic, and then magiked the massive gates shut as she exited with them.

"Take us out, Pinkie Pie," whispered Twilight.

Pinkie winked. "Okie dokie lokie!" She then began to trot nonchalantly through the trap-full hallway.

"Be careful Pinkie Pie!" whispered Rainbow Dash, who was worried by the unserious way Pinkie traversed the deadly hall.

Pinkie just pranced through it until she was a meter or so from the border. "What?" she said, "This is as easy as one, two, three…"

Suddenly Pinkie crumpled to the floor as her back right leg bent at an unusual way. The poor pink pony let out a rending scream of pain that echoed through the halls of the treasury. Shouts immediately began to ring from down the hall.

Head spinning with how bad things had suddenly turned in an instant, Twilight rushed to Pinkie's side. The party pony had passed out.

"Her hoof is caught in some kind of invisible beartrap!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she inspected the bloodied hoof of Pinkie Pie.

"Trixie can uncloak the thing!" said Trixie harshly. She put her horn near Pinkie's hoof and released an Alicorn Amulet-infused magic blast. A terrible iron beartrap shimmered into view. It had Pinkie's back leg in its iron teeth.

"How could Celestia even HAVE these here?" wailed Twilight as the shouts from down the hall got louder.

"No time to argue, we must act!" snapped Trixie. Using her magic once more, she opened up the teeth of the beartrap and dragged Pinkie from its jaws. Slinging Pinkie over Rainbow Dash's back, Trixie then hissed, "We need to get out of here… NOW."

Twilight nodded her head, and they dashed for the secret exit. They were less than a dozen meters away when suddenly Phasetroopers dropped from the ceiling above and barred their path.

"Breaking and entering… punishable by five years in prison. Stealing… punishable by ten years in prison. Stealing from royalty… punishable possibly by death. Stealing the Ashanti box of cutie mark enhancements… punishable by death," stated one of the Phasetroopers coldly.

"Ashanti… what…?" asked Rainbow Dash. She then glanced at Trixie. Her hat had fallen off in the mad dash for the fake wall. Balanced perfectly on her head was a small black box that was glowing an eerie green.

"TRIXIE!" yelled Twilight. Trixie grinned sheepishly.

"Punishment obvious. No additional evidence required. Execution immediate," said the other Phasetrooper. They both raised their guns. The group turned to run, but found their path blocked by more Phasetroopers. They were beyond dead.

Twilight closed her eyes and bowed her head. She had failed. As she waited for the end, she thought of all the times she had spent with Flaming Star. She couldn't help but smile a little as she remembered talking, laughing, arguing, and playing with him. She loved him. But it was all over now.

Suddenly a wall beside the Phasetroopers before her exploded. Masonry rained everywhere and dust filled the air. Twilight immediately began to search for the perpetrators of the distraction, but Trixie just grabbed her hoof and yelled, "They're distracted! Let's go!"

Rainbow Dash (with Pinkie Pie on her back), Twilight, and Trixie rushed through the fake wall. They slammed it shut and dashed off. The Phasetroopers were not fooled by the distraction though. They immediately began to blow down the fake wall to give pursuit when a voice echoed from behind them. "Oh, I am so sorry… did I interrupt something?"

The Phasetroopers turned around. It was Princess Celestia.

"Princess Celestia," said one of the Phasetroopers, "There has been a break-in at the Royal Treasury."

"I can see that," said Celestia dryly, "I was practicing a special explosive energy spell when I heard a scream. I 'accidentally' released my spell and blew a hole in this wall. My deepest apologies."

"Do you wish us to pursue the enemies?" asked another Phasetrooper.

Celestia took her time. She stroked her chin and hummed to herself… then she said, "No. We must form a committee to decide whether or not to chase the criminals down. After we have formed a committee, we can form a sub-committee for each committee member so that each vote can be validated. If a unanimous vote is in the positive, then we will proceed with pursuing and execting the robbers."

The Phasetroopers just stared at her.

Celestia tried her best not to burst out laughing. Rolling her eyes dramatically, she said, "You soldiers will never understand the burden of leadership. Soldiers, attend me! You never know what terrible thugs could be waiting to mug me. I need you all at my side."

The Phasetroopers looked at her, and then at the fake wall, and then back at her. They then looked at their leader. That Phasetrooper stood there, staring intensely at Celestia for a moment. Then he nodded and said, "Do as she says. Let us go."

Celestia stifled a sigh of relief. Then she straightened up and said, "Yes. Do as I say. Now follow me."

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot_

_Time: Thirteen days after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"Keep running!" gasped Twilight.

"I was running before you said that!" said Rainbow Dash, breathing hard. The group continued to run full-pelt down the sewers.

"What in tarnation did you lot meet up there?" yelled Applejack.

"Phasetroopers," replied Twilight grimly, "But we have the bits, and that is all we needed. They don't seem to be pursuing, so we must have lost them."

"What do you think that explosion up there was?" asked Rainbow Dash, keeping pace with Twilight.

"Trixie doesn't know. It must have been an accident. However, we are capitalizing on it," said Trixie briskly.

In half the time it took to get to the secret passageway entrance, the group exited the sewers. Bundling each other through the manhole opening, the group lay, breathing hard, on the cobbled sidewalk.

"That was a close one," sighed Trixie.

"It still IS a close one," said Rainbow Dash, her face pained. Pinkie Pie was lying on the ground. He head was lolling to one side, and blood was pooling around her wounded hoof.

"Agreed," said Twilight quickly helping Rainbow Dash to put Pinkie back onto her back, "This is what we need to do now. The train we have tickets for is leaving any minute now. It stops at two places: Ponyville and Appaloosa. We get on and pass the bits over to Applejack. She goes on to Appaloosa to meet with the arms-dealing griffon. The rest of us stop off a Ponyville and take Pinkie to the doctor. We can say it was a rogue Chimera in the Everfree forest."

"Okay," sighed Rainbow Dash, "But I swear I am going to be a Mary Sue for the rest of my freaking life after this."

"I think all of us are going to do that," replied Twilight, doing her best not to simply break down crying.

"Not me," commented Trixie airily, "Trixie the Great and Powerful thrives off this."

"I hope you realize that you are slowly killing off any moralities and principles you've ever gotten from Equestria," murmured Rainbow Dash. Trixie just ignored her.

"Well? What in tarnation are we a-waitin' for! Let's go!" exclaimed Applejack.

The group galloped off to the train station just in time to catch the train. They hopped on and quickly bundled Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie into the lavatory. Twilight gave the conductor their tickets, and then prayed to God that no one would need the lavatory for the trip. They could not risk having any random pony walking in on Rainbow Dash attending to Pinkie's mangled hoof. However, as the train began to slowly move out of the station and away from Canterlot, Twilight felt her worries slip away. They had not been caught, and none of them had been killed. Soon they would be home and this would all be nothing but an unpleasant memory. In fact, she could not wait to tell Flaming Star about this adventure.


	87. Chapter 87 - Almost There

**Note: I still have the poll up on my profile. If you have not already voted, please do! Thank you!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Warriors<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Hunter Lake_

_Time: Two weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"That's funny," snorted Wild, "I could have sworn you just said 'Charlie Brown; Peanuts Dimension.'"

"That is exactly what I said," replied Sherlock.

"So random that it is inconspicuous!" declared Jared, "Clever."

"Obviously," said Sherlock, "Now we need to…"

"Wait," interrupted Wild, "How the hell did you get the Imagination Energy hidden in such a place? I mean, it is the freaking Peanuts Dimension, practically the most famous universe in the history of forever."

"Elementary, my dear Wild," sighed Sherlock, "Do you know what Edinium is? Of course you don't it is specific to the Reset Dimension. Anyway, Edinium is a mixture of Imagination Energy and Corascathadium, the 119th periodic element. Anyway, just like Sodium and Chloride often form together to form salt, Imagination Energy and Corascathadium often form together to create Edinium. Naturally a lot of the potential energy hidden within the two elements is lost when they form Edinium, but that is only to be expected. However, usable Imagination Energy is still within the Edinium, but it does not give off the unique energy signature. Thus, you can easily hide the Imagination Energy within the Edinium without having to compromise all of its purity."

"Doesn't the Enigma Empire know of this?" asked the Ninth Doctor curiously.

"Of course they do, but they are not looking for it. In Enigma Empire standards, Imagination Energy withdrawn from Edinium is impure, and cannot be used for standard Enigma Empire ships. However, I am assuming the Winniex Empire would not have such high standards. Thus, their engines would be equipped to handle such impurities. Thus, we could effectively use the Imagination Energy within the Edinium to power DeWhite's ship. Now all we need to do now is figure out how to withdraw the Imagination Energy from the Edinium compound…"

"Doxia," interjected Wild, "Doxia will be able to do that."

"Well then, our course is clear!" exclaimed the Doctor cheerfully, "We go to Charlie Brown, get the Edinium, go to Doxia, ask him to extract the Imagination Energy, and then return here and fuel the ship up!"

"Exactly," said Sherlock, who actually sounded amiable for once.

"Well, you guys have fun," said Jared, "I think I am going to stay right here…"

"I think not," said Sherlock, "You are coming with us. We cannot have you running off."

"I wasn't going to run off!" exclaimed Jared indignantly, "I was just going to… um… er…"

"Seriously now," sighed Sherlock, "Do stop acting like an idiot. Now, follow me."

With that, Sherlock closed his eyes as he searched for the Peanuts Dimension. In a moment his eyes snapped open and a portal blossomed forth before the group.

"The Peanuts Dimension," said Sherlock, "Let's not dillydally."

Sherlock put his hands in the expansive pockets of his navy blue overcoat and strolled through nonchalantly. Wild glanced at Jared and beckoned with his head to go through. Jared rolled his eyes dramatically and tossed the banana (which he was still holding) away. He then walked through the portal as well.

"I will go upstairs and inform Jetfire and Rarity of the developing situation," said Wild to the Doctor, "You go through and join the rest. Do not expect us to join you, though. Jetfire is far too big, and the Peanuts Dimension is far too popular. He cannot risk being spotted. Rarity and I will stay with him."

"As you wish, Wild," replied the Doctor. With a wave and a grin, he then stepped through the portal. Wild turned around and began to trot away just as the portal closed with a "pop."

The moment the Doctor entered the Peanuts dimension, he began to grin. He and Sherlock had been here a couple of times, and the air always felt alive with energy and joy. He was standing on a concrete sidewalk in a small urban environment. Neat houses with lush lawns were lined up in rows along the clean and complete asphalt streets. The sky was blue with fluffy clouds dotting the expanse, and the sun shown cheerily down on him.

"Best… place… ever…" muttered the Doctor as he scanned the environment for his friends. He spotted them standing at a curb some distance away. The Doctor strolled up to them and said, "Hello everybody! Where are we going?"

"Oh, Sherlock is just trying to figure out where to go," said Jared.

"I am also trying to figure out how you manage to talk so much," muttered Sherlock, his eyes tightly closed. Suddenly he snapped, "And stop breathing! It is distracting me!"

Both Jared and the Doctor began to snigger. However, after a moment, they began to move a distance away to give Sherlock some room. After another minute or two, Sherlock opened his eyes and said, "I've got it. Now I remember. Follow me."

Snapping a finger loftily in the air, he began to stride off to his left. Glancing at each other in surprise, Jared and the Doctor began to run after him. It was an interesting sight, seeing such a motley group strolling together. Many parents and kids stopped and stared. It got to the point when a nicely dressed policeman walked up to them and said, "Blah blah blah blah blah."

Jared immediately paled. "What the heck is he saying?" he whispered harshly to the Doctor.

"Oh, do not worry, I speak Peanut Adult language," said Sherlock. He then began to converse with the policeman. It sounded like complete gibberish, but the policeman seemed fine with what had just transpired. He tipped his cap to Sherlock and then strolled away, twirling his baton.

"That… made NO sense whatsoever," said Jared, blinking in surprise.

"This universe in unique in the way that only the central characters seem to be able to talk. Incidentally, the characters are also children," said Sherlock briskly.

"Oh dear me, and here was I, thinking you did not like children," chortled the Ninth Doctor.

"I usually don't, their minds are too narrow and odd," sighed Sherlock, "But Mr. Brown is an exception is some respects. Hurry along now!"

Sherlock strolled off, not waiting for their response. The Doctor nodded to Jared, and they hurried after him again. In a couple of minutes, they were outside a nice house. It was painted an even red, with a sloping roof and a brick chimney. The front yard was surrounded by a clean white fence, and a small side gate led to a backyard. Sweeping back his overcoat, Sherlock strolled through the yard and rapped on the door.

A small girl with yellow hair opened the door. She blinked at him. Obviously she was slightly perturbed by the motley group before her as well.

"Can I… help you?" she said slowly, one eyebrow raised.

"Ah yes, Miss Sally Brown," said Sherlock, doing his best to smile, which was not the best at all, "I am here to talk to Mr. Charlie Brown. Is he here about?"

The door slammed shut. Sherlock opened him mouth, and then closed it. Then he blinked. He was about to comment to the Doctor about the manners of kids these days when he heard, through the door: "Big brother! That one weird man with the funny coats is back again! Should I set Snoopy on him?"

Another familiar voice echoed back, "What? Sherlock?! Oh good grief."

The door opened a moment later, and Charlie Brown looked up at Sherlock. "Ummmmm… How are you?"

"I am fine, thank you," said Sherlock, doing his best again to look amiable (which was still pretty terrible).

"Would you all like to come inside?" asked Charlie Brown after an awkward pause.

"Oh no, I am fine standing right here in this doorway," said Sherlock, "However, there is something you could do for me."

Charlie Brown nodded his head. "Of course. What is it?"

"Remember that one metal lunch box I gave you? The one I asked you to stow it away? Where is it?"

"Oh that. Yes, I kept it secure. It's in Snoopy's iron-guild safe. Come with me!"

With that, Charlie Brown got out onto the front porch with Sherlock and closed the door. He then led them around to backyard. Snoopy was lying on the top of his doghouse, sunning himself. However, the moment he heard footsteps, he looked up. He saw Sherlock immediately. Snoopy's face brightened up, and he dove into his doghouse. A second later, he emerged dressed like Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. He winked roguishly at Sherlock and pulled out a pipe. He stuck it in his mouth with a paw and began to blow bubbled from it. Sherlock sighed and facepalmed.

"Hey! It's… Sherlock…" said Jared, "Wait a second. That's Sherlock! But… are you Sherlock?"

"Of course I'm Sherlock, don't be daft," snapped Sherlock, "That is a different Sherlock from a different dimension and a different time. Mr. Brown, could you show me to the box please?"

Charlie Brown nodded and was about to go into the doghouse when he was stopped by Snoopy. Snoopy motioned for Charlie Brown to step away. He then strolled up to Sherlock and looked him up and down, still blowing bubbles from his pipe. Sherlock pinched his lips together; an obvious sign of annoyance, but Snoopy ignored it. Snoopy then held out a paw and nodded his head pompously.

"What, what does he want me to do? Shake his paw?" asked Sherlock.

"No, I think he wants you to hand him the password for the safe. Remember, you were the one who set it? I think Snoopy wants to make sure you're you," answered Charlie Brown for Snoopy.

Sherlock sighed. Reaching into one of his pockets, he pulled out a notebook and a pen. He scribbled something down on a page and then tore it out. Then he handed that small piece of paper to Snoopy. Snoopy glanced it over (still blowing bubbles from his pipe) and then nodded. He tossed the piece of paper away and strolled regally down into his expansive doghouse. There was a pause.

The Doctor finally broke the silence. "Though he may be dressed like a Sherlock from an alternative timeline, you have to admit he has your personality nailed to a point."

"Yes, yes, I know that," snapped Sherlock. He was very miffed. Sticking his hands in his navy blue overcoat, he turned around and looked away.

"Hey, Charlie Brown, can I have your autograph?" said Jared DeWhite who picked up the piece of paper Snoopy had discarded.

"Er, sure… Why?" said Charlie Brown producing a pencil from a back pocket.

"Are you kidding me? I read about you in the Sunday comics EVERY SUNDAY!" exclaimed Jared ecstatically.

"I have a Sunday comic?" asked Charlie Brown.

"That is best to be left hanging, unanswered," interrupted the Doctor hastily, to ensure that the dimensional timeline was not damaged.

Fortunately, Charlie Brown took this answer at face value. He scrawled his signature on the piece of paper and handed it to Jared. Reverently, Jared folded the paper up and carefully placed it in one of his jean pockets.

At this moment, Snoopy exited the doghouse with a lunch box. It was Pajama Sam's lunch box.

"Is that… Pajama Sam's lunch box?!" exclaimed the Doctor, "My word, that is an interdimensional relic! Why do you have it?"

"Calm yourself, Doctor," said Sherlock complacently (apparently he had gotten over Snoopy's exact impression of him), "This is only a copy. Pajama Sam gave me his second backup when I helped him track down several interdimensional rogues."

Sherlock quickly tapped on the electronic padlock that held the box shut. The padlock beeped and unlocked. Sherlock opened the lunch box and glanced inside. A dark stone that was glowing a mixture of red and purple lay in the center of the box. Nodding in satisfaction, Sherlock closed the box again and said, "I thank you for your time, Mr. Brown. Yours as well, Snoopy."

Snoopy pulled the pipe out of his mouth and then winked. He then turned around with a sweep of his overcoat and snapped a paw in the air pompously as he strolled away.

"Oh my gosh! That's exactly how you do it, Sherlock!" exclaimed Jared, laughing.

Sherlock simply put the lunch box under one arm and strolled away as well in the opposite direction.

"I am really quite happy to have finally met you, Mr. Brown," said the Ninth Doctor, "Perhaps if we are by this universe some time, we could stop by and have some tea."

Charlie Brown blinked. "Ummmm… okay."

The Doctor began to walk away. Jared followed him, but before he left the scene, he turned around and whispered, "I'm you BIGGEST fan…"

Charlie Brown stood in the backyard slightly bewildered. He understood who those people were, and what was going on, but he still did not understand the scale of the events transpiring around him. He was about to embark on a journey of contemplating the multiverse theory, and the answer to life, the universe, and everything, when Sally's voice called out from the house. "Big brother! It's Linus on the phone! Something about Lucy!"

"Oh good grief," sighed Charlie Brown.

"Where are we going now?" asked the Doctor.

"We are proceeding with the plan," answered Sherlock quickly, not breaking his stride, "We go to Abbington Falls and find Doxia. We then have him extract the Imagination Energy. Then we go back to that Winniex Hangar in the Warriors Dimension and fuel up the ship… Oh. That's odd."

Sherlock suddenly stopped.

"What? What's odd?" asked Jared.

"What DO we do with the ship once we are through with it?" asked Sherlock.

"Ooooooh! Sherlock is asking a question instead of answering one!" exclaimed Jared triumphantly. Both he and the Doctor began to chuckle.

"I would appreciate it if you two stop chortling like buffoons and state that either you don't know, or that there is some unlikely plan that you all had in mind," snapped Sherlock.

"Sorry," chuckled Jared, "I don't have a plan personally, but I was given an idea by Gandalf a while back."

"I beg your pardon… Gandalf?" exclaimed the Doctor, "You were visited by Gandalf? That's rather exciting."

Jared puffed out his chest and winked. "I bet you that it was exiting. However, he explained to me that if my ship became operational, I was to take it to Doxia, who would take it to some place called Rerenhaw. Something about raising the Glorious Lord Kytax or something."

"That makes no sense, but I trust Gandalf's judgment, if nothing else," said Sherlock curtly. He then closed his eyes and began to rub his temples with the tips of his fingers. After a minute or two, a portal opened up. It was Abbington Falls.

"Wait… YOU know how to get to Abbington Falls?" exclaimed Jared, "I thought I, Jetfire, and Finnian Jones were the only ones able to do that!"

"You were all trying to cover your tracks too hard," explained Sherlock, "It left a mark. A suspicious mark. That is how I found it. Of course, I've only visited it once or twice in secret. Follow me!"

With that, Sherlock, followed by the Ninth Doctor and Jared DeWhite, strolled through the portal.

In a moment, they were in that beautiful forest setting just before the town that held Finnian Jones' bookstore.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Reset Dimension (Orbit)<em>

_Planet: Space_

_Specific Location: A parsec from the Carbine Asteroid Field_

_Time: Two weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Councilman Kaleb crossed his arms impatiently as he looked at a holographic projection of the battles waging across the sector. The United Federation of Colonies' fleets were pressing hard at his insurrectionist armada. To a trained eye, it was obvious that he was losing the fight badly. However, Kaleb was not worried, after all, he was not really Kaleb. He was the Phasetrooper placed there by the Paradox in his stead. His mission was not to win the war for the Insurrectionists, it was to bring all usable interdimensionally travelling ships developed by the U.F.C. to the Paradox, so that they could would not be within the grasp of Doxia and his allies.

So far, however, Kaleb had not received any commands from the Paradox, so all he could do was wait… and wait… and wait…

"It shall be any time now," muttered Kaleb as he watched another foothold in the Taurus Nebulae fall to the U.F.C. forces.

"Sir," said a soldier, "What shall we do?"

"You shall do your goddamn job and not ask questions, imbecile," snapped Kaleb. After a long pause, Kaleb sighed and said, "I have a plan… I just need a little more time."

With that, Kaleb turned around and strolled into his ready room. Kaleb sat down in his large swivel-chair and spun around in it. He had nothing better to do, after all. Then, suddenly, he received a call from the Paradox.

Kaleb smiled. That was exactly what was needed.

"Sir," said Kaleb to the Paradox, "What are your orders?"

"It is time," replied the Paradox, "It is time for us to begin. Call back all of your fleets and bunch them up into one area. Then, with the U.F.C. fleets in sight, jump to the Harmony Tree dimension. Seeing you do this, the enemy fleets will undoubtedly follow. They will be teleporting straight into a trap. The Sapphire Armada is vastly more advanced than their puny fleets. We have had a trillion years to perfect and build our weapons, after all. When you arrive, teleport out. The Sapphire Armada will destroy everything. The Insurrectionist Fleet and the U.F.C. Fleet. Understood?"

"Understood, sir," replied Kaleb. Happy to be in action, the Elite Phasetrooper imposter got up and opened a fleet-wide channel to all of his ships from his desk.

"This is Senior Councilman Kaleb speaking," said Kaleb stoutly, "I have a plan. We are all going to pull back to my position. When we have all arrived, we are going to use our Dimensional Jump Drives. We will be jumping to these coordinates that I am uploading to the helmsmen. From our new vantage point, we will prepare for a counterattack. We may still win this yet."

With that, Kaleb terminated the intercom and uploaded the interdimensional coordinates to the Harmony Dimension. All was going according to plan. In several minutes, all remaining ships of Kaleb's fleet arrived and surrounded his frigate.

Kaleb opened up another fleet-wide intercom and said, "We will be jumping in a second. I want to be able to see the enemy fleets across the expanse of space before we active the drives."

There was a minute-long pause. Suddenly a massive group of ships appeared out hyper-jump. It was the enemy fleet. The fleet hovered in space for a moment, then, gunning their engines, they began to hurtle toward Kaleb to tear his remaining ships to pieces.

"Right where I want you all…" murmured Kaleb. Then he yelled, "Jump! Every ships activate their drives."

The experimental interdimensional jump drives went into action. Ugly tears in space, time, and dimension blossomed forth as the primitive jump drives fired beams of power through the fabric of the universe. The portals hung in the air, the time-space continuum distorting around the edges. Then the portals swept forward to swallow each of its respective ships. Every once and a while, a portal would simply explode, destroying its specific ship and annihilating the adjacent ones as well. Nevertheless, most made it through. By the time the U.F.C. fleet had arrived on the scene, the Insurrectionist ships were gone.

The U.F.C. ships hung in the air for a moment… and then they activated their own drives. The same distorting portals rippled into existence before their respective ships, and began to envelope the fleet. Like the Insurrectionist ships' portals, once and a while a U.F.C. portal would also explode, spreading momentary havoc amongst the nearby ships. But, also just like the Insurrectionist ships, most of the U.F.C. fleet made it through… and they fell right into the arms of the Sapphire Armada.

Pictor, from his place aboard the E.E.S. Spatial Rupture, grinned as he saw all of the Insurrectionist Ships and all of the U.F.C. ships pull up next to each other… silent. There was no gunfire and no explosions. There was all in silence. Pictor began to laugh. The puny species before him had never imagined that there was already and interdimensional superpower awaiting them. But… there was.

"Open fire," he said briskly, "Kill them all. In fact, some of you might as well just ram them to save energy. Have fun."

Immediately the Sapphire Armada opened up fire with is legendary array of powerful weapons. Sizzling bolts of Dimensional Energy dissolved space as they tore their way to the small fleets before them. Then… hell broke loose. The U.F.C. and the Insurrectionist ships attempted to return fire, but they were absolutely outgunned. In less than a minute, more than half of Pictor's targets were gone.

"Okay, now we need to ensure that one survives…" said Pictor over his fleet-wide intercom, "Ummmm… That one. The 'Moscow Rain.' I have highlighted it on the global scan system. E.S.S. Vector, you will be in charge of clipping that pretty bird's wings. Send it spiraling to the surface of Equestria Earth with minimal damage. Kill the rest. Go now."

With that, the Sapphire Armada attacked again in earnest. In a second, the "Moscow Rain" ships burst into flames and spun into the orbit of Equestria Earth. It then spiraled down to the surface, crash-landing near what looked like Appleloosa according to Pictor's scans. Pictor then began to laugh again as he watched the rest of the targets burn. This was genocide in its purest form, and he loved it. Oh, he loved it so much.

After a moment of soaking the in joy of killing people, Pictor opened the fleet-wide link once more. "Status report," he snapped, "No damage, I presume?"

"Sir, the E.E.S. Jaorden took some damage when a ship it was trying to ram went critical with perfect timing. Nothing too severe, but there are a lot of deck breaches. Minimal casualties," answered a Phasetrooper captain.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE WAS DAMAGE?!" screamed Pictor into the link, "I'LL HAVE ALL OF YOUR HEADS ON PLATTERS!"

If the link had been a physical phone, he would have slammed it down. As it was actually a telepathic link, all Pictor could do was sever the link and stomp around grumpily. However, after a minute or two of doing this, he sighed and muttered, "I better bring the news of the accomplished mission to the Paradox."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Crystal Empire_

_Time: Two weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

The Paradox stood at the highest point of the Crystal Empire's castle, next to where the Crystal Heart had once been hidden. He sighed, almost contentedly, as he watched the Crystal Ponies go back and forth about their daily business, doing their best to ignore the Phasetrooper sharpshooters positioned on nearly every rooftop.

"If only the rest of the multiverse could be like this," breathed the Paradox, "Then I would not be so driven to destroy it all. I almost regret this… No. I must complete what I have said. If I let the multiverse continue to exist, all this beauty will eventually be consumed in darkness. It must be stopped now…"

Suddenly Pictor teleported in next to him. "There you are, Paradox," snapped Pictor, "Where the hell have you been? You missed the lightshow up above. It was glorious. I even think you could see the humans as they got sucked out into space only to freeze, boil, and become irradiated. It was glorious."

"You worry me Pictor," said the Paradox suddenly, "I am doing my best to cleanse the multiverse of violence by the ultimate solution, and here you are… worshiping the very thing I have targeted. Does this make us enemies?"

Pictor immediately looked at the Paradox warily, and began to back away slowly. "It depends," he said slowly, "We are gods. That makes us exempt, does it not?"

"Perhaps," said the Paradox slowly. After a long and uncomfortable pause, the Paradox continued, "Very well. Have you forced down one ship?"

"I have," said Pictor, "All is in order."

"Excellent."

"Paradox… there is one issue."

"There always is at least one issue. Tell me, Pictor, what do you speak of?"

"There was a break-in at the Canterlot Royal Treasury. Exactly one million four thousand and fifty-three bits worth of coins, gold, and jewels were stolen yesterday. The perpetrators were almost caught, but they escaped during a distraction 'accidentally' caused by Celestia."

The Paradox nodded his head slowly as he listened to Pictor speak. He was not at all worried, after all, it was not his royal treasury that was being robbed. After another pause, the Paradox said, "The perpetrators… where they identified?"

"Yes," replied Pictor promptly, "It was Princess Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and a unicorn by the name of Trixie. It seems that they got away cleanly, without being identified, the innocent, young fools."

"Hmmmm… What would be their sentence if they were caught?"

"Death," said Pictor as if he was discussing bacon and kittens and all things nice.

The Paradox nodded again. "What do you think we should do about this, Pictor? This is not our jurisdiction, but I am sure the Princess Celestia would 'appreciate' it if we 'helped' her apprehend the robbers."

Pictor grinned. "My thoughts exactly. I have a battalion of Phasetroopers with their names on it. What I think we should do is kill Twilight while she is with Flaming Star. We will then kill him as well and say that he was in the way of fire as we attempted to simply carry out the sentence. Then we can force Celestia to proclaim the acts legal."

"Your mind is twisted, but it serves its purpose," said the Paradox, "Do as you say."

"Oh, I will," hissed Pictor, "In fact, I think I will force Ravencroft Solace to carry out the sentence for me with that one battalion. He seems to have gone soft lately… it is time to see where his true loyalties lie…"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I suppose, in order to increase the chance of feedback, I must offer something. Let's see... What do we have around here... Here we go! If you give me feedback (a.k.a. REVIEWS), I will give you a free duckling. You know you want that duckling... You know you want it...<strong>


	88. Chapter 88 - Wild West

**Note: I would like to say that I doubt there will be a sequel to this. I have no interest in trying to work up as many reviews as I have again. I will simply split my story up into seasons, and put them in here. At the end of part 5 (the current part we are in) I will start season 2. When that happens, I will attach a table of contents to the first chapter to help with navigation.**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: A dozen kilometers southeast of Ghastly Gorge_

_Time: Two weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Applejack sighed as she sat alone in the train carriage as the locomotive chugged lazily along the railroad towards the distant settlement of Appleloosa. Personally, she was absolutely unsure of her feelings towards the mission. Fairly much everything she and her friends had done to get the needed money was dishonest, and it ate her up inside. Naturally she kept telling herself that this was all for a good cause, but it did not to ease her conscious. Now she had two large bags of stolen money under her seat, and she felt like the whole wide world was staring at her, judging her for her actions. She was the Element of Honesty for Pete's sake! How could she be doing this?

"I gotta," she muttered to herself as sweat began to trickle from her forehead due to the heated battle raging within her mind, "I gotta, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta…"

Shaking her head as if to clear her mind, Applejack then got up and trotted to the window. She stuck her head outside to let the wind wipe her face clean of the sweat that was dribbling down her face, and to let the fresh breeze blow away her worries. The former of the two was performed admirably, courtesy of the clean wind sweeping the flatlands of the south, but the latter still posed a problem.

"What is Tarnation is wrong with me?!" shouted Applejack to the skies, her voice being swept away in the wind, "I gotta do this for my friends… for my family… for Equestria."

Applejack then shut her mouth tightly. Was what she doing even worth the wrong she was doing at the same time? Did they balance each other out? Could she ever be forgiven or forgive herself?

Applejack groaned audibly and sunk into the seat next to her. Applejack slowly lowered her head onto the cushions, and closed her eyes. However, as she began to doze, she ensured that the area that the bags of money were cleverly hidden was in view.

It seemed only like a moment, but suddenly the train came to a shuddering halt at Appleloosa train station. Applejack immediately leapt up, fell over, and then scrambled up again. Breathing heavily, Applejack glanced cautiously over at the seat that obscured the fat bags of bits and gold. The bags were still there, as hidden as ever. Sighing with relief, Applejack dragged her large suitcase from under her own seat and lugged it over to the other one. She opened up her suitcase and dropped the two bags into the suitcase and zipped the top up tightly. She then proceeded to lug it to the nearest exit and out onto the Appleloosa trains station platform. She was immediately met by her cousin Braeburn.

"Howdy partner!" exclaimed Braeburn with a significant wink.

Applejack nodded her head. She had alerted her cousin Braeburn of the plans, and he had agreed to help set up a secure exchange site for her and the Griffon Arms-Dealer for a couple of the weapons.

"The Griffon has already arrived, and I am a-thinkin' he's a mighty impatient type. Best we hurry along. Follow me!" exclaimed Braeburn. He beckoned Applejack to follow him. She did so, and they began to trot to a secluded area of town. As Applejack trotted, she noticed a couple of burly ponies exit a bar and slowly begin to follow her. Soon they were flanking her on both sides.

"Don't worry 'bout Rusty and Bolts, thems is part of the Appleloosa Resistance," explained Braeburn amiably as Applejack glanced back at the two ponies, and then at him with a cynical eyebrow raised.

"I got the resistance part, cousin, but where are all them Phasetroopers you'uns are supposed to be resisting against?" asked Applejack, glancing about.

"That is the strangest part," said Braeburn, "Look at the sky."

Applejack looked up. The sky was blue and clear, and the sun shown down harshly. Suddenly, a bright plume of fire, like a supernova exploding far away, blossomed forth in an ample point of light. The small blast of power vanished in the blue sky as quickly as it had appeared. A minute later, three more popped up and disappeared.

"What the hay are those?" breathed Applejack.

"We have not the slightest darned'est idea," sighed Braeburn, "One of our spies overheard radio chatter about a space fight or somethin' but that is about it. Whatever it is, though, all those ginourmous Enigma Empire Kottora Tanks have all driven to the north side of town, completely abandoning the southern area. That is all fine, I suppose, 'cause that means the meeting you have planned, which is even more south of the town, will go without a chance of bein' detected."

"Good job, cousin," said Applejack, "Lead me to it!"

Several minutes later, Applejack and Braeburn had left the town outskirts and were galloping along to a large outcrop of dusty Redstone rocks that jutted out of the ground like massive wind-worn spikes. These huge rocks sprouted out of the earth in a large circle, and Applejack could see several Appleloosa ponies positioned on the peak of a few of these rocks, armed with some old Stallion Empire rifles. This was no doubt the meeting place.

Applejack and Braeburn entered the ring of stone spikes, and were greeted by a pony on the other side of the arena.

This pony was dark grey. His hair was rusty red, and his eyes reflected the same iron color as his coat. His cutie mark was a lock pick and a bag of bits.

"Greetings," said the pony coldly, "I am Fury Wing, and I am a partner with Mr. Sharp, the Arms-Dealer."

"Where is that extortionist, then?" snapped Applejack. The moment she laid eyes on Fury Wing, she felt very nervous and wary. This pony had an air of arrogance and power around him, and it unnerved her.

"I am supposin' you never dealt with these kind of ponies before," murmured Braeburn, "Let me handle this."

Applejack sighed and then nodded her head. Braeburn gave her a quick wink and then stepped up to Fury Wing. "Where is this Mr. Sharp?"

"He will show himself when he is ready," replied Fury Wing evenly, "Where is the assurance of payment?"

Braeburn held out a hoof to Applejack. "Hand me one of the bags of bits," said Brarburn quietly, "But ONLY one."

Applejack nodded and pulled out the larger one. She tossed it to Braeburn. Braeburn caught it in his mouth and then tossed it to Fury Wing. The bag landed at his hooves and flopped open, spilling its precious contents out before him. Fury Wing's eyes darted over the plethora of gold and bits with the air of a seasoned expert before he nodded and said, "This is good. Mr. Sharp is ready."

There was a long pause. Then, suddenly, a griffon strolled forward from behind one of the outcropping rocks. He was dressed in a nice dress suit and wore a golden monocle. He tossed a golden swagger stick in the air as he stepped forward beside Fury Wing.

Applejack squinted at the Griffon. He somehow seemed familiar. Then her mouth dropped to the floor. She recognized this Mr. Sharp.

"Stuff me in a barrel and call me pickled," breathed Applejack, "Gustave le Grand!"

"Oui! You recognize me now, no?" chuckled the griffon, "Well, it might interest you to know that the name is Monsieur le Sharp. Gustave was a fake name for moi. Clever, no?"

"I… I… What in Tarnation are you doin'? Yer a chef!" exclaimed Applejack.

"Ah, one of moi's better hobbies. My second favorite as well, just behind dealing with le weapons of the world," chuckled Sharp, "Now enough of this disgusting banter. You have my payment, I have your weapons. Fury Wing?"

Fury Wing nodded and pulled out a remote control. He pressed a button on it, and a massive crate de-cloaked behind him. Applejack's eyes narrowed. If this duo had invisibility-projecting technology, what other other-dimension weapons did they have?

Fury Wing quickly typed on an electronic keypad on the crate and then stepped back. The crate opened with a hiss, and exposed a massive pile of weapons. Everything ranging from SMGs, to RPGs, to Colt Pythons, to what looked like a Halo-Dimension Covenant Beam Rifle.

Applejack was not impressed. But then again, she was a mare of peace, so weapons never impressed her. Braeburn, however, let out what sounded like a whimper of pure ecstasy.

Sharp laughed at Applejack's face and said, "Do not worry, my little cupcake, I like you are your little friends. There are no tricks or traps. A fair deal, no?"

Applejack nodded her head slowly and pulled out the other bag of money. She tossed it to Sharp, who caught it with his free claws. He kissed it reverently and said, "Oui! Very good! Thank you my friends. As always, it is a pleasure to do dealings with such 'innocent' Ponyville ponies as yourself!"

Applejack narrowed her eyes. Sharp was obviously making a jab at her. However, before she could retort, the sound of an explosion abruptly tore through the sky. Everypony glanced up to see a flaming ship come tearing through the atmosphere to crash near them. Applejack glanced back to ask Sharp about this new turn of events, but both he and Fury Wing were gone. Fortunately the large crate of weapons was still there.

"Looks like one of the spaceships that got shot down from that space battle is a-comin' to berth here!" exclaimed Braeburn in alarm, "We better get ready. This will raise Phasetrooper alarms for sure!"

Applejack nodded her head. "Right. All ponies here grab a new weapon. Whatever you take you can have as payment for securing this site for me."

Braeburn nodded thankfully and motioned for the seven ponies behind him to seize a few of the weapons from the colossal crate of them. After each one had grabbed one that they fancied, Braeburn signaled for them to advance on the spot that he figured would be ground zero for the damaged ship. Applejack seized a Colt Python handgun in one hoof and shoved it in her saddle bag. She then trotted after Braeburn, leaving the pony named Rusty to guard the trove of weapons.

As she galloped to catch up with Braeburn, the spaceship swooped lower and lower to the ground. Suddenly it disappeared behind a range of hills.

"Where in Tarnation did that thing go?!" exclaimed Applejack as she caught up with Braeburn.

"It disappeared into Dried Apple Gorge. However, by the lack of sound, I am figurin' that it musta landed and not exploded and the like."

"We will find out in a moment, I suppose then," muttered Applejack as she, Braeburn, and his followers approached the scene of the landing ship.

In a minute, the group arrived at the hill range. As they reached the apex of the hills, they pressed their bellies to the warm earth and crawled forward. The range of hills suddenly dropped off into a shallow gorge a score or more meters deep. The ship that had appeared from the skies had landed in the dip in the earth and was now stationary, with smoke rising around it. Though it was badly scorched, and a couple of places were in flames, it looked in fairly good condition. In fact, Applejack could still read the name of the ship. "Moscow Rain."

Applejack blinked. Moscow? The capitol of Udderton, the land of the cows?

She opened her mouth to ask Braeburn about the name when he covered her mouth with a hoof. Immediately Applejack saw what he was looking at. A squad of Phasetroopers were approaching the ship with weapons drawn. The ship's docking port suddenly opened, and human beings armed with projectile weapons began to fire at the Phasetroopers from the opening. Immediately the lead Phasetrooper threw down a small metal ball. The ball bounced once and then flashed to life. It exploded into a huge ribbon of crystalline light that expanded to form a kind of waist-high barrier. The bullets fired from the men within the ship bounced harmlessly off the light shield. It was a portable cover-projecter. Clever.

The Phasetroopers got down on their knees and began to return fire with their energy weapons. After a moment of shooting, one of the Phasetroopers signaled for a Phasetrooper in the back to come forward. This Phasetrooper was armed with some sort of shoulder-mounted rocket laucher. This Phasetrooper lumbered forward and fired a missile. It sizzled into the opening and detonated on the doorstep, releasing a shimmering blast of power. The ship itself was not harmed, but the men using the door as covered turned to skeletons, their organic flesh and muscles incinerated into nothing. The lead Phasetrooper picked up the small metal ball he had originally thrown and began to approach carefully. However, just as he reached the entrance, a massive blast of sound resounded from the opening, and the Phasetrooper flew backwards, shotgun splatter in his chest.

A man who was dressed like the leader of the ship, the captain, rushed from the opening flanked by a dozen men upon the eight Phasetroopers left. It was a suicide move, but the captain looked like he was prepared for it. Sadly, the tides turned immediately. Just as four more Phasetroopers fell with bullets in their heads, the remainder cloaked themselves with invisibility. The humans milled about, unsure of what to do. Then, one man died with an en energy sword thrust through his chest. Then another, then another, and then another. In less than a second, the four Phasetroopers had killed the captian's twelve men with ease.

"They shoulda started it off with that move," murmured Braeburn, a little unsure of whose side he was on in this little fight. Applejack glared at him. She was clearly rooting for the captain.

The four Phasetroopers then un-cloaked and surrounded the captain and pointed their guns at his head. The captain immediately tried to raise his weapon, but a Phasetrooper whipped out a strange device. Suddenly the handgun that the captain was pulling out crumbled to dust. Then the shotgun strapped to his back, and a small pistol strapped to his ankle both dissolved into nothing as well. The Phasetrooper nodded and put the device away. The other Phasetroopers then forced the captain onto his knees and prepared to execute him. However, just before the group pulled the triggers on their respective weapons, the Phasetrooper that looked like their new lead Phasetrooper held up a hand and put a finger to the side of his helmet, as his he was receiving a call. Then, the Phasetrooper nodded his head and motioned for the Phasetroopers to back away. They group did so, and then put up their weapons. This was all Applejack needed to see. The perfect distraction had given her the perfect opening. Throwing caution to the winds, she leapt up onto her hind legs and aimed with her Colt Python. She pointed to tip of the gun and one of the Phasetroopers and pulled the trigger. The gun immediately flew out of her hand and sent her tumbling over backwards. By a pure miracle, the bullet sizzled through the scorched and dry air and struck a Phasetrooper in the shoulder. The Phasetroopers pulled up their weapons and began to fire at the hill range.

Grumbling about always being put in danger because of cousins, Braeburn signaled his followers to return fire. It was completely one-sided. The ponies had higher ground, and the Phasetroopers could not really see who they were shooting at. Thanks to the distraction, they could also not spare the time to activate their bio-scanners or their personal energy shields. In the course of several seconds, the four remaining Phasetroopers had been killed. The captain got up and looked around. Then he crossed his arms nonchalantly. He then beckoned casually to the ponies on the hill range as if he was asking a two-year-old on the swings on the other side of the playground to come over so that he could have an admonishing word with them.

Braeburn glanced over questioningly at Applejack (who had recovered from the kick of her weapon). Applejack rubbed her rump ruefully and then said, "I suppose we might as well go down there and see what he wants. We saved his life, after all."

Braeburn nodded and signaled for his followers to lower arms. He then signaled them to help him and Applejack down into the gorge.

In a couple of minutes, the two were trotting up to meet the captain.

"By Finis, I was saved by PONIES?" he snorted cynically, "That is the most goddamned thing I have seen all day, and I have seen some goddamned things today."

"Who the hay are you, stranger?" said Braeburn warily.

"Me? You haven't heard of me? Your life must have been a secluded one. I am Admiral Krausk. I am captain of the Moscow Rain, and probably the best that ever was, is, and will be," snapped the captain.

"Wait," interjected Applejack, "If you are the best that was, is, and will be… then how did you just get all of yer followers killed and get shot down in the first place? It ain't addin' up."

Krausk glared at her. "They were casualties of war. Something you would never understand, space pony."

"I ain't a space pony. I'm an Earth Pony. Where the hay are you from?" said Applejack, still eying Krausk truculently.

"I came from a different dimension. I was fighting these damned rebels, when they jumped to this dimension. When we followed them, we found out it was a trap. Heh… ALL of us were destroyed, including them. However, I was somehow saved," said Krausk impatiently.

Applejack's eyes brightened. She remembered the talks that Twilight, Flaming Star, and Sunset Shadow had given about the importance of interdimensionally travelling people. Does this mean that interdimensionally travelling ships could be important as well?

"You have a ship that flies through dimensions?" said Applejack hopefully, "Is that the ship behind you? Does it work?"

"Not anymore it doesn't," snorted Krause, "It takes tons of super-condensed, supersaturated Edinium to make any dimensional jumps, so it is out of power. I don't know why you are even worried about that. Hell, I'm worried about the weapons. I may have landed safely, but the fires destroyed all of the weapons and military hardware before they were put out. My typical luck. By Finis I hate this situation…"

"Hmmm… The ship still has the interdimensional travelling capabilities and the like, right?" asked Applejack, her mind still on the ship.

Krause rolled his eyes. "Yes, space pony, the ship can still jump. Now shut up and let me talk to your superior like a civilized being."

"Oh, I am not her superior, stranger," said Braeburn hastily, catching Applejack's eye, "But if you want to talk, we will have to do it somewhere else."

"I'm not leaving my ship, if that is what you mean," snapped Krausk.

"Don't worry. It will be safe with us, I will have my ponies guard it day and night," said Braeburn, trying to sound soothing in case this Krausk person decided to shoot their faces off out of pure spite.

"You can trust us," added Applejack, "After all, we saved yer hide, right?"

"They saved my ass, not you," said Krausk, "You just fired off a shot and fell over. I saw it all."

Applejack glared at him, but Krausk just ignored her and said, "Very well. The ship is in fairly good condition, but it will need a powerful power source to even get off the ground, let alone travel dimensions. Well, I might as well follow you space ponies. I have nothing better to do, anyway. However, before I go, I need to get my rifle."

"Your… rifle? Do we really have time?" asked Braeburn in a strained voice, glancing nervously at the horizon, expecting a platoon of Kottora or Shradian tanks to be bringing death on the wind any time now.

"You have women, I have rifles. I am sure you would never leave your girlfriend in a ditch," said Krausk airily as he strolled into the ship, and then returned with a long-barreled rifle.

"This is Arev," said Krause, almost reverently, "Now I am good. Well? Why the hell are you space ponies staring? Let's go."

"Right… follow me," said Braeburn slowly, still looking unsure of himself.

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><p><strong>Note: Let's see... What do we have here... Aha! If you give me reviews <strong>**(a.k.a. FEEDBACK)****, I will give you a fluffy bunny. These bunnies have buffed cuteness stats, with fluffy levels over 9000. Additionally (if you have not already) if you do the poll on my profile, we here at "A Mending Soul" corporation will ship you a baby panda. Pandas are also fluffy. Do not ask where we got the panda, or why we are giving them away. We have Lord Kytax, so we are exempt from laws... I think.**


	89. Chapter 89 - A Light Shines

**Note: Okay, I myself will admit that I rushed this chapter. Sorry! I have had a lot of things to do, so I felt more interested in advancing the story as opposed to dwelling on specific events. When this week ends, I will be able to possibly write more, so I do not believe I will have similar issues any time soon. Anyway... Enjoy!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Fluttershy and Sunset's House_

_Time: Two weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Desmond's eyes snapped open. Breathing heavily, he glanced around. He was in a tidy room. The floor was mahogany, with the smooth streaks of stained wood swept clean. The room the walls were whitewashed and various wooden pieces of furniture lined the walls: a couple of chairs, a writing desk, and a dresser.

Desmond bit his bottom lip as he slowly eased himself out of bed. If he could escape the house silently, then there would be no one to stop him as he exacted his revenge on Pictor. Slowly he placed his hooves on the ground with the slightest noise. Shuffling forward, doing his best to avoid creaking floorboards, Desmond moved to the door. She nosed it open, and then slowly shuffled past the door. Just as he began to climb down the stairs, a voice sounded off behind him: "Where do you think you're going?"

Desmond whirled to face the voice, but slipped. He skidded down the stairs on his behind and came to a painful stop at the bottom.

Now rubbing his rump ruefully, Desmond glanced up to see who had spoken. It was Sunset Shadow.

"Well, that looked painful," commented Sunset dryly as he trotted downstairs himself.

Now seeing who it was, Desmond averted his eyes resentfully. However, this did not put Sunset off. Instead, he trotted straight up to him and sat down.

"So," Sunset continued, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine," muttered Desmond, "I would be better if you let me get out there and finish my mission."

"What is your mission now?" asked Sunset quietly, "To deliver this?"

Sunset held up the small glass container that held the Imagination Source. Desmond's mouth dropped open.

"How did you find that?" insisted Desmond, "I thought it would have been lost during my transformation!"

"It did fall into a bushel of flowers in the Everfree forest," said Sunset, "But Flaming Star found it and delivered it to me. What is it?"

"It is none of your business," muttered Desmond.

"You are my ward now, Desmond, so this is my business," replied Sunset.

Desmond looked up in surprise. Sunset had claimed that much ownership over him? Usually, Desmond would have been disgusted. He was a loner. All he needed was Emilee, himself, and the road. But with Emilee gone, he felt very vulnerable and unstable, so Sunset showing that level of care touched him. Desmond opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. Finally, he stuttered, "I… I… I need to make Pictor pay. I need him to pay for what he did to Emilee."

"I know what happened," murmured Sunset, "But you need to let it go. The hate will fester within you and turn sour. When it does, you will become a corrupted monster like Pictor. You cannot let that happen."

"If I need to become Pictor to kill Pictor, then I will do it," snarled Desmond, getting over his initial shock.

"If you become Pictor to kill Pictor, then Pictor will never be dead," said Sunset calmly, "He will continue to live on and laugh at your troubles as he resides within you."

"How do you know that?" hissed Desmond, "You've never had the troubles that I have had!"

Sunset cocked his head to one side. "You know I was called the 'Madman of the Multiverse' at one time, correct?"

Desmond nodded his head.

Sunset sighed. "Yes. Everyone knows. However, at the apex of my madness, I killed my girlfriends, fairly much in the same way Pictor killed Emilee. It might have been worse, in fact, for Pictor killed her immediately, my actions slowly squeezed the life out of Melissa."

Desmond's face paled. "So the one you wanted revenge against for killing your best friend… was yourself?"

Sunset nodded. "I wanted to kill myself. I wanted to do it so bad. However, I was stopped."

Desmond blinked. "Really? By whom?"

Sunset smiled. "Fluttershy."

At this moment, Fluttershy trotted in the door. She was carrying a bag of groceries in her mouth, and Starlight Amber was trotting beside her. At the site of Desmond, Starlight's eyes light up. She cantered to his side and stared up into his face with wondering eyes. Desmond shifted away uncomfortable and mumbled something unintelligible.

Fluttershy smiled brightly and put down the bag of groceries. She then also trotted up to Desmond.

"How is my little patient doing?" she asked sweetly as she kissed him on the forehead.

Desmond's face turned bright red, and his head nearly spontaneously combusted. Sunset grinned.

"I-I-I-I'm f-fine," stuttered Desmond.

"Oh my, you're stuttering, do you have a cold?"

"N-no… I-I'm fine…"

"You must have a cold! Poor thing. I will be right back."

Fluttershy quickly trotted to another room to get the medical supplies. Sunset nearly burst out laughing.

"Is that really what my face looked like when I first met Fluttershy?" mused Sunset to himself as he watched Desmond look around wildly for an avenue of escape.

Fluttershy trotted back and placed a thermometer in Desmond's mouth. After a moment, she pulled it out and inspected it closely.

"Thank goodness, you don't have a cold. However, I need to make sure."

Fluttershy pressed her cheek gently against Desmond's forehead. Desmond's muscles stiffened, and his eyes went wide. Sunset nearly suffocated himself as he strove to stem the tide of giggles. After another pause, Fluttershy stepped back and trotted to stand by Sunset's side.

"He's fine now, poor baby. You might want to have a word with Flaming Star. Hitting this poor pony on the head, the bully," said Fluttershy as she nuzzled Sunset, who had gotten his laughter under control.

Desmond was breathing heavily again as his head swam. No one had showed him love before beside Emilee, so this was completely unnerving. Finally Desmond struggled to all fours and patted Starlight's head with a hoof absently-mindedly. Starlight seized Desmond's hoof and declared, "I like him. Can we keep him?"

Desmond blanched as he said, "Oh… er… no… I really have to be going…"

"I think it is best if you stay here for now," said Sunset warily, "I don't exactly trust you."

"Sunset!" exclaimed Fluttershy.

"No, you are right," sighed Desmond, "I don't really trust myself… You are right. I just want to kill Pictor SO BAD."

"Oh my," murmured Fluttershy, "That sounds scary."

"The feeling itself is scary," mumbled Desmond, "The impulses are terrible. I just cannot stand knowing he is literally in the same town as I am, and yet I cannot do anything."

"He could be in another dimension entirely, and you would still hold the same power over him as you do now: nothing. Pictor is a Dimensional Lord, thus, he cannot be killed by mortals," said Sunset, trying to sound soothing.

"But… but… but I HURT him! I HURT him with my sword!" exclaimed Desmond desperately, still looking for a way to kill his greatest enemy.

"You scratched him. The damage you dealt to Pictor was equivalent to me getting a paper-cut on my leg. Pictor is impossible to kill, but he can most certainly kill you," said Sunset gravely.

Fluttershy then stepped in between Sunset and Desmond and said, "Now, you two, stop that. No more arguing. We are going to sit in the living room and play cards like a loving family."

"Family? No, I really have to get going," burst out Desmond, beginning to scramble backwards.

"Well, you could at least stay the night," said Sunset, almost pleadingly, "I would you like if you managed to not get yourself killed for a single day."

Desmond looked at Fluttershy, and then at Sunset, and then back at Fluttershy. Fluttershy then gave him the "Bambi Eyes," and that sold it for him. Sighing in resignation, Desmond nodded.

"I suppose I could stay for a bit," he muttered. Though he was reluctant, his better judgment told him that this was the best. Being with ponies who loved him unconditionally would help heal the wound that Pictor tore inside him. The more the wound healed the less of a psychopath he became.

At this moment, a knock resounded from the front door.

"And the spell is broken," grumbled Sunset under his breath as he trotted up to the door and opened it. It was Flaming Star and Twilight.

"Hello," said Flaming Star, "I have something important to say."

Sunset looked around, "I believe the cat has the salad…"

"That is what we wanted to talk about," interjected Twilight, "They're gone. The Phasetroopers assigned to you, Night Shade, and Flaming Star are gone; which means they have probably left Caustic Rain alone as well. Night Shade was just over at our house to tell us that."

Sunset's eyes narrowed. "Why would the Paradox order the soldiers to leave us alone?"

"We don't know, but we are going to take advantage of it," said Flaming Star, "Twilight has told me about the status of the plan involving the weapons."

"Oh yeah… How is that going, anyway?" asked Sunset.

"Applejack left a day ago to carry out the rest of the mission in Appleloosa," said Twilight, "That is where Flaming Star and I are going now. Will you come with us?"

Sunset thought about it for a moment. Then he glanced back to Desmond and Fluttershy. Then he said, slowly, "No. I will not leave. I am going to stay here with Desmond and the rest and watch over Ponyville. We will need somepony to ensure the Paradox is not planning something big, because, in all likelyhood, he is."

"Agreed," said Flaming Star, "So we are going to have to act fast. We are leaving with Rainbow Dash in a couple of minutes."

"That reminds me," said Sunset, "How is Pinkie Pie doing? Rainbow Dash told me that she had broken her back leg earlier. Is she okay?"

"She is recovering fine, now," said Twilight, her voice full of relief, "The bear trap that crushed her leg was blunt, so the bone was only fractured. It's mending fine."

"That's good," sighed Sunset, "I was worried about her."

"We should be going now," said Flaming Star, "The train will be leaving soon."

Sunset smiled and winked. "You two have fun now."

Flaming Star winked back. "I am sure we will."

Sunset closed the door and sighed. He loved his friends, but he was disturbed that they were so avid on getting those weapons. Granted, he himself could not think of a way of showing the Paradox the light, but there HAD to be another way…

"Did I just hear something about weapons?" asked Desmond, his eyes were alight with the fire of vengeance again.

"Maybe," said Sunset carefully, not wanting to lie but not wanting to excite Desmond who was obviously still a little unstable, "It is not important now. Just try to think about something else."

Fluttershy put a hoof around Desmond's shoulders. "Just take a deep breath, and enjoy the sunlight," she said soothingly.

Desmond bit the bottom of his lip and then nodded. His eyes cleared again. Sunset smiled. Desmond was responding well to their kindness… Hopefully…

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Just south of the Ghastly Gorge_

_Time: Two weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria, a couple of hours later_

"This… is boring," sighed Rainbow Dash as she flopped over her train seat for the tenth time.

"This wasn't meant to be exciting in the first place," replied Flaming Star dryly. Twilight was asleep, and he had spread a wing over her back.

"This is also kind of awkward," said Rainbow Dash, "I mean, I kinda feel like a third wheel here."

Flaming Star smiled as he listened to Twilight's contented breathing. "Oh, you're just fine," he said, "I don't think any of us mind. I mean, we've been engaged for forever now, so it is no secret."

"That's another thing!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, switching the subject, "Why the hay haven't you asked her to marry you yet? You have cold hooves?"

"No," snorted Flaming Star, "I don't have cold hooves. I'm just… um… er… waiting for the right moment…"

"Yeaaahhhhh… rrrriigghhhttt," said Rainbow Dash with a significant wink, "We girls can tell if you are scared of us, by the way."

"What? No! I, um, so... why are you bored?" stuttered Flaming Star, trying to switch the subject again.

Rainbow Dash grinned, but she decided to let him go this one time. "Oh, I'm just still buzzing with the near-death experiences that have been happening in quick succession. I guess my brain is just trying to get used to the lull in the action."

"Ah, I've had that before," chuckled Flaming Star, "I once had a five-hundred-year lull in war. It was probably the worst and most boring time of my whole existence. Funnily enough, now that I look at it from the present… it wasn't so bad. I bet you that this peaceful, quiet train ride will make you think the same eventually."

"Don't count on it," snorted Rainbow Dash, "But I guess things are quiet right now, I might as well go ahead and take a nap. Twilight seems into the lull already."

"That's right," agreed Flaming Star, "You should take a nap as well. Just let the quiet lull you to…"

Then the locomotive exploded. In literally a second, the scene went from peaceful and quiet, to disastrous as the engine of the train burst into flames and derailed. The train began to writhe like a dying snake as it skidded across the dead flatlands of the south, kicking up huge plumes of dust and smoke. The flaming chain of carriages smashed through groves of cacti, sending up spirals of spars and burning vegetation as momentum carried the ruined locomotive forward. Finally the wreck came to a painful stop, with long scorch marks streaking the crater of desolation in its wake.

Inside the carriage was a scene of chaos as well.

"Flaming Star!" cried Twilight through the smoke and dust, "I'm trapped under the wreckage!"

Flaming Star was dragging himself up as he heard her cry of distress. "Keep talking!" he shouted, "I cannot see you, but I can still here you!"

"I'm here! I'm here! Please Flaming Star! Don't leave me!" sobbed Twilight, absolutely terrified.

Cursing under his breath, Flaming Star slammed a hoof on the ground of the upturned train. A massive blast of pure power emanated from him. She shockwave rippled through the air, pushing back the flames, smoke, and dust. In a second Flaming Star could see the whole carriage. Rainbow Dash was rubbing her head, absolutely dazed, and Twilight was lying under what had been the front half of the lavatory.

"I think I twisted a hoof!" cried Twilight.

Flaming Star galloped up to her and decimated the wreckage burying her with a single blow. He pulled her up and inspected her closely.

"You've badly hurt both your back right leg and your right wing," he sighed, "No more trotting for you today."

"What?" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, "How the hay are we supposed to get out of here?"

"We don't," replied Flaming Star, "Or, at least, Twilight and I don't. You are fast enough. Go get help. I will make sure Twilight is safe and then I will begin to look for survivors. Well? What are you waiting for? Get the hell out of here!"

Rainbow blanched a bit as Flaming Star shouted at her, but then she nodded quickly. She then spread her wings and blasted out a shattered window. She turned in a huge loop in the air before she blasted off at high speed towards Appleloosa.

Raising a hoof, Flaming Star hurled a massive blast of Dark Matter at the debris before him. The attack sizzled straight through any obstacles blocking him and Twilight from exiting the train. Flaming Star then shouldered Twilight and began to plod outside. Twilight gave a little gasp of pain every time he leapt over something, or had to jerk aside to avoid the small fires starting all over the disaster area.

Finally, though, Flaming Star made it outside with Twilight on her back. He lay her down gently a safe distance from the burning locomotive, and was about to gallop back into the inferno to see if he could save anypony else when Twilight whimpered, "Flaming Star?"

Flaming Star turned back to look at her with concern in his eyes, "Yes, Twilight?"

Then Flaming Star noticed what she was looking at. At least twelve Phasetroopers were stationed less than a dozen meters away. They were all pointing weapons at them. At the head of the group was none other than Ravencroft Solace. His face was drawn in pain as he stared with horror at them.

Flaming Star immediately threw up an energy shield around himself and Twilight, but was too late. A Phasetrooper fired an energy beam at him. It struck him in the leg, and immediately he began to feel his powers weakening. The Phasetrooper had hit him with some sort of drugging device, lessening his ability to control his powers. Gasping for breath as he struggled to keep his waning powers in check, Flaming Star threw up the energy shield once more. He then continued to look on; Ravencroft put a finger to his right temple and spoke through a telepathic link to Pictor.

"We have Twilight and Flaming Star," he said quietly.

"What do you mean, 'We have Twilight and Flaming Star'?" snapped Pictor, "You are supposed to be giving me the status report AFTER they are dead!"

"I just thought you might want to know, since you will be the one convincing all their friends that the Great Plan is almost near completion," replied Ravencroft evenly.

"Whatever. I will make sure Sunset and Desmond know the gravity of their little situation. They are idiots, they will fall into the plan easily, now finish your goddamn job!" snarled Pictor.

Ravencroft faltered. He looked at Flaming Star and Twilight's faces with pure sorrow.

"Please," whispered Flaming Star, knowing there was no way to escape what was coming, "Please don't do this…"

Ravencroft closed his eyes and shook his head. A single tear rolled down his face. Then he nodded he said, "Phasetroopers, open fire."

The whole group opened up with their energy weapons. The energy shield surrounding Flaming Star immediately began to buckle as the waves of lasers struck the bubble of power.

As the shield began to distort as it got ready to pop, Twilight whispered, "Flaming Star? What is going to happen to us?"

His face distraught, Flaming Star shook his head as his mind raced. "It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay…"

Ravencroft's face was still distraught. He looked at Twilight's terrified face, and then he looked at the Phasetroopers. Then he covered his ears with his hands and slowly fell to his knees. He just was kneeling there, his eyes shut tightly, and his hands clamped firmly over his ears. Then, just as the shield bubble popped, Ravencroft held up a hand.

"Please, stop... I-I need to say something first," her murmured.

The Phasetroopers stopped shooting and looked at Ravencroft.

"Look... I am so sorry. I AM SO SORRY," Ravencroft sobbed to Twilight and Flaming Star.

"If you are sorry, you will let us live," said Flaming Star. He slurred out the words, the device that had drained his powers had also drugged his brain.

"I can't... I need to be with my family," said Ravencroft, "I cannot be with them until I do what the Paradox wants..."

"Fluttershy told me," murmured Twilight, "But... if you want to be with them, you have to die. Don't you realize that the Paradox is doing nothing but taking advantage of your state?"

"No, he promised me," whispered Ravencroft, tears running down his face, "He... He... I'm so sorry..."

"Commander Ravencroft, we are running out of time," snapped the Elite Phasetrooper beside him, "We need to begin."

"Please, wait a moment," said Ravencroft, "I need to make them understand..."

"No. YOU need to understand, Commander. We are out of time," snarled the Elite Phasetrooper, "Soldiers! Take aim! Fire!"

However, just before the Phasetroopers could do anything...

Ravencroft leapt up and seized the Elite Phasetrooper by the throat. The Elite Phasetrooper immediately crumbled to dust as Ravencroft's necromancy powers drained it of its life-force. The Phasetroopers reacted immediately and turned their weapons on him; however, it was too late. Ravencroft slammed a fist to the ground, sending out a seismic blast. The Phasetroopers fell backwards as the shockwave knocked them into the air. Ravencroft then conjured up two long flaming whips of plasma. He lashed out with them, slicing through the Phasetroopers as the scrambled to their feet.

Two Phasetroopers were now left. The flipped over and seized their weapons, firing rapidly. Ravencroft threw up a massive wall of pure energy (blocking the attacks) and hurled it at one. The wall blasted on of the remaining Phasetroopers high in the air. The other Phasetrooper hurled a singularity grenade. Just as it flew towards Ravencroft, he opened up a portal. The grenade slipped through an appeared a kilometer in the air above them. It imploded harmlessly. The Phasetrooper, seeing that its grenade did not work, whipped out a handgun and began to fire it. Ravencroft dashed towards the enemy at superspeed and rammed into it. Wrapping his hands around the last Phasetrooper's throat, he drained the enemy of all of its lifeforce before either of them hit the ground. Ravencroft then stood up slowly, breathing heavily.

There was a long pause. "Why... why did you do this?" asked Flaming Star, breaking the silence.

"You two love each other. This multiverse needs love," was all Ravencroft said. It was obvious that that was not exactly what he had meant to say, and that he had much more to say, but both Twilight and Flaming Star took the response at face value.

"We need to move," said Flaming Star, "At least one of the Phasetroopers will have sent out a distress signal."

"No," replied Ravencroft, "I jammed the signals. As of yet, we are in the clear. Pictor thinks you both dead, and he trusts my loyalty now. This will give us an advantage."

"What do we do now?" asked Twilight.

"We need to get to Appleloosa," said Ravencroft briskly," I heard the Paradox talking about taking control of a interdimensional ship that crash landed near there. Follow me."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Just south of the Ghastly Gorge_

_Time: Two weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria, a couple of hours later_

Pictor grinned as he cut off communications from Ravencroft. He then turned to the Paradox.

"Well?" said the Paradox quietly, "What is happening?"

"Ravencroft is about to finish off Twilight and Flaming Star," said Pictor gleefully, "All is well."

"Very well," sighed the Paradox, feeling something akin to remorse. He had personally liked Flaming Star. After all, he had been his first Dimensional Traveler. Unfortunately, for a Dimensional Lord of a trillion lifetimes, death was nothing to him, so he was not distressed.

"Now," continued the Paradox, "We need to ensure that the whole of Equestria knows, especially this little Resistance group. They need to know that we are closing down operations, and beginning to eliminate those who oppose us. They will realize that, since we have no more use for them, we must be close to our objective. After they realize that, they will turn to Desmond and Sunset Shadow, who have the Imagination Energy source in their possession. Pictor, ensure that Applejack alerts them that she has control of an Interdimensionall travelling ship. Desmond has been in contact with Doxia, so he knows how this will work. They will take it and fly it to find the Doxia with the news that the Great Plan has supposedly almost come to a close."

"I still think this is a really bad idea," said Pictor, "Doxia is too smart. He will see straight through this deception. And what of Kytax?"

"You are overestimating Doxia... and do not speak of Kytax," replied the Paradox curtly, "I have thought out every possible outcome; all of which we rise victorious."

"Well... Have you calculated those strange vials Doxia stole back from the vaults of Amethyst? Do you even remember them?" insisted Pictor.

"They are of no consequence. There is only one interdimensional ship in existence now that is not under our control, and that is the very ship in Appleloosa. We just need to ensure that we have convinced the beings soon to command it that the priority is to destroy the Crystal of Harmony," snapped the Paradox.

"I still don't know why you want the Crystal of Harmony to be destroyed so bad. I mean, you went through all of the trouble to retool the Kappa Space Bridge so that you could hide that very artifact on the farthest universe possible, and now here you are, wanting it to be destroyed," snorted Pictor.

"You do not need to understand, you just need to obey," replied the Paradox.

"You know what? I am getting very tired of your attitude," hissed Pictor, "I think we should settle this."

"No," snapped the Paradox, "Not here, not now. All you need to know is that when the Crystal of Harmony is destroyed, all of our problems will be eliminated. Trust me."

Pictor glared at the Paradox. However, after a moment of struggling with his thoughts, Pictor came to a sickening realization: he DID trust the Paradox, and that terrified him completely.

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><p><strong>Note: Okay, let us switch this up a bit. Who wants Morgul Blade? No? How about a Covenant Carbine? Maybe? Anyway, give me reviews! Thank you! I will see you all next week!<strong>


	90. Chapter 90 - Moving North

_Dimension: Adventures in Odyssey_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Abbington Falls, Iowa, United States of America_

_Time: Over two weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"I must admit," muttered Sherlock as he looked around the lush environment that was the forest of Abbington Falls, "I do like this place."

"Of course you do," chortled the Ninth Doctor, "I think everyone likes it."

"Eh, Whit's End was better. They had ice cream. But yeah! This place is awesome as well," said Jared.

Suddenly a portal opened next to them and Jetfire, Wild, and Rarity exited.

"We are here!" exclaimed Jetfire dramatically, "And I can tell you whippersnappers, Lady Rarity here knows more about chrome and paint jobs than any being I've ever known!"

Rarity blushed and smiled. Wild just rolled his eyes.

"Did you get what we came for?" asked Wild.

Sherlock nodded and pulled out the Pajama Sam lunch box.

Wild raised an eyebrow. "Is that Pajama Sam's lunch box?"

Sherlock snorted and rolled his eyes. "No. It's Putt-Putt's dog, Pep. What do you think it is?!"

"It is a replica Pajama Sam gave to Sherlock a while back," interjected the Doctor in a more jocund manner, "It contains the Imagination Energy source."

"Right," said Wild, who was now eying Sherlock rather truculently, "Let's go to Doxia then."

The group then set off to Finnian Jones' Bookstore. In a couple of minutes, they were at the doorstep. Finnian strolled outside with Doxia and said, "The returning heroes! Welcome! Welcome!"

"It is good to be back," sighed Jetfire, stretching. A screeching noise equivalent to fingernails on a chalkboard resounded from his rusty bolts and springs as flexed his metallic appendages.

Doxia chuckled. "Of course it is. Now, did everything go well? I can see that most of it did, considering Jared DeWhite is here."

Jared was staring at Doxia with wide eyes. Doxia nodded his head amiably at Jared, and then turned to bow elegantly to Sherlock, who had a rather surprised look on his face. He had only seen Mattimeo, so to see another Dimensional Lord up so close was quite shocking.

"Ah, Sherlock and the Ninth Doctor. The Dream Team, as I sometimes say. You two are very welcome," said Finnian Jones, rigorously shaking the Doctor's hand.

"Likewise, friend," said the Doctor, who was very pleased to see that his friend Sherlock was speechless for once in his lifetime.

"Um… Doxia, is it?" said Sherlock after a pause, "We have something for you."

Doxia turned his head to look at Sherlock again and said, "Oh? For me? Why, you shouldn't have. And do not worry; I am nothing like the old Kuzco. Thus, do not expect an acorn to the head."

What Doxia had said literally made no sense to anyone other that Finnian, but it did not matter. Shrugging, Sherlock handed Doxia the Edinium rock from the Pajama Sam lunch box.

"Oh! I see what you mean! If you want me to extract the Imagination Energy from here, I can. However, be warned, it is impure, so it will not run on any old Amethyst, Sapphire, or E.D.D. ship," said Doxia, looking over the rock.

"Actually, that is where some bad news comes in," said Finnian Jones, "Mattimeo and Archangel Michael went to look at that one ship in the Grand Theft Auto dimension. It was gutted. There was nothing in there, so I do not see where this will be helpful anyway."

"And that is where we have a surprise for you!" declared Jared dramatically, "I have a Winniex Empire Ship that is in fully functioning condition!"

Doxia nearly jumped for joy. "Absaballyloutly awesome! And, yes, this Imagination Energy will, in fact, run on those engines! They were designed to run any form of impure Imagination Energy. It actually looks like we are set then, even without the help of Desmond!"

"That is right, Desmond," said Wild, "Where is he? Did he get the Imagination Energy source?"

Doxia sighed. His attitude immediately changed from ecstatic to depressed. "No," he murmured, "He was captured by Pictor. Emilee was killed."

Wild bowed his head. "That is terrible."

The Ninth Doctor winced. "I remember those two. They were inseparable. I cannot imagine what that poor young man is going through as of now."

"He should be fine," replied Finnian, "Michael also said that, according to Celestial Intelligence, that the Paradox has order Pictor to place Desmond under the care of Sunset Shadow and Fluttershy. He should be fine in their care."

"That is good," said Wild, "Is there anything else that we missed?"

"Yes," replied Doxia, "It appears that the Paradox is wrapping up operations."

"What?" breathed Rarity, "How is that ever possible? Was there not that one impenetrable shield from Atraka blocking the Paradox's access to the Tree of Harmony?"

"I don't know how they are doing it, but they are nevertheless doing it," said Doxia, "They are shutting it down."

"Well, then, our course of action is clear," said Wild, "Once you have extracted the Imagination Energy, we will use the Winniex Ship to fly to the Kappa Space Bridge in the Amethyst Dimension. We will then fly from the Space Bridge to that one dimension that hold the Crystal of Harmony. We will then proceed to destroy it."

There was a pause… then…

"No," said Doxia firmly.

"What?" snorted Wild, "We NEED to do it!"

"I know we do," said Doxia, "But I do not think it should be our priority."

"Oh, well then," growled Wild, "What SHOULD be our priority?"

"Finding Kytax," said Doxia simply. Finnian Jones nodded.

"Who is Kytax?" asked Jared.

"He is supposed to be the greatest Dimensional Lord of all time," sighed Rarity dreamily.

"Well, that is great and all, but we really need to go for the more important objective," interrupted Wild.

Doxia snorted. "Kytax should be the more important objective."

"I disagree," snapped Wild.

"Please, you two, stop arguing," said Finnian, "We need to focus on extracting the Imagination Energy first. Then we can settle out what we should do next. It is obvious that we two courses of action. When we get the Winnie Ship running, we can either: one, go and attempt to destroy the Crystal of Harmony; or two, go and attempt to call Kytax back to us using the Beacon Crystals."

"I am a trillion years old. Does that mean I get twelve separate votes?" asked Doxia. If anyone could see past his one-way visor, they would have seen him giving them the "Bambi Eyes."

Naturally, they couldn't, so it had no impression on them. "Sorry, old friend, but no," said Finnian, "However, I am not even sure that this should be a vote. This is too large of a decision. If the Paradox is indeed finishing up his work with the Harmony Tree, then we are greatly limited with respects to time. Thus, the decision we make we must commit to, and there will be no turning back."

"Finnian speaks the truth," said Mattimeo abruptly as he joined the group on the doorstep of the Bookstore, "We are limited in time. We must be careful."

"Well, I guess we are at impasse then," said Discord as he, too, entered into the conversation, "I suggest we have a rock-paper-scissors fight to decide."

"That would be unwise, my friend," chuckled Finnian good-humouredly, "Doxia's reflexes are incalculably great. Additionally, he could simply read your mind to figure out what you were going to do. As I said, this is too great of a decision to be taken lightly."

"Yes, you keep on saying that," snapped Wild, "What SHOULD we do then?"

Finnian became to smile kindly. He then pulled out a small book. "I am so glad you asked. Here is a book I wish to read to you all. Come. Let us sit down in the Exploratorium."

Wild facehoofed. "Do we really have time?"

"Yes!" exclaimed every other being there.

Wild sighed in resignation and rolled his eyes. "Oh, very well…"

Doxia chuckled. "No one should ever argue with a good book. However, just before we do that…"

Doxia passed a hand over the rock of Edinium. The rock distorted and contorted, and then a thin stream of purple gas-liquid-solid energy dribbled out of the rock and hovered in the air as if it was in a zero-gravity environment. Then it swirled together into a tight ball, and a metallic container shimmered into view around it as Doxia conjured up the container. He then tossed the rock away and handed the container to Jared.

"Now we can go read that book," chortled Doxia. He then proceeded to half-walk, half-skip into the Bookstore.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony <em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Appleloosa_

_Time: Over two weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Krausk, Braeburn, and Applejack stood in a small group next to the massive piles of weapons that Applejack had just purchased.

"So, you space ponies are fighting those beings that shot my men down as well?" asked Krausk slowly as he worked on understanding the scope of the Paradox's crimes.

Applejack nodded. "Yer darned right! We've been under the Paradox's eye for nigh two weeks now! We just got the weapons to fight back!"

"You have weapons? Excellent. My ship, as extensive as it is, has lost everything other than its main engines. Weapons are down, the armory is a mess… it is almost as if they knew exactly where to hit me…" said Krausk.

"In all probability, they DID know exactly where to hit ya, partner," said Braeburn, "There Paradox isn't some random fogey with alien technology. I would go as far as to say he is a borderline god!"

"It's true," agreed Applejack, "The Paradox is crazy powerful. Here's to hopin' that them weapons work!"

"Well, from what I can see, space pony," said Krausk briskly, "These weapons work fine. However, how the hell are you going to transport them anywhere?"

"I've got that covered," replied Braeburn promptly, "I have some Buffalo friends that are willing to help us relocate this to a special hijacked train we have a-waitin'."

"Wait, so, there are sentient Space Ponies AND sentient Space Buffalo? Damn, this universe is random," snorted Krausk derisively.

"Mayhap, but yer goin' to have to get used to it. We need to secure that ship you have there and get these weapons off," said Applejack.

At that very moment, a large group of Buffalo showed up. The chief, who was adorned in a Native American style headgear piece, moved up to Braeburn and said in guttural tones, "We have arrived to help you relocate those goods."

Braeburn nodded his head respectfully. "We are grateful for your assistance, chief, we would not have been able to do it without you."

The Buffalo chief nodded his head. With a quick grunt, he signaled his followers to shoulder the large crate that held the weapons. They did so. Then, the chief glanced at Braeburn.

"Where to?" he asked.

Braeburn winked and said, "This way!"

The group began to trot off after him as he galloped away. Krausk stood to one side, with his arms crossed, as he looked at the developing scene before him with an eyebrow raised cynically. However, as the entire group began to move away, he gave Dried Apple Gorge a worried glance, and then proceeded to follow them.

In less than thirty minutes, Braeburn and the rest arrived at what looked like an abandoned shack. It was wooden, moldy, and run down; but the large structure was still hanging in there.

"I hope the vehicle residing within that piece of junk is not in the same condition," snorted Krausk.

"Oh no, it is in fairly good condition," replied Braeburn optimistically.

He then proceeded to motion the group inside of the large garage-like shamble. Inside was a giant steam locomotive. It was rusty, but it was sturdy. A couple of wood and iron cargo carriages were still attached to the engine with rusty couplings and rope. Krausk raised an eyebrow cynically again, but did not say anything. He seemed satisfied with condition at the very least.

"Please load the crate onto that there carriage please," said Braeburn optimistically as he motioned for the buffalo to come forward. The chief nodded his head slightly, and the buffalo loaded the crate into the first cargo carriage. Braeburn then nodded his head to the buffalo chief in thanks.

"I owe you a great debt," said Braeburn humbly. The chief blinked solemnly as he said in guttural tones, "Continue to make those apple pies, and we will be at peace."

Krausk facepalmed as Braeburn winked roguishly. "You bechta! Thank you again!"

The buffalo chief signaled his followers with a hoof, and he and his group rumbled away into the distance.

"Great, so now we have the weapons on a train. Wonderful," snorted Krausk grumpily, "How the hell do we get it anywhere? From up above, it looks like the whole alien armada is blockading this planet. I believe it is safe to assume that this planet is crawling with those white-armored freaks, correct?"

"Yer right," sighed Applejack, "From where I come from, the place is fairly crawling with Phasetroopers. Braeburn, cousin, how the hay are we going to get past custom inspections?"

"That's the trick, cousin," said Braeburn smugly, "We're not. With the weapons we have here, we have enough force to take back Canterlot!"

Applejack blanched. "Are you mad? Them Phasetroopers are beyond powerful! You saw how they butchered Krausk's followers! We wouldn't last half a second with them, even with them fancy shooters!"

Braeburn continued to grin. Then he held up a walkie-talkie. "I just received news from a spy in Canterlot. The Kottora Tanks and the troopers are all pulling back from Canterlot and everywhere else. They are beginning to blockade the Everfree forest. You see? Canterlot is now under-guarded!"

For Applejack, all she heard was "They are beginning to blockade the Everfree forest." She sucked in a sharp breath. "The Tree of Harmony in in the Everfree forest. If the Phasetroopers are goin' ahead an' withdrawing to the forest, it must mean that the Harmony Tree is almost ready fer activation and the likes!" she exclaimed worriedly.

Braeburn's eyes widened as he realized the implications of the activation. Applejack had filled him in a while ago about the Harmony System, so he understood very well the ramifications of the event he had just described. "Why in tarnation didn't I think of that afore?! By Celestia yer right! We have to move! If we can take Canterlot, then we can move down to Ponyville with the Royal Guard at our backs! We haven't a moment to lose!"

"I have no freaking idea what is going on," said Krausk nonchalantly, "So I suggest you space ponies make up your minds and get a move-on."

Applejack roughly nudged Krausk towards the locomotive. "Get in!" she shouted, "We're a-movin'!"

Krausk rolled his eyes and leapt in. Braeburn whispered some hasty orders to his followers and then leapt in as well. Half of his followers galloped away while the other half clambered on top of the cargo carriage that held the massive stash of weapons. Applejack then leapt into the train as well and began to shovel coal into the engine as it began to simmer and ignite. Soon the optimal flame level had been reached, and steam began to force its way through the locomotive's system. In several minutes, steam began to hiss through the joints and sprockets of the train, and the whole vehicle began to inch forward as it gained momentum.

"An' we're off!" shouted Applejack as the train screeched loudly as it began to barrel down the tracks.

"So... If you don't mind me interrupting this deceptively jovial celebration – no matter how premature it actually is – I would really like to ask how you even intend to attack this Canterlot place. I am just guessing here, but by virtue of the fact that it has the segment '-lot' attached to it, is it safe to assume that the place you intend to invade is a castle?" said Krausk as the train continued to pick up speed.

"That it is," chortled Braeburn, "But my grandpappy was a railroad pony, so I have some old maps that will give our approach by train an edge. We will be a-comin' through an old abandoned overpass. This particular train gate may be forgotten, but it sure as tarnation ain't broken. We will enter through there and attack whatever stands in our way."

"Well, I hope you are right," sighed Krausk, "Because I don't want to end up dead. My ship hasn't gone down, so I don't intend to go down either. Tell me, what is our estimated time of arrival?"

Applejack glanced at a couple of gages. Then she checked the fire. Then she licked a hoof and held it out of the window of the locomotive. After a pause, she said, "At this speed... Exactly a day I am a-thinkin'. Yes, a day ought to do it."

Krausk sighed. "A whole day in a cramped space with space ponies. God, I take it all back. I want to die right now," he muttered to himself.

However, it was obvious that God had other plans, because lightning did not strike him, nor did the reality of the multiverse warp in order to end his existence. Thus, Krausk just sit there with an ashen face as the train barreled down rusty old tracks at top speed on its way to Canterlot Castle.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Right! Let's see if I can find something cool lying around here... Aha! If you give me reviews (a.k.a. Feedback) I will give you a dubstep gun. If laser beams and rippling energy pulses are not your thing, then could I interest you in a MSBS Radon?<strong>


	91. Chapter 91 - Rescuers

**Note: Okay, it has come to my attention that there has been a noticeable dip in the quality of my work. I would like to apologize for that. The structural integrity of my storyline has dissolved over time due to the length of this part. However, I am working to keep it together until part 6... which will be totally awesome, by the way. Anyway, I have decided to freshen things up with a bit of action! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Caustic Rain opened his eyes. The first thing he did was to do what he had regularly done for the past week: glance to his left to see that tell-tale sign of the invisible Phasetrooper who was spying on him at all times.

What he saw jarred him into wakefulness: there was no Phasetrooper there. Sitting up quickly, Caustic Rain began to scan his room almost frantically. Why was there no Phasetroopers watching him? There was always Phasetroopers watching.

At this moment, a knock resounded at his door.

"Come in," mumbled Caustic Rain, his eyes still scouring every square centimeter of the room. The door to his room opened and Luna trotted in. She immediately could tell that he was distressed.

"Caustic Rain?" she murmured, "What seems to be the matter?"

"There's no Phasetrooper watching," said Caustic Rain in hushed tones, "There is always a Phasetrooper watching! Where is he? Could he have moved? No, he never moves! Where is he?"

Luna sat down next to him on his bed and began to look around as well. Her eyes ran across the room. However, just like Caustic Rain, she saw nothing.

"Caustic Rain," she said, "There is nothing there. They have left you alone."

"It seems like that," muttered Caustic Rain, "But why?"

"The Paradox, Vaporis, and Pictor must have decided on another plan that does not involve eavesdropping," said Luna calmly, "And that is a good thing."

"A good thing? It worries me more than comforts me," said Caustic Rain. This disturbance in his daily routine was pushing him into a frantic zone. His eyes began to dart even more fervently around the room. "I mean, why would they do this? How is this a good thing?"

Abruptly Luna leaned over and kissed Caustic Rain. Even though she had done this now on several occasions, Caustic Rain still gasped and started backwards.

Luna smiled a little shyly. "I've wanted to do that for a while now," she murmured, "But I knew that Phasetrooper being was watching, so I could not bring myself to do it."

Caustic Rain's head was swimming, but he was no longer frantic. Luna had effectively pulled him out.

"T-thanks," he gasped, "I needed that…"

Luna mumbled something unintelligible and leaned over and kissed Caustic Rain again. They held the kiss for a long time. Luna slowly sank to the bed. They lay together, still kissing.

Then the room exploded.

A rending blast of energy ripped the room apart and sent Caustic Rain and Luna flying as blue flames blossomed forth in a plume of heat. As he fell, Caustic Rain (though in a dazed state) caught a very good look of the attacker. It was an Enigma Empire hovercraft. It was strafing sideways as it hurled masses of superheated plasma. The blobs of electricity seared through the walls of the Canterlot spires and exploded in sizzling blasts of light, raining fiery masonry around Caustic Rain and Luna as they fell as if in slow motion. Then, on the spur of the moment, Luna seized a tight hold of Caustic Rain and spread her wings wide. Their descent slowed just enough that they landed without and damage. The two then looked up to see the hovercraft finish demolishing Celestia's tower before slowly turning back to face them.

"Oh, sister," gasped Luna brokenly as she watched the Tower of the Sun tilt as the lightning-scorched left stone supports buckled inward. The tower then fell over with a sound like thunder and exploded in a massive plume of dust as it crashed into the Canterlot royal garden, uprooting several trees with a massive shockwave.

Luna was about to wail something when Caustic Rain roughly seized her and jumped behind a large pile of rubble. A dozen or so superheated blobs of power decimated the earth that they had stood not too long ago.

"Why are they doing this?" sobbed Luna as the hovercraft floated in place. Spamming the rocks that hid Caustic Rain and Luna with bolts of plasma.

Caustic Rain grimaced as the rocks began to glow and slowly transform into slag. "I don't know. However, from the looks of it, it seems that the Paradox has seen us outlive our usefulness."

"Does… does this mean he has accomplished his mission?" wailed Luna as the two inched back from the melting masonry that hid them from the weapons of the Enigma Empire hovercraft.

"If he had accomplished his mission, we would be all dead," replied Caustic Rain, charging up a massive blast of caustic energy, "No… He is close to accomplishing his mission… Thus, he wants to tie up loose ends by killing us all."

The rocks suddenly exploded as the hard bolts of superheated energy punched their way through the cover. The moment they did so, Caustic Rain bellowed a war cry as he hurled a concentrated beam of energy.

The bolt sizzled through the early morning air. By pure luck, the beam cut right through the left engine of the hovercraft. Smoke now rising in billows from the damaged engine, the hovercraft listed sideways and slowly turned in the air as it lost altitude, firing off beams of power randomly all the way.

Sadly, the moment the hovercraft crashed in the Canterlot royal gardens (uprooting even more trees) two more hovercrafts took its place. Caustic Rain and Luna rushed into Canterlot Castle just as the hovercrafts aligned to start firing. The hovercraft to the left then unloaded a group of armed special ops Phasetroopers via grappling hooks just as flames began to consume the royal garden, courtesy of the damaged hovercraft that had just crashed. The special ops troops cocked their weapons and rushed in after Luna and Caustic Rain only to meet opposition in the form of Luna's Guard.

These specialized ponies materialized from the shadows to take their new enemies by surprise. Unfortunately, only a couple of Phasetroopers were put down before the rest threw up their personal shielding. With these on, the Night Guard's weapons were useless, and they became nothing but nuisances. The Phasetroopers locked onto the valiant guard with their bio-scanners and opened fire with deadly accuracy. In less than a second, half the guards were dead. Just as that moment, though, Caustic Rain jumped out from behind a corner he had been hiding behind and unleashed a concentrated shockwave of dark matter. The sparkling essence rippled through the air, vaporizing all material in its wake. The support beams of the hall this fight was taking place in dissolved, and the roof began to collapse inward. It was not enough to kill the Phasetroopers, but it was enough to distract them to allow the Night Guard to escape, and it was enough to slow them down for a bit. After all, they were now buried under untold kilograms of rubble. Nodding his head in satisfaction, Caustic Rain turned to Luna and said, "We need to find Celestia!"

Luna's eyes hardened in determination and she nodded. Turning around swiftly, she led the way as the hovercrafts above opened fire simply hoping to kill the both via collateral damage now.

Time seemed to slow down as the two rushed the stairwell that led to the ruined Tower of the Sun. Glowing bolts of plasma ripped through the masonry walls and sizzled past them as the two ran, throwing up choking billows of dust and deadly stone shrapnel. Nevertheless, the two were undeterred as they continued to gallop forth. Just as they reached the base of the stairwell, they almost collided with Celestia as she herself rushed down the stairwell. Her eyes were hard, and blood was oozing from several gashed all over her body.

The hovercrafts stopped firing again to unload yet another group of special ops Phasetroopers.

"I knew this would happen," spat Celestia. Caustic Rain grimaced. It frightened him to see Celestia in such a passion. He voice wasn't even strong with the ring of justice. It was full of hate and hurt.

Suddenly the wall beside them exploded inward, denoting the fact that the hovercraft had once again opened fire. With a very un-princess-like screech, Celestia recovered in an instant and fired a beam of magic from her horn. The beam seared across the starboard engine of one of the hovercraft as the two continued to fire at the group. There was a pause, then suddenly the engine detached itself and fell away, its couplings glowing red-hot from the attack. The hovercraft immediately spun out of control, and smashed into a wall sending up a massive explosion of dust, fire, and shrapnel and killing all of the ground Phasetroopers with the explosion. The remaining hovercraft suddenly began to fire missiles from another compartment, accompanied with thin beams of cutting lasers. The missiles and long streams of matter-extinguishing laser power was immediate cause for retreat. Thus, with their heads down and their tails practically tucked between their legs, Celestia, Luna, and Caustic Rain galloped down the hallway to a secure bunker hidden beneath the Hall of Thrones. As they ran, the whole hallway began to collapse as support beams were vaporized due to the laser beams, and whole walls were blown inwards due to the missiles. As the group ran, they were joined by a small group of the royal guard.

"Get the royal guard prepared!" roared Celestia at the top of her lungs, "Why have they not responded already?!"

"They were resting Princess!" shouted one guard, "With the Phasetroopers retreating to the Everfree forest, and with the tanks gone, we thought the chance of an attack was gone!"

"Get them out NOW!" yelled Celestia as the walls behind them continued to crumble away beneath the continuous onslaught. The guards nodded and broke away. Celestia then motioned for Luna and Caustic Rain to follow her. They took a sharp left and headed straight for the Hall of Thrones. Sadly, just before they reached the hall, a massive kinetic shockwave blossomed before them in a plume of fire. They were hurled backwards as rubble blocked their entrance. The roof then fell away with a sound like thunder exposing a sky red from the fire and smoke and three more hovercraft floating in the sky like vultures.

The hovercraft then began to lean in, as if hungry for the kill, and the plasma weapon ports began to glow as the superheated masses of power prepared to hurtle out and demolish their poor victims. However, just as they were about to do that, one suddenly exploded in a blast of flame as a hail of laser bolts and bullets tore through its armor. The shockwave badly damaged the adjacent hovercraft and sent it spiraling to rest in the rubble-filled court below. Both the ponies on the ground and the hovercraft in the air turned to see the source of aid for the good guys. A massive iron train was passing by on an old abandoned train track that lined the mountain that passed by the north side of the castle. On the roof of the locomotive was a large group of ponies. There ponies were firing everything from Covenant Carbines to Star Trek Phase Rifles to Miniguns to handguns. The hovercraft deftly activated their frontal shielding and turned to face their new attackers. The three remaining hovercraft fired a volley of missiles at the train. The missiles struck the tracks and immediately derailed the locomotive and its carriages. The thing flew in the air in a blast of fire and light and skimmed the sky like an air-borne snake that had just lost its head. It cleared the first wall of Canterlot Castle and smashed into the ground. Still writhing, it smashed through the inner wall of Canterlot Castle before it came to a complete stop. However, though this was tragic, Caustic Rain, Luna, and Celestia took advantage of this distraction. As the hovercraft still had their fronts and their frontal armor turned to the wreck, the ponies on the ground opened up with everything they had. Beams of gold and blue magic, coupled with streams of dark matter, filled the air in a volley. This hail of power blasted through the backsides of the last three hovercrafts. Immediately two went down in streaks of fire and smoke. The third reeled, but somehow recovered. It slowly turned around and prepared to unload a whole payload of explosive power on to the heads of Celestia and her friends. However, just before it could do that, a large amount of ranged attacks from the wreck of the locomotive took the attacker by surprise once more. This time, it was finished. Its back-positioned engines badly damaged, the hovercraft literally flipped upside-down and exploded with a tremendous release of sound, light, and heat as it made a crater in the already fire-gutted Canterlot royal garden.

There was a deathly pause.

"I… I think we should go meet our rescuers on that train," murmured Caustic Rain, breaking the silence.

"What ONCE was a train," corrected Luna, "But you are correct. We should go see who they are and where they hail from at this time."

The three ponies clambered over the piles of rubble and picked their way around piles of dead pony guards and large natural and chemical fires.

In several minutes, they had made it to the side of the upturned iron locomotive. It was badly mangled and dented, but it had not yet exploded, or been claimed by fire. Sitting on the upturned side of the train was a large group of ponies. Celestia immediately recognized one of them.

"Applejack," said Celestia, unable to hide the surprise in her voice, "What are you doing here?"

"We're here to help you mah lady!" exclaimed Applejack happily, "Me, Braeburn, and this human person!"

Krausk strapped his rifle, Arev, to his back and nodded. "You the queen here?" he said curtly.

Celestia nodded her head regally. "I am."

"You need to work on your defenses. I noticed you had a couple of well-placed AA turrets in strategic corners, but none of your space pony guards were manning them. How the hell do you guys not expect these types of attacks if you don't have manned AA guns?"

"The Phasetroopers and their military hardware were retreating," explained Luna, "We thought we were safe."

"The hell you were, amateurs," muttered Krausk.

Suddenly, another familiar face poked itself out of one of the carriages. It was Twilight.

"All weapons intact and accounted-for, Braeburn," exclaimed Twilight as she got out with the assistance of Flaming Star.

"Twilight! Flaming Star! You are here!" exclaimed Celestia, almost delightedly.

"Yeah, we're here," said Rainbow Dash as Flaming Star pulled her out of the upturned carriage as well, "We were picked up by Applejack and her crew as I was about to head Twilight and Flaming Star off in the opposite direction. That could have been messy. Thankfully they ran into us."

Then another familiar, if not greatly unwelcome, face appeared. It was Ravencroft Solace.

Caustic Rain's eyes narrowed and he placed himself protectively in front of Luna. Twilight saw the rising hostilities and waved her hoofs in the air quickly as she exclaimed, "He's with us! He's good now!"

Ravencroft nodded and said, softly, "I have seen the error of my ways. Death is something to be respected, and the Paradox is desecrating the true beauty in the evanesce of life. This is something to be cherished, and I must protect it, even if it means giving up seeing my family for a long time…"

Caustic Rain was still bristling belligerently, but he nodded and stepped aside. Luna couldn't help but nuzzle Caustic Rain affectionately then. Celestia raised an amused eyebrow at the scene, but then turned to Applejack and said, "Since I see you are all armed, I assume Twilight's plan to get weapons was a success?"

"You bet, Princess!" exclaimed Applejack happily, "We have more weapons than a corn cob has kernels! We're as good as gold!"

"If we are armed, then what is the next step?" asked Caustic Rain.

"We need to get to Ponyville!" replied Flaming Star promptly, "From there we can get a hoof-hold in the northern section of town. Once Town Square is secure, we can blockade all branching roads and…"

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait," interjected Krausk, "What about my ship? We're not just going to leave it in that dusty, god-forsaken ditch, right?"

Caustic Rain's eyes suddenly lit up with unrequited hope. "Did… did you just say a SHIP?"

Krausk nodded. "Yeah. I said a ship… why?"

Caustic Rain began to get excited. "We have the source that can power it!"

Krausk's mouth dropped open. "What? No way. Edinium, here?"

"No, not Edinium. Something even better than that," said Caustic Rain, "Imagination Energy!"

Krausk blinked. Then he shrugged. "I have no freaking idea what you are talking about. But, hell, if you believe it will get my baby off the ground, then I am totally up to it. I have no other options, anyway."

"I am sorry to interrupt," interjected Luna, "But how does this Imagination Energy and this human's ship factor into the plans?"

Caustic Rain bit his bottom lip as he thought of how to explain it. "Well… I lied to you a while ago. When you could not see me in my dreams that one night, it was because I was being visited by Archangel Michael. He said his message was top-secret, and I could not share with anyone. Honest! Anyway, he explained to through a stream of data that if we would soon get an Imagination Energy source from Desmond Butler. We could use that to power a ship…"

"And that ship could be used to escape the Phantom Device blockading this dimension and help us find the Crystal of Harmony, which, if destroyed, would foil all of the Paradox's plans," finished Flaming Star, "You must understand, Luna, that Caustic Rain was acting in all of our best interests."

Luna looked deep into Caustic Rain's eyes… and then she nodded. "I understand," she whispered, "and I forgive you."

Caustic Rain sighed in relief.

"Well," said Krausk loudly, "This was touching and all, but we really should be figuring out how to get to this Imagination Energy source so that I can get my ship off the ground and get the hell out of here."

"Here," said Celestia, calling upon her magic powers to illuminate the derailed locomotive with an aura of golden light, "I will help you all right this train and place it back onto the tracks. We must all prepare to go to Ponyville."

Twilight nodded. She, Luna, Twilight, and Celestia began to use their magic. In less than a minute, the train was back on the tracks, and no worse for the wear as it seemed.

"Well, she's workin' as if she was build yesterday," chortled Braeburn as he looked over the train, "That tumble cost me quite a few of mah followers, but I'll be darned iffen old iron Bessie is gonna be taken out like that. She's as fit as a fiddle!"

"Well, we might as well be getting' a move-on then!" exclaimed Applejack, "We have no idea when them hovercraft thingies will be back! We are in no shape to fight even one now!"

"I agree," said Caustic Rain hastily, "We need to get going. NOW."

The whole group (including Caustic Rain, Celestia, and Luna) clambered quickly into the train. With a loud screeching noise and a hiss, the locomotive lumbered off towards Ponyville.

Celestia bit her lip as she watched the burning ruin of Canterlot Castle rescede into the distance. She had left without as much as a word. It was incredibly inconsiderate and abrupt, and she knew it, but she also very much needed to see the events that would soon unfold in Ponyville occur.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Train Station_

_Time: Two weeks and a half after the Paradox took over Equestria_

At top speed, it took only half a day for the train to approach Ponyville. The whole ride was extremely tense. The presence of Ravencroft made Caustic Rain and most of Braeburn's followers extremely nervous, and, to top it all off, the group could see Phasetrooper fighters or tanks rumbling along in the distance. It was a miracle that none of these hostiles turned to demolish the train at a moment's notice. However, that miracle persisted, and the team was spared from instantaneous oblivion, just like an ant is spared a terrible death when a heavy-soled person has chosen simply not to exert the effort to put their foot down on top of the insect's head.

As the group pulled up to the train station, they were met by Desmond, Sunset, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.

"I received a message from Archangel Michael," explained Sunset quickly, "I am glad you are here."

After a moment, Sunset turned to Krausk and said, "Admiral Krausk, is it? Archangel Michael told me about you. You have a ship, do you not?"

Krausk nodded. "I do. And you have my power source, do you not?"

Desmond trotted forward slightly. Then, with a hoof, he proffered the crystal cube with the Imagination Energy within it.

"You need to take this and put it in your ship," said Desmond earnestly, "When you do, fly it to a place called Abbington Falls. It is a sub-dimension within the Adventures in Odyssey dimension. I have written the coordinates down in marker on this crystal cube. Once you are there, seek out a being called Doxia. He will know what to do with you and the ship."

Krausk took the cube. Though he usually hated taking orders (as opposed to giving them) there was something in the tone of Desmond's voice that alerted him that this was obviously the right thing to do.

There was yet another pause…

"I should leave immediately, shouldn't I?" said Krausk, looking at the cube.

Sunset Shadow nodded his head, "You should. We will slow down the Paradox for as long as we can. You NEED TO DESTROY THE CRYSTAL OF HARMON NOW."

Krausk nodded his head stoutly. "I can do that. But how the hell am I supposed to get back to that one gorge?"

Celestia smiled. "I have a chariot that is always on stand-by. You may use it. Applejack, would you care to accompany this human?"

Applejack eyed Krausk grumpily. They disliked each other quite a bit. However, after a moment's though, Applejack sighed in resignation and said, "I suppose so…"

"Good," said Celestia, almost smugly, "Now we need to get things sorted out here."

"Yes," said Luna, "We need to ensure that all Phasetroopers remaining are driven into the Everfree forest or killed. When we know for a fact that they are all bottled in the forest, we need to find a way to infiltrate the forest. If we can get near the Tree of Harmony, we are one step closer to finding a way to slow the Paradox from completing his plan."

"I can get you inside," said Ravencroft quietly, "However, I suggest that only I, Flaming Star, and one other go."

"That would be me, then," said Twilight, "I am not about to let my future husband have all the fun without me."

Flaming Star blushed, but nodded. Ravencroft cast his gaze over the group, and then nodded. "I have no doubt I will be seeing few if you, if none of you, by the end of this mission. All things come to an end, and we must accept that."

"Well THANK YOU mister optimistic!" snorted Rainbow Dash, "Well? What the hay are we waiting for? Let's get moving!"

With that, the whole group dispersed, each with a task set in their mind. The clock was ticking down to a finale.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Hmmmm... Does anyone want a bacon gun? I'll give you one of you give me feedback (a.k.a. Reviews). Anyway, see you all tomorrow!<strong>


	92. Chapter 92 - A Final Gathering

**Note: All bacon guns will be mailed promptly. However, due to a turkey bacon strike, there will be some postponing. Anyway, enough with this nonsense. Here is my latest chapter... Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Appleloosa_

_Time: Two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"And… you sure this will work?" said Krausk slowly as he approached his ship, which was still guarded by a score of armed cowcolts.

Braeburn and Applejack rolled their eyes simultaneously. This was at least the sixth time he had asked that very question.

"I dunno," said Applejack for the sixth time, "We don't know how all this space magic stuff works…"

"AND we ain't goin' with you, so it doesn't really matter either," snickered Braeburn. Krausk shot him a venomous glance. He typed a code into a keypad on the outer plating of a docking bay by the helm of the large frigate. The metallic door opened with a hiss, and Krausk got in. He then turned around and said, "You space ponies have been both a great help, and no help at all. I've got his now, so screw off."

With that, the door closed. There was a long pause.

Finally, Braeburn snorted and said, "Well… I am a-guessin' that we're done now! Come on, cousin, let's get back to that chariot and Ponyville. I don't wanna miss the excitement that will be soon unfolding back there!"

Inside the ship, Krausk approached the main engine of his ship. A large, intricate, multi-faceted cube that was welded to the main engine was his primary target: the interdimensional jump drive. It had been cobbled together by the greatest minds that Krausk's species had even know, and despite that, almost nothing was known about interimensional travel. Thus, Krausk knew next to nothing about how even fueling the thing up worked.

Sighing in resignation, Krausk pulled on a hazard suit and opened the reactor core of the jump drive. Inside was an array of pointed spikes that were all directed to a single sphere of blackened material. This black piece of mattered that hovered in place was once the densest compound of Edinium know to the Reset Dimension (Orbit). However, now it was burned out totally. With the closest thing he could get to giving a "I couldn't care less now" shrug, Krausk pulled out the black ball of wasted matter and tossed it away as if it was a candy wrapper. He then shoved the whole cube of Imagination Energy in its stead. He then slammed the reactor shut and waddled away while pulling off his haphazard radiation-protection suit. As the last pieces of the hazmat clothing came off, Krausk pulled out a piece of paper where he had copied the coordinates that Desmond had given him. He sprinted through the vast halls of his frigate as he worked his way to the helm of his ship.

"Alright… lets fire this bird up." Krausk said while cracking his knuckles.

After running around, ensuring all posts were in operational order, Krausk returned to the helm and clicked the Manual Engine Startup button on his chair. He then walked over to the helmsman post, and manually mixed the energy flow into the Edinium Propellant.

"Fuel mixture complete, Compressing. Engine startup in forty seconds," said the A.I. main computer system nonchalantly, "Be sure to fire the J.U.M.P. Drive."

The Engines whined, the eight city block long warship shuddering as the super-heated Plasma shot out of the Take-off thrusters.

Sitting down, Krausk began to start up the activation sequence to his ship. Biting his bottom lip until it bled, Krausk prepared for the re-ignition of his baby. Squeezing his eyes tight, Krausk then typed in the activation sequence. To his absolute joy and surprise… the whole ship leapt to life. In fact, the engine registered 500% additional power capacity. The Imagination Energy had supercharged the whole ship.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" roared Krausk as he began to start up the escape-orbit process. Scurrying like a busy crab across a sandbar, Krausk ran between the different posts in the helm room as he typed in sequences and ran diagnostics and start-up commands. In several minutes, the whole ship was ready for an official lift-off.

The Ship then shot straight upwards at several kilometers a second, the flames of exiting the atmosphere licking its form.

"Gravity turn engaging, thirty seconds," chirped the A.I. as it prepared the simulated orbit.

"Gravity turn beginning initiation, RCS thrusters online. 90-Degree orbital maneuver." the main computer system's A.I. continued, "Apoapsis 128 Kilometers, circularizing orbit. J.U.M.P. Charging."

Sighing contentedly, Krausk sat back in his captain's chair and gave the go-ahead to the ship. With a roar that probably could be heard in Ponyville, the ship's engines roared to full capacity and began to shoot upward. In only a few minutes, escape velocity had been reached, and the ship was on its way. Krausk quickly started up defensive measures as he prepared to be accosted by Phasetrooper orbit fighters. The cannons went on-line, and targeting systems were fully functional. However… nothing happened. As the ship broke orbit and began to speed away from Equestria Earth, Krausk could very well see the countless Sapphire Armada ships that permeated the system, and all of the other systems in a couple hundred parsec radius (or so the scanners told him) and yet not a single ship had moved to attack.

Krausk was confused, but he did not stop to question these strange events. Instead, he typed in the coordinates Desmond had given him, and prepared for an interdimensional jump. Praying to the high heavens that the experimental jump drive did not explode and kill him like similar drives had done to many of his comrades during the beginning of this whole fiasco, Krausk hit the jump sequence. A massive rip in the time-space continuum exploded forth as the fabric of the dimension was torn apart by the jump drive. Heat emanating off the ugly hole in reality, the portal moved across the bows of the ship as it engulfed Krausk. Energy rippling across the helm, the whole thing disappeared.

Fortunately, there was no explosion, and Krausk suddenly found himself orbiting a lush planet. After running quick planet-wide scans, Krausk found that it was Earth. After running a couple of more scans, Krausk found Abbington Falls.

Now, the only question remaining was how the hell he was going to get down there. All the orbit-to-surface dropships and fighters usually equipped with the vessel he was riding had been destroyed. Perhaps he could try a stratosphere skydive. It might work…

Suddenly a large portal opened up behind Krausk. Seizing his rifle Arev, Krausk whirled around, only to be confronted with Doxia.

Doxia looked at Krausk for a moment, and then said, "You are Admiral Krausk. My buddy Meadolax told me about you. Soooo… this is your ship, right? Would you care to share? Heh. See what I did there? Care to share? It rhymes. Ah, that's rich… Anyway, my name is Doxia. I wonder what rhymes with Doxia…?"

Krausk usually would have told any being rambling like that to shut the hell up, but this was not just any being, this was Doxia. Thus, Krausk held his tinge as Doxia chuckled softly to himself for a moment. Then, Krausk cleared his throat and said, "Well… yes… a, er, space pony by the name of Desmond told me to take my ship to you. He said you would know what to do with it."

Doxia nodded his head amiably. "You bet you well-styled hair that I know what to do with it. Come, follow me through this portal."

Krausk nodded, and, without question, followed Doxia through. In an instant, he found himself in the presence of a large, motley group of heroes.

There was the Ninth Doctor, Sherlock Holmes, Rarity, Jetfire, Wild, Franklin Montgomery, Daniel Dragoon, Evan Funsch, Finnian Jones, Discord, Jared DeWhite, and Mattimeo.

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait," said Wild in high dudgeon, "You paused our heated conversation to bring us HIM? Who the hell is he, anyway?"

Krausk was about to retort angrily when Doxia said, "Oh him? He is Krausk. He has another interdimensional ship. Thus… our problem is solved."

The room immediately descended into silence. After a moment, Krausk said, "Wait… what? Did I miss a memo or something?"

"Oh, my dear lad," said Finnian Jones happily, "You solved a most bothersome problem. You see, we were in the throes of arguing if we should, with our single interdimensionally travelling ship, either go to destroy the Crystal of Harmony, or if we should go and find Kytax. Now we can do both!"

Krausk blinked. He had no idea what was going on, but he was going to take it at face value anyway.

"Well! Now that we're all good, I suggest we get a move on!" exclaimed Doxia.

"Wait a second!" shouted Krausk, "I have no idea what is going on!"

"Oh, it's simple," said Doxia, "You will take a couple of these awesome guys to Amethyst. Mattimeo will guide you to the Kappa Space Bridge, and you will all jump to the Crystal of Harmony's dimension where you will proceed to destroy it. Jared DeWhite and I will take a couple more guys to the Rerenhaw dimension, where we will signal Kytax. We must hurry, time is of the essence!"

"I'm not taking ANYONE until I know what the hell is going on!" snapped Krausk.

Mattimeo slowly walked up to Krausk and got on one knee. Though Krausk never flinched even in the face of dire danger, he could not suppress a small gulp of apprehension as he literally went face-to-face with a being that could literally end a universe in several seconds.

"You do not need to understand, you just need to act, Admiral Krausk," said Mattimeo in hushed tones, "Actions speak louder than words, and that is all you need to know right now. You may not know us, but that does not mean you need to distrust us. We are on the same side, and now we must act as if we were on the same side. Understand?"

Krausk took a deep breath, and then he nodded.

He motioned to the portal (which was still open) that Doxia had opened that connected his ship to Abbington Falls and said, "Well, I haven't got all day. Are we ready to go?"

Doxia nodded dramatically. "I think most of us are more than ready to go! Sooo… who wants to go blow up Paradox's dreams?!"

Daniel, Jetfire, Discord, and Franklin raised their hands.

"We have four takers!" laughed Doxia, "And who is up to go with Jared and me?"

Rarity and Wild raised their hands (and hooves).

Doxia then glanced curiously at Funsch and Sherlock and the Doctor, who had yet to raise their hands.

"I do not think we will be accompanying you, Doxia," said Sherlock, "We have finished the mystery that I myself wanted to solve, so I suppose we will be on our way."

"And I think it is time I moved on as well," said Funsch, "My job here is done."

"I like how you used the royal 'we'," snorted the Doctor, "However, I suppose Sherlock speaks the truth. We should be on our way."

Doxia nodded his head. "Right-o. So I guess this is goodbye. Of course, I was never good at goodbyes, so I will just say this: 'adios amigos!' Okay… now I'm good. Everyone ready?"

The group nodded their heads. Krausk motioned for his group (Daniel, Franklin, Discord, Jetfire, and Mattimeo) to follow him. In a moment, they entered the portal and it closed with a "pop." Doxia then turned to Jared and said, "Right! You mind opening a portal to where we need to go?"

Jared winked and then opened a portal straight to his lab in the abandoned Winniex hangar. Doxia and his group (Jared, Rarity, and Wild) hopped through this portal, and it too closed with a "pop."

All that was left in the room now was Finnain Jones, Funsch, Sherlock, and the Doctor.

"Well, Finnian, I suppose this is goodbye," said Sherlock. He nodded his head, almost amiably, towards Finnian. He then opened a portal to some unknown location, and prepared to exit through it. The Doctor, however, first extended a hand and said, "Well… goodbye!"

Finnian shook the proffered hand warmly. "Goodbye you two! And do think of stopping by once and a while! I am always ready for friends! I can have a cup of hot mocha and a good book ready for either or both of you in two quacks of a rubber duck!"

The Doctor grinned and then exited through the portal that Sherlock had opened. Sherlock, on the spur of the moment, gave Finnian a roguish grin before he himself exited through the portal. This third portal closed with a "pop."

Finnian then turned to Funsch and smiled. "Well, my friend, it was good to talk to you. You lead a dangerous life, so all I can say is watch your backs. Goodbye."

Funsch nodded wordlessly and opened a portal. Then he stepped through it. Yet again, another "pop" resounded as the opening in dimensional fabric slammed shut.

Four pops, and Finnian Jones went back to his regular life.

Sighing contentedly, Finnian went to the Exploratorium to dust a couple hundred bookshelves and catalog countless stories of heroes and villains.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Warriors<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Location: Abandoned Twoleg Nest_

_Time: Two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"Okay, so we need to just start this up…" muttered Jared to himself as he quickly made last-minute adjustments to the Winniex Ship.

"I really hope you know what you are doing," said Wild sharply, "I don't want there to be an uncontainable hull breach. It would suck if we all died suddenly, a moment away from victory."

"Please, you're with me, kiddo," snorted Doxia, "There are about two billion six million and eighty-seven ways I could save you all from dying if there was a hull breach. Thus, no worries. You just have to worry that I cannot make up my mind which of those solutions to that problem would be the coolest on the spur of the moment."

Rarity tittered a little bit, and then resigned to quietly smiling. Though she had done almost nothing as a Dimensional Traveler, she enjoyed every minute of being a human.

"Right, well, we're almost ready… there!" exclaimed Jared triumphantly. He took a step back and looked over his handy-work: a fully functional interdimensionally travelling spaceship.

"Nicely done Jared!" exclaimed Doxia happily, "This is a nice break from you trying to invent all of those weird gadgets designed to prove that the President was a bug-eyed alien from Venus!"

Jared muttered something unintelligible about there being documents catalogued in Area 51, but did not respond truly to the friendly jab.

Wild sighed and said, "Well? Are we going to start?"

"Ah yes, the integral part of this whole party," said Doxia, pulling out the contained of Imagination Energy extracted from the Edinium in a way similar to Pinkie Pie pulling out her party cannon from nowhere.

"Now, let us see if this bad boy works!" continued Doxia as he strolled into the Winniex Ship and into the engine room. He quickly opened the Delux Coojon-Core Dimensional Warp Drive's contained door and began to inspect the insides. After a moment, Doxia began to adjust things within the drive at an incredible speed. Hands moving faster than any eye could move, Doxia conjured up tools out of thin air as he worked on the drive's interior. In less than a minute, Doxia had reconfigured the inside of the extremely advanced drive to facilitate the Edinium-drawn Imagination Energy. Taking the container holding said energy, Doxia pushed it inside, and slammed the door triumphantly.

"We're all good to go!" Doxia said gleefully, "Now we can go meet my old buddy Kytax!"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Adventures in Odyssey<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Orbit above Earth_

_Time: Two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"So, how are we planning to approach this?" said Discord airily as he draped himself nonchalantly across the gunner's chair at the helm.

"How the hell should I know?" snapped Krausk, "Ask Mattimeo! He's the super being thingy after all!"

"I have an answer for that, Discord," said Mattimeo emotionlessly, "Since the Amethyst Armada is blockading the Infernal Realm, and the Sapphire Armada is blockading the Harmony Tree dimension, it is safe to assume that little to no ships are guarding the Amethyst dimension. After all, all ships are supposedly controlled by the Enigma Empire, and there is a Phantom Device is place. Thus, the Paradox will see very little use in guarding it. We will simply entered the dimension, fly straight to the Kappa Space Bridge – I will point out its location once we arrive – and we will proceed to use the Space Bridge to teleport straight to the dimension holding the Crystal of Harmony. Now all we need is a landing team that will disable the Crystal."

"I will do it," said Daniel Dragoon quietly, "I will do it alone. Just in case."

Franklin opened his mouth to argue, but Mattimeo said, "I commend that idea. The Crystal should be treated like a bomb, thus, disabling the Crystal should be treated as if we were disabling a bomb. So, we will send in only one person. Daniel Dragoon, I have confidence that you will be safe, so I agree to your offer."

Franklin sighed. "I second that. Though I would like to go with you, Mattimeo has a point. If you insist on going alone, it would perhaps be the best. But if there is a single sign of trouble, even the faintest idea that there is a Phasetrooper or some other hostile present, and I will be down there by your side, no matter what anyone says."

"Okay," said Krausk, "Now that we have that sorted out… Where to?"

Mattimeo raised a hand and snapped a finger. Suddenly the information required to jump to the Amethyst Dimension through the Phantom Device filled the helm of the ship.

"Forward unto dawn," muttered Krausk as he confirmed the coordinates.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I am not going to post anything tomorrow. It is not because I don't have anything to post, it is because the next chapter has a really nasty cliffhanger that I would not want you guys to endure over the weekend. Thus, we will just end early this week, and we can plow straight through to the part 5 finale. Thank you for your patience!<strong>


	93. Chapter 93 - Deaths

_Dimension: Adventures in Odyssey_

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Earth's Ionosphere_

_Time: Over two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"Brace yourselves," said Mattimeo calmly as the engine of Krausk's ship primed to jump, "There is a good chance that this could all go wrong. In that event, I will need everyone to be calm so that I can evacuate everyone safely."

"Well, at least there is a fallback plan," snorted Krausk as he typed in the activation sequences required. He then looked up meaningfully for a second before activating the drive.

A massive portal opened up. This portal looked slightly different than the others, because of the Phantom Device that covered the Amethyst Dimension. A shimmering ribbon of white light rippled around the edges of the large tear, and it intertwined and contorted with the red-glowing time-space distortions that emanated from the corners of the hole. Light and black energy sizzled and sparkled in a Tyndal-like effect at the edges as the portal continued to distort. Suddenly the tear went rigid as the drive sequence became complete. The portal then began to move forward inexorably to swallow the ship. All was well.

As the ship disappeared through the portal from end-to-end, Krausk let out a huge sigh of relief. Though he had not shown it, it had greatly worried him that the portal would simply have exploded, ending it all right there. Fortunately, it had not, and all was on track.

"Nothing on the scanners," muttered Franklin as he looked at the scanning-related post.

"I will decide that for myself," said Mattimeo emotionlessly. He slowly turned in place, his masked helmet oscillating slowly. It was obvious that he was looking straight through the walls of the ship, scanning with his omnipresent-like vision the whole of the dimension.

"Interesting," breathed Mattimeo, "There are no ships. There is a large group of Dimensional Lords within Capitol Prime, but there are no ships, and the defensive mechanisms posted around the dimension have been deactivated."

"It is possible for the Paradox to get this cocky?" said Daniel worriedly.

"It appears so," murmured Mattimeo. Finally, Mattimeo gave the nearest thing he would ever give to a shrug and said, "I am taking control of the helm. I will direct us to the Kappa Space Bridge."

Mattimeo strolled up to the helm and held his hand out over the controllers. In an instant, he had complete telepathic control of the ship. The ships gracefully pulled a sharp turn and headed off at high speeds towards a large planet that orbited nearby Capitol Prime.

"Ummm… Is it just me, or are we headed straight for that planet?" said Franklin nervously.

Krausk shrugged. "I guess so. That doesn't matter. I haven't known Mattimeo for more than an hour or so, but he certainly knows what he is doing."

"We are. It is not what it seems, though. Give me a moment, I am uploading the coordinates to the location Finnian Jones gave us to the Kappa System… Stand by…" said Mattimeo softly.

The ship continued to barrel towards the planet. As they approached, Mattimeo snapped a finger. The planet suddenly shimmered and vanished. It had only been a hologram. In its place was a massive metal structure easily the size of the planet. It looked like a mix between a Star-Gate, and the Death Star, with blue-glowing power channels running all over the multi-faceted surface. As the ship continued to approach, the giant metal ball suddenly folded outward with surprising speed. Like a fold-out toy, the ball expanded, exposing a giant hole in the center. This hole suddenly shimmered with dark lightning, and a massive blast of purple, black, and navy blue energy rippled from one end of the hole to the other. A massive swirling vortex of power slowly came into being in the wake as the energy continued to ripple across space. As the ship was less than a score of kilometers away, the vortex was complete. It was in the nick of time, too, and the ship blasted through the vortex.

In an instant, physics and chemistry went haywire, and everyone's vision turned red and warped and bent as they passed through the vortex. However, it was only for an instant, and, the next thing they all knew, they were floating in space in a new dimension.

"What… what IS this place?" breathed Franklin as he gazed out a port-hole. The dimension they were in was completely void. Not a single star shown in the sky, not a single piece of asteroid floated in space. It was utterly dark and empty.

Mattimeo slowly turned in place again as his borderline omnipresent vision took the whole dimension in at a glance.

As he did this, he said, "This is a void dimension. The outflow of Imagination Energy from Earth Prime does not reach here, thus, nothing here can exist."

"Well… then why do we still exist?" said Krausk, a little awed at his surroundings as well.

"We exist because we were just recently disconnected from the outflow. However, if we reside here for too long, we too will stop having substance, and our molecules will drift apart and dissolve into nothing."

"Then I suppose we should start moving," said Daniel.

"I agree," said Mattimeo emotionlessly, "I have located the planet. Hold on."

Mattimeo took hold of the nearest seat. His body began to shimmer. In an instant, everyone else began to shimmer as Mattimeo teleported himself and the rest of the ship to a specific location on the other side of the dimension. All of a sudden, the group found themselves orbiting a small metal construct that was illuminated by energy channels that crisscrossed the surface. It about the size of Earth Prime's moon.

Jetfire gazed at the metal moon and said, "Is that… Is that it?"

Discord conjured up bird-watching binoculars and said, "Oh, I don't know. It looks like a metal moon to me. Possibly… Oh! I got it! It's a metal moon! Positive!"

Mattimeo gazed at the moon. "It is. Daniel… are you ready? I can see the Crystal of Harmony from here. It is surrounded by a proximity semi-molecular dispersion field. You can disable it from down there. Unfortunately, we will be unable to help you once you are on the surface. It appears that a mini Phantom Device circles that structure. Thus, I cannot teleport you down there. Thus, you are going to have to perform an orbit-to-ground stratosphere skydive-like reentry.

Daniel nodded his head stoutly. "I am ready."

Mattimeo nodded his head in return and extended a hand, palm facing up. A large jetpack suddenly shimmered into existence as he conjured it up. He then handed it to Daniel.

"This is an Inquisition Extraction Class OGSSR Jetpack. Simply activate it when prompted to do so, and you will land safely on the surface," said Mattimeo as he conjured up a set of full body armor not unlike the Phasetroopers.

"And here," continued Mattimeo, "It a suit that will protect you. From my personal scans, it appears that there is no form of life support down there. Thus, you must be careful."

Daniel nodded. He clamped on the armor, and then put on the jetpack.

"I'll take you to the cargo bay," said Krausk, getting up from his captain's seat, "You can perform the jump from there. Follow me."

Krausk, followed by Daniel and Franklin, strolled through several long corridors and a couple of elevators. As they walked, no one spoke, but apprehension crackled in the air like lightning. In several minutes, though, they arrived at the cargo bay that Krausk had talked about.

"Good luck Daniel," said Krasuk as he opened up the entry doors and stepped aside.

Daniel nodded. He then turned to Franklin and shook his hand firmly.

"I will see you in a couple of minutes," said Daniel quietly. Franklin winked.

Daniel then entered the cargo bay and closed the doors behind him.

"Beginning decompressurization," said Krausk as he typed in calculations into a nearby terminal. Red lights began to flash as the outer doors of the ship began to unlock themselves. Then, suddenly, they were shot opened with a hiss.

Through the blast-proof windows of the inner doors, Franklin and Krausk watched as Daniel got sucked out and catapulted towards the surface of the large metal moon.

Outside, Daniel's breath caught as he accelerated rapidly towards the surface. Thanks to that sling-shot like effect of the decompressurization, he had already surpassed terminal velocity and was now barreling at high speeds towards his target. In several minutes, a metallic female voice rang in an earpiece.

"Activation of jetpack required in T-minus two minutes…"

"Very well, let's get ready," muttered Daniel to himself. He braced himself as he continued to fall at high speed. It was very unusual, hurtling through the sky like he was. There was no sound, and there was no wind tearing at his armor. He simply hurtled through empty space. There was no lens flare or bright light from the sun, and the sky above was trackless and blank.

Daniel had no more chance to ponder on his environment because, suddenly, the female voice started up again. "Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… activate."

At that instant, Daniel hit a button on his left gauntlet. The jetpack suddenly flared to life. Anti-gravimetric energy and focused streams of pure kinetic energy blasted out of the pack in a bright spiral of anamorphic-lens-flare-inducing light. Daniel decelerated gently yet rapidly as he continued to approach the surface.

The jetpack seemed to know exactly what it was doing and Daniel made a touchdown gently on the surface. The moment his boots touched the surface, an artificial gravity bubble emanated from his armor and encased him. Now he could walk easily across the surface. Daniel took in a deep breath as he looked around. Large glossy streams of glowing power lights crisscrossed the trackless plane before him, and intricate circuit-board designs covered every square centimeter of ground. This place was truly a marvel of engineering. But for what purpose, he did not know. Then Daniel saw it…

Less than a kilometer away was his prize. Floating a couple of meters off the ground was the Crystal of Harmony. Like Mattimeo had said, a shield bubble a dozen meters in radius surrounded the Crystal. Inside that shield bubble was another shield a couple meters in radius that crackled pure power. The first was glowing a faint blue, and looked like a gentle waterfall in the way it refracted and distorted light.

Daniel squared himself up and approached the bubble.

Suddenly, Mattimeo contacted Daniel through a telepathic link.

"Do you see the first bubble?" said Mattimeo through the link, "That one is safe to walk through. It is simply the sinkhole of the phantom device covering the planet."

Daniel nodded and stepped through. Other than a slight tingling sensation and a nanosecond of vertigo, nothing happened.

"Now, you see that second bubble?" continued Mattimeo, "That bubble could seriously harm me if I touched it. Thus, imagine what it could do to you. There should be an invisible terminal somewhere around… I see it. I am highlighting the exact location on your HUD."

Suddenly the helmet Daniel was wearing flickered to life as its HUD activated. A glowing indicator highlighted a blank spot to his right. Throwing caution to the winds, Daniel lifted a hand and tapped the area that was indicated. A large touch-pad terminal de-cloaked.

"Good," said Mattimeo, "Now here is the incredibly important part. On the top right-hand corner there should be an archaic 'A'-like symbol, like the one on my right shoulder-pad. Is that 'A' dark silver or purple?"

Daniel looked closely at the terminal and found the symbol. "It's purple," said Daniel.

"That is wonderful," said Mattimeo, though his tone remained calm and emotionless, "That means this terminal was made by Doxia a billion years before the Maelstrom War. That device has a master-key lockdown code that will allow you to shut down that shield immediately. Now listen carefully. I want you to type this into the terminal: I_Luv_Meshemedadas_Lulz_Hashtag_Swag."

"What? You're joking right?" said Daniel; nevertheless, he began to type the code in anyway.

"I am not joking unfortunately. That is Doxia for you," said Mattimeo. Daniel blinked. Had he detected a little bit of jovialness in the tone of voice?

At this moment, Daniel finished typing in the sequence, and suddenly the energy shield surrounding the Crystal of Harmony dropped. Daniel had a sharp intake of breath. This was it… here it was.

Daniel slowly raised a hand. He reached forward and lightly tapped the Crystal. Though there was no air, a musical tone somehow reverberated through his head as he tapped it.

"I've run a couple of scans," said Mattimeo, "It has a lattice structure and elemental bonds related to a quartz crystal. It will be easy to destroy."

"I'll do it," said Daniel. Reached back a fist, he charged it with the densest mass of pure power that he could manage. Then, with a yell, he punched the crystal. The energy built-up in his fist released in a massive concentrated shockwave… and the crystal shattered into nothing. A vision-distorting shockwave bubbled out of it and spread across the planet. There was a pause…

"It's finished…" said Daniel. Suddenly the energy channels crisscrossing the metal moon went out. Far away, in the Harmony Tree dimension, the unearthly aura that always surrounded the Tree of Harmony went out and the tree died. Then the Shield of Atraka went out as well. It was over. Daniel started when the lights went out, but then quickly compensated for the black-out by starting up the armor's personal lighting system.

"With the power off-line… I will be free to open a portal to you," said Mattimeo, "Stand by…"

The portal opened up, and Daniel strolled through. He shook hands heartily with Franklin, and then turned to Mattimeo with a smile. Then, suddenly his smiled died. The portal (which was still open) suddenly turned into a solid disk of energy and then collapsed. This meant that the Phantom Device had reactivated, and that the metal moon HAD TURNED BACK ON.

Then, the Paradox's voice rang out through Daniel's intercom and the ship-wide speaker system of Krausk's ship.

"I thank you, my friends, for bringing me my salvation. I cannot thank you enough. The Great Plan will be accomplished," said the voice of the Paradox gleefully. The insanity in his voice was as thick as honey.

"What… what does he mean?" said Daniel to Mattimeo desperately.

"If you are wondering what I mean," said the voice of the Paradox abruptly, "I will give you a little hint: If there was one thing I learned during the Maelstrom War, it was that backup is always good to have. It is required."

With that, the recording ended. There was yet another pause.

"I don't understand," said Daniel, "Why is he so happy? What did he mean?"

"By Kytax," said Mattimeo. His voice was still calm, but it had a tinge of surprise in it, "It means… There was never just one Crystal of Harmony. He built TWO."

"What?!" gasped Daniel. This was a nightmare come true.

"When you destroyed the main Crystal of Harmony, the system shut down for a second. The Tree of Harmony died and the Harmony system went offline. The Shield of Atraka lived off the energy emanating from the Tree of Harmony. Thus, when the tree died, the shield shut off permanently. Then, a second after the shield died, the system went back online as the Harmony System switched to the backup… the backup Finnian never found. The shield is down… by the Harmony System is still running."

Abruptly, the voice of the Paradox rang out again. "Oh, and in the event that you figured out my little hint… I cannot let you go and warn others. Goodbye forever."

Then… the whole metal moon went nova. The shockwave rippled through space in a cascading wave of energy and fire. The shockwave splashed against Krausk's ship's shielding, and sent it spinning. Systems went offline all over the ship, and hull breaches were torn throughout multiple decks.

"Artificial gravity, offline. Shielding, offline. Life support, offline. Primary power, offline. Emergency power, offline. Secondary evacuation lighting, offline. Escape pods, offline. Air conditioning, offline…" said Krausk's main computer system as the ship was tossed like a loose piece of flotsam in the wake of a hurricane.

"ENOUGH!" shouted Mattimeo. He clapped his hands together, and time within a parsec radius simply stopped.

Everything had frozen except for Mattimeo, Franklin, Jetfire, Daniel, Discord, and Krausk.

"By the Flaming Fallen One!" roared Jetfire as he floated in space, "That dastardly Paradox has out-thought us all! By the Primes… when I get my hands on him, I'll break my walking stick over his head!"

"We have no time to waste," said Mattimeo suddenly, "We need to move. I can repair this ship in an instant. We need to get back and warn the others."

"Don't you guys understand?" shouted Franklin, "It's over! We lost!"

Discord actually smiled softly. He floated over and put his lion's paw across Franklin's shoulders.

"No!" whisperer Discord, sounding serious for once, "We need to keep fighting!"

"Discord is right, for once, my lad!" exclaimed Jetfire, "Now! Are we going to kick some Paradox ass or not?!"

"I can have this ship operational again in less than a minute," said Mattimeo quietly, "We need to move fast. There is very little that can stop the Paradox now."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Everfree Forest_

_Time: A several minutes before the destruction of the Crystal of Harmony_

Ravencroft Solace, with two body bags slung across his back, approached the perimeter of the Everfree forest. The second he set foot in said forest, he was surrounded by armed Phasetroopers.

An Elite Phasetrooper then dropped from a tree above and approached Ravecroft.

"What do you have there, commander?" said the Phasetrooper suspiciously. It was obvious that he took after Pictor with being suspicious about everything.

"I have the bodies of Twilight Sparkle and Flaming Star as tribute for Pictor," said Ravencroft softly.

The Phasetrooper stared at Ravencroft for a moment, and then nodded. He took a step back and allowed Ravencroft passage into the forest.

"Pictor is with the Paradox at the Tree of Harmony," said the Elite Phasetrooper. Then he and his soldiers melted into the shadows.

Ravnecroft carried the body bags as he quickly strolled deeper into the forest. In several minutes, he was approaching the gorge that held the cave of the Tree of Harmony.

Looking around fervently, Ravencroft set down the body bags and opened them up. Flaming Star and Twilight tumbled out of them.

"That was both the worst idea ever, and the best idea ever," groaned Twilight as she massaged the back of her neck. Flaming Star got up and sat next to her. He began to rub he shoulders, releasing the tension. Twilight sighed and closed her eyes.

"I am sorry to interrupt," whispered Ravencroft, "But we must hurry. I know the Paradox and Pictor… They will be planning something."

"Just… a… moment…" sighed Twilight.

Ravencroft shook his head. "We don't HAVE a moment. Please!"

Flaming Star pulled a face. "You're right. We must hurry."

He got up and helped Twilight on to all fours. He then looked at Ravencroft. "Right. Where to?"

Ravencroft motioned for them to follow him. "Follow me. I noticed there was a small opening at the back of the cavern. We can use to spy on the Paradox and Pictor."

"Won't they just see us?" asked Twilight worriedly, "They're, like, omniscient aren't they?"

"Not when they are distracted," replied Ravencroft. He hurried them along, fervently hoping that they were not being watched.

Luck was on their side, and they were not detected as the scurried to the spot that Ravencroft had indicated. It was a long, thin, jagged crack that stretched slightly above the Tree of Harmony. It was a little difficult to see what was going on, due to the vision-distorting bubble of Atraka, but they could hear perfectly what was transpiring below.

"What do you want?" snapped Pictor below as he approached the Paradox.

"It is almost time," said the Paradox softly. "Krausk's ship left for Abbington Falls not half an hour ago. Soon they will be on their way. Thanks to that little attack via the hovercraft, they are all set in their belief that the Crystal of Harmony needs to be destroyed."

"Okay. I still don't understand what that has to do with the Great Plan… but okay. I just wanted to let you know that we are about to be under attack. Somehow the Ponyville ponies managed to pay for an incredible amount of weapons, and not they are invading the front. We have yet to reallocate our tanks, so they are making some headway. What should we do?"

"Don't do anything," said the Paradox, "Soon the Shield of Atraka will shut down, and we can activate the Harmony System. Then this will all be over."

Suddenly the two were joined by Vaporis. "You called me?" he asked.

The Paradox nodded. "I have set a little trap for Krausk and whoever accompanies him when they go to shut down the Crystal of Harmony. However, if there is a Dimensional Lord with them, they will neither be hurt by the trap, nor will they be slowed. Additionally my plan will become very clear. Thus, I need them stopped or slowed for just a short amount of time. Vaporis, can you do that for me?"

Vaporis returned the nod. "I can. I will go now."

A portal opened up beside Vaporis, and he exited through it. The Paradox turned back to Pictor and said, "It is almost complete. I can feel it. It is almost here…"

Then, suddenly, the Tree of Harmony stopped glowing. The braches blackened, and the twigs sagged. The bright, colorful aura that emanated from the tree died, and everything began to turn black. With that, the Shield of Atraka flickered and turned off.

Ravencroft's eyes lit up in hope. Flaming Star breathed a long sigh of relief. Twilight gave a little "squee!" of excitement and hugged Flaming Star tightly.

"My God… they DID it," breathed Pictor down below, "They DID it."

"And the shield is off," said the Paradox complacently.

"So… Now what?" snapped Pictor, "The freaking thing is dead now! How the hell do we come back from that?! Tell me!"

"Wait for it…" sighed the Paradox.

Ravencroft's eyes suddenly filled with horror as a creeping sense of terror and hopelessness seized a hold of his stomach.

Then… their worst nightmare happened. The sickening shade of black that had been creeping up the tree receded, and the glow returned. The tree straightened up, and resumed its previous luster. But the shield of Atraka… it did not return.

"Oh… no…" whispered Flaming Star in a strangled gasp.

"But… who… no… how…?" said Twilight, tears beginning to well up in her eyes as the magnitude of their failure fell on her brain like a heavy mantel.

"WE DID IT!" shrieked the Paradox. Suddenly, the Paradox performed a shuffling dance, and pure energy and power emanated from his powerful form.

Pictor simply stood to one side, eying the Tree of Harmony with satisfaction. Then he turned to the frenzied Paradox and shook his head.

"I will deal with you later," muttered Pictor. Then he shouted, "God! Paradox! Calm yourself! Start this thing and we can return to the Amethyst dimension and try to figure out how to explain to the remaining innocent Dimensional Lords how the Earth Multiverse has suddenly stopped existing!"

The Paradox stopped his dance and straightened up. "Oh. Of course. I apologize. I lost myself for a moment."

With that, the Paradox began to approach the tree.

"The hell you don't," hissed Ravencroft.

He reared back a fist, charged it with Shadow Energy, and punched the crevice that they had been peeking through. The crack exploded into large shards of rock, and dust billowed up as the shockwave brought down a large section of the cave's roof. Ravencroft leapt through the hole he had just made and confronted the Paradox.

"Oh. Ravencroft. Here to celebrate with us?" said the Paradox airily, not even sounding worried. "Hmmm… I see otherwise. You do not honestly think you can stop us, do you?"

"You would be surprised what I can do… Liar!" spat Ravencroft. His voice was still deathly quiet, but it resonated throughout the chamber nevertheless. Ravencroft then snapped a finger, and suddenly Flaming Star and Twilight – who had been about to join him – were encased in glowing chains. They were trapped, only able to watch.

"Did you come with friends?" said the Paradox calmly, "After all, it would be best if you had loved ones here to watch your passing."

"I have come alone," said Ravencroft, "But it does not matter. You know I do not fear death."

The Paradox gestured dramatically at Ravencroft as he turned to Pictor and said, "I cannot believe this. Does he honestly think he can stop us?"

Pictor shrugged, and then hurled a bolt of energy at Ravencroft's face. Ravencroft ducked quickly, and then leapt up, firing a stream of Dark Matter. Pictor did not even bother dodging. The stream simply bounced off his armor.

Pictor then rushed Ravencroft, hurling bolts of power.

Ravencroft ducked and dodged, all the while (for probably the first time in his life) shouting, "You cannot stop us, Paradox! There may be much evil, but there is also much good! And we know very well that there is more good than evil!"

"That's a lie, simply put," commented the Paradox complacently as he watched Ravencroft struggle to stay alive.

Ravencroft flipped over a sizzling bolt of pure death. As he rolled under another attack and dove between Pictor's legs, he shouted, "You're the lie! You've convinced yourself that killing everything will fix the problem… but it won't! It's cruel, maniacal, and selfish! You view life as something that can be restarted at a push of a button… but it is not! Life is to be cherished. It may be fleeting, but it is what makes the Multiverse such a wonder! You are letting your own mislead pursuits distort the happiness and peace you could have!"

"What… like the peace YOU have?" said the Paradox scathingly, "I think not. You are a miserable, sickening piece of meat. You are nothing. Your opinion and proverbs are worth less than dust."

Ravencroft bent backwards as another beam of power from Pictor almost took off his head. He then rolled to the side and threw up a flare of bright light. Pictor shook it off, but it gave Ravencroft enough time to do a couple of backflips to allow him greater space to maneuver. Pictor just laughed, and Ravencroft bit his lip as he realized that Pictor had not killed him yet simply because he himself found the conversation amusing.

"Paradox… Please, I beg of you. Find the good that is within you and turn back to the light," breathed Ravencroft, "I know you have good within you. If you turn back to the light, your past sins will be forgiven, and we will accept you with open arms. All you ever wanted was to see good become dominate. Why don't you give us a chance to show that your past dreams were not a lie?"

The Paradox stared at Ravencroft curiously. Then he said, "Life is a plague. I am here to extinguish it. Whether or not there is good in this multiverse is simply trivial. I just want to see every betraying, conniving, sickening monster – which is every living sentient species, I might add – dead and gone. I don't care about morals anymore. I want to see my dream, my plan, done. I have entertained this conversation long enough. I am terminating you."

With that, the Paradox snapped his fingers. Ravencroft's powers were stripped from him, and thick tentacles of stone erupted from the ground and wrapped around his ankles and wrists. The Paradox then conjured up a sword out of thin air and hurled it at Ravencroft. It speared him right through the chest.

"Good… will… always… win… with… people… willing… to die… for a… cause…" gurgled Ravencroft. Then, Ravencrfot Solace, the only one ever to truly understand life and death, died; blood oozing out of his mouth, eyes, and the wound in his chest.

"NOOOOO!" screamed Flaming Star. He flexed his muscles once and shattered the chains. In a fury, he leapt down and rushed the Tree of Harmony. He hurled a bolt powerful enough to blow a planet sky high at the tree. The bolt streaked through the air… and then froze in place, stopped by a single gesture from the Paradox. Then it winked out of existence. Flaming Star whirled around and prepared to hurl another bolt of power, but suddenly his abilities were stripped from him as well. Feeling extremely drained, Flaming Star dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Well…" said the Paradox quietly, "What do we have here? I guess Ravencroft did not kill you after all. Well, I can quickly remedy that. Any last words? Too bad."

With that, the Paradox hurled a bolt of lacerating power.

Flaming Star saw the beam of death approaching, but he could do nothing to stop it. His limbs were like lead. All he could do was open his mouth and yell, "Twilight! I love y-"

The bolt shot straight through his throat. Gurgling, Flaming Star's eyes rolled back in his head. And just like that, the Firstborn died. Twilight screamed.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Yeah... as I said, this is a ugly cliffhanger. Nevertheless, don't start mourning yet, for there is more yet to come.<strong>


	94. Chapter 94 - Titans Rising

_Dimension: Void Dimension Number 9844653_

_Planet: Nowhere_

_Specific Location: Nowhere_

_Time: Over two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"Well? What are we going to do now?" snapped Krasuk, "We need to move! Now! In fact, how the hell are we going to reach them in time?! We are literally limited to minutes if not seconds!"

Mattimeo nodded his head decisively. "I have a plan."

With that, he pulled out a special cellphone-like device. "Doxia made this for me five or six billion years into the Maelstrom War. This allows me to contact him anywhere in the multiverse. Unfortunately, due to the amount of raw Imagination Energy it takes to fire a sub-space signal through an indefinite amount of dimensional fabric, it can only be used a couple of times. I had not considered it a viable option until now. I will alert Doxia of the situation. He will be able to react fast than… Oh no."

Suddenly Mattimeo closed the device and straightened up. He then stared at something behind the group. Their stomachs turning to ice cubes, the whole group turned to look at what he was looking at. A portal was opening up behind them, and Vaporis was stepping through.

"Mattimeo," said Vaporis calmly, "It's so nice to see you again."

"Vaporis. You know it is not wise to cross swords with me," sighed Mattimeo.

"And yet here I am… ready to do just that. But guess what? I am betting you are terrified to fight me. Not because you cannot beat me, but because the sheer magnitude of the collateral damage will undoubtedly kill all your friends here. Too bad you never had time to prepare. You may kill me, but all your little friends will be dead as well," snickered Vaporis.

Mattimeo looked at his adversary quietly. Then he said, "What you are doing is very unwise. But, if that is how you want it…"

Mattimeo suddenly opened a portal behind Vaporis and rocketed forward. Vaporis saw the turn in the tide of battle, but it was too late. Mattimeo, using superspeed, smashed into him and the two vanished. The moment Mattimeo left, time (which had been frozen around the remaining group) resumed. The ship was falling to pieces, and critical fires were spreading throughout all the decks.

"We are in quite a pickle here," chortled Discord, "But, fortunately, the old god of chaos is here to lend a paw… or hoof. Whatever. I will be able to isolate this area and keep it fully functional. We will be safe and cozy while we are here. I might even conjure up a snack bar! Other than that, all we can do is wait."

"I hate waiting. It makes me feel old," snapped Jetfire, who was still quite grumpy from being outsmarted by the Paradox.

"Guys?" said Daniel, hope creeping into his voice, "We may not need to wait."

Franklin then held up the cellphone-like device Mattimeo had been holding not two minutes ago. Mattimeo had dropped it… allowing them to contact Doxia for him.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Fire and Brimstone<em>

_Planet: Ciparius XI_

_Specific Location: The stone valley_

_Time: Over two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

The portal opened up, and Mattimeo and Vaporis shot through. They landed hard on the surface of an empty planet.

Vaporis immediately recovered. He flipped over and jumped to his feet. With a quick flick of his wrists, he fired a long whiplash of deadly energy. Mattimeo ducked under it and slammed a foot on the ground. The entire planet (and all adjacent planets and stars) exploded into nothing with a rending blast. Vaporis flew upward. However, he immediately recovered again and teleported straight in front of Mattimeo. With a single move, he conjured up a deadly sword and thrust it at his enemy. Mattimeo simply caught the edge of the blade between his palms. With that, Mattimeo fired a beam of concentrated energy from his eyes. Vaporis turned intangible and let the bolt pass through his body. The beam traveled some way before exploding. The subsequent shockwave cleared out the entire quadrant.

Vaporis moved some distance away before hurling another attack. The bolt ripped holes through the dimensional fabric and terribly marred the timeline's structural integrity as it blasted towards Mattimeo. Mattimeo smashed a fist into the attack, dispersing it. The shockwave rippled around him harmlessly, but massive bubbles of distorted time began to blossom all over the universe. Time began to run backwards, forwards, or even stopped in massive sections of space everywhere. Mattimeo ignored these effects and fired his own attack.

The beam mutilated the time-space continuum as it traversed space towards it target at an incredible speed. Vaporis threw up a wall of energy dense enough to contain all of the energy of all of the stars in the whole universe. But even a shield of that magnitude would not stop the attack. The beam punched straight through, and literally a massive hole in the dimensional fabric exploded forth as the energy shield collapsed. Vaporis could see trees, barren deserts, great cities, and mysterious constellations through the distorted hole in space before the energy beam reached him. Vaporis quickly caught it and attempted to disperse the attack, but it was too much. Screaming, Vaporis fought with the energy bolt, drawing strength from the timeline, draining it dry. Time literally froze as the temporal stream simply dissolved into nothing. The universe they were in simply had lost its fourth dimension, time.

Fortunately for Vaporis, the energy drawn from the timeline was enough. Breathing heavily he scattered the attack; causing a massive rippling shockwave that ate up matter, energy, and pure nothing in a million parsec radius.

Growling in anger, Vaporis then opened up with an endless hail of bolts of absolute annihilation. Mattimeo raised his fists and quickly began to bat the attacks away with incredible speed. Not one got by him.

Then, with a shriek, Vaporis rushed Mattimeo, conjuring up a sword of pure power.

Mattimeo shook his head and conjured up his own sword. The two met half-way and their swords connected. A blast of kinetic energy greater than the mass-energy of all of the superclusters of Earth Prime combined erupted from the contact point. The shockwave was so great that the energy ran into the space-time continuum and twisted and ripped up any remaining structural integrity. The fight had pushed the dimension past the balance point… and the universe began to collapse. As the universe slowly began to cease to exist around them, Vaporis and Mattimeo fought it out with their swords. They were moving faster than any superhero, with blows that released shockwaves of power beyond comprehension.

"You… cannot… kill… me!" shrieked Vaporis as he swung his blade with incredible skill and speed.

"It is not a question of it I can, but when. You are not who you once were, Vaporis. It grieves me, but I know what I must do. You must die, and I must be the one to kill you," replied Mattimeo gravely.

Vaporis responded with a hail of attacks. Sweeps, cuts, jabs, and parries that moved faster than the speed of light. And just like that, Mattimeo attacked and defended with equal, if not greater, skill and speed.

"It is over," said Mattimeo. And, with that, he knocked Vaporis's sword away with his left hand and spun in close. He then rammed the point of his blade through Vaporis's stomach. Vaporis went rigid. He looked down at the blade in his stomach, and then looked up and Mattimeo. After a pause, he said, "This won't kill me, Mattimeo. You know that." His voice was quiet, and it sounded like he was in shock.

"It won't. And neither will this," said Mattimeo. He then converted his sword from Imagination Energy-enhanced Codrex Steel to pure Dimensional Energy. The energy rippled out, dissolving Vaporis's insides. Varporis did not even scream. He stiffened even more, and he grunted in pain, but that was all that Mattimeo got out of him.

"Vaporis," said Mattimeo grimly, "For crimes against the Amethyst Empire, and for crimes against the Earth and Heaven Multiverse, and for the murder of Dimensional Lord Atraka, I sentence you to death."

Mattimeo opened a portal, and shoved Vaporis's head through it. Then he slammed the portal shut. However, the portal sizzled and sparked as it tried to sever the head, but even that was not enough. The portal distorted, and sparkling cascades of vision-distorting multicolored light rippled out in a waterfall of power. The portal twisted, contorted, and distorted as it pressed against Vaporis's head, but to no avail. Mattimeo then, with a yell, conjured up another sword. He then drove it straight into the base of Vaporis's skull. THAT finally killed him. Sighing, Mattimeo opened up the portal which had failed to cut Vaporis's head off, and pulled Vaporis out.

Only a small part of the universe they were in remained, and that was dissolving into nothing fast.

"You're brother Vaporix would be ashamed," sighed Mattimeo, "After all those years. After all we did. Was that for naught? I suppose so."

With that, Mattimeo opened up a portal and left the body of Vaporis, the two-faced traitor, to dissolve into nothing with the rest of that doomed dimension.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: Rerenhaw_

_Time: Over two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Rerenhaw was an amazing work of architecture. It was twice the side of the Octagon, and five times height of the Burj Khalifa. It was smooth, with long sloping curves, and it was colored a spotless white, save for a massive purple-colored archaic "A"-like symbol the size twelve football fields in the center of the Rerenhaw building. And even that was not it. The Rerenhaw building was surrounded by clean, white-capped mountians, and lush forests and valleys. Everything about the structure and its surroundings were perfect.

Rarity's mouth practically hit the floor when she saw the Rerenhaw building from a window.

"It's so… so… so… my skills are nothing compared to this. By Celestia, if only I was allowed to merely kiss the hooves of the architect who invented this!"

Doxia grinned and held out a foot. "Well, you better get kissing then, missy, 'cause I was the one to build that thing."

Rarity's jaw dropped even further. Doxia then laughed and held the dumbfounded Rarity to his chest in a tight hug. "Nah. You don't need to kiss my feet. However, I did do a pretty good job, eh?"

"Good job?" sputtered Jared, "My gosh, my eyeballs nearly fell out! That place is AWESOME! I cannot wait to go into it!"

"Your wish is my command!" chortled Doxia. Snapping a finger, Doxia opened a portal straight to the Rerenhaw council room.

"The defenses should be down," explained Doxia as they prepared to enter the portal, "That Phantom Device hid this place well. Hmmmm… I cannot believe I'm here again. When it vanished from our minds, I was sure I would never see it again. Oh well! I am glad I was wrong. Now… Who is ready?!"

Jared shrugged. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Ready to go?"

Wild nodded. "Yes. Let's get this over with."

The group quickly leapt through the portal, and it closed with a "pop."

The council room they entered was just as grand as the building that housed it. It was a colossal spotless white and silver oval-shape, greater than at least five football fields. In the center of the massive oval room as a giant spotless white and silver meeting table shaped like the archaic "A"-like symbol. Small smooth, curving white chairs were positioned neatly around the table. Though there were not light fixtures in the room, it was still somehow illuminated brightly with a light-blue glow that filled every corner of the room.

Sighing contentedly, Doxia practically skipped to the meeting table and sat down in one of the chairs.

"Ahhhh… my old chair!" exclaimed Doxia, "This brings back some awesome memories!"

There was a long pause. Then, finally, Wild cleared his throat and said, "Um… the mission?"

Doxia shook himself out of his nostalgic stupor and said, "Oh! That! Yes! Sorry about that."

Doxia pulled out the beacon crystals form nowhere (like Pinkie Pie's party cannon) and set them down on the meeting table. He then opened up a holographic terminal in front of him telepathically. He quickly began to type some stuff in quickly. Then, suddenly, a compartment slid open in front of him. A large box slid up out of the compartment and opened up, revealing several slots. Doxia quickly pulled out the beacon crystals and put them into the slots. The crystals began to glow and recede further into the box. The box's lid then shut and slid back into the compartment, which closed as well. Then there was a pause.

Everyone held their breath, as they waited for something to happen. Then… a portal opened up… and Lord Kytax stepped out.

He was easily twelve meters tall. His armor was ornate, and white light shone from him as if he was the sun. His masked helmet was not just a piece of armor, it was a work of art. It shimmered and shifted, and strange ornate carvings danced along the surface, playing out the civilizations of the multiverse. A long flowing cloak spread out behind him, except… it seemed like the cloak itself was sewn together from the fabric of space and time. Every time the cloak shifted, the group could catch glimpses of events unfolding around the multiverse in the past, present, and future. A smiling human face here, a beautiful sunset there, the stars illuminating the night sky.

However, that was not even what was the best. When Kytax spoke… that is what changed everything.

His voice was very quiet, no more than a whisper, but it reverberated nevertheless. His voice sounded out from every corner of the room, as if the molecules of everything around him had voices of their own, and they were talking in his voice. It came from every corner of everywhere, and reverberated inside the group's head, as if he was talking to them in there as well. And his voice… was incredible. It sounded like a wonderfully innocent little boy, a powerful and authoritative middle-aged man, and an incredibly wise elder… all in one.

The moment Kytax appeared, everyone other than Doxia fell to the floor and pressed their faces to the floor.

"Do not bow to me," said Kytax, "I am not a deity."

Kytax then turned to look at Doxia. "Doxia," said Kytax, "Oh… Doxia… My old friend."

Doxia walked up to Kytax, and seized him in a hug. Kytax shimmered as he shrank to the same size as Doxia. Then Doxia let go of Kytax and said, "My God… you haven't aged a second."

"And neither have you," replied Kytax, "But that is the plight of the Dimensional Lords. I am glad you called me. I have been in personal exile for long enough, what has transpired? Why have you called upon me?"

Doxia nodded his head. "The Paradox, Dimensional Lord Pictor, and Dimensional Lord Vaporis are trying to destroy the Earth Multiverse. The Heaven Multiverse has yet to do anything, and so it has fallen to us to stop them."

"I knew this would happen. Paradox had a hole in his heart that could only be filled with darkness," said Kytax, "Nevertheless, I understand what is happening. Come. We will stop it."

Kytax took a step forward, and then stopped. Then he turned to look at Rarity, who still had her face pressed to the ground.

"Rarity, my child, why are you so afraid?" said Kytax quietly.

"Because you are so wonderful," snuffled Rarity, still refusing to look up.

Kytax got on to his knees and lifted Rarity's face. Her eyes (which were glistening with tears of joy and fear) looked into the endless one-way visor of Kytax's masked helmet. She saw infinity and eternity reflecting back at her.

"I am nothing but a simple being. There is no difference between you and me. We are both sentient, and that makes us equal. We both deserve to be loved. And you, Rarity, are loved."

Rarity sobbed. He was right. She reached her arms up as if she was a child wanting to be held. Kytax hugged her close to him.

As his powerful arms wrapped around her, Rarity felt safer than any other time in her life. She felt like she was being enveloped by a vast ocean of hope, love, peace, and pillows. She felt safe. She felt loved.

Kytax then turned to Jared. Jared blinked. "Um… excuse me Kytax. I need to find my jaw. I appeared to have dropped it."

Kytax nodded his head and said, "Jared… You have done much good for this multiverse… but it is time for you to return to your life. You are needed back at home."

Jared nodded his head. Kytax was right, of course.

Then Kytax turned to Wild. "Wild," said Kytax, "You have spent countless hours worrying and hating yourself. That must stop. You are not the monster that you see yourself to be. You are simply a being looking for acceptance in a multiverse that finds forgiveness difficult to come by. But your past sins have been forgiven. You must move on, as who you truly are: a hero."

Wild opened his mouth, and then closed it. He then opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Kytax was right… and he had nothing more to say or add.

Kytax then straightened up and said, "We must go to the Paradox. He will not die by my hand, but he will see the ramifications of his actions. Doxia, you might want to answer your phone… it is about to ring…"

Doxia blinked. Then, suddenly, he jumped in the air as "Everything is Awesome" began to play as a ringtone. Everyone looked at him.

"That's weird," muttered Doxia. He pulled out the cellphone-like device (a copy of the one Mattimeo had) and turned it on.

"Yello? Uh huh? For pony right? Eulalia? Whatever. Yes, yes I am messing with you. Sorry about that. Got it," said Doxia, his voice going from jocund to serious. He turned off the phone and turned to Kytax.

"I know what is happening," said Kytax in hushed tones, "The Paradox is moments away from reaching his goal… But it is over now. With the information gathered by Mattimeo and his friends, I will be able to locate the backup version of the Crystal of Harmony with ease. Let us hope your friends have bought us enough time."

Kytax raised his hand high into the air. Multicolored spirals of light gathered around his fingers... and then exploded. Streamers of powerful energy, like the Aurora Borealis, filled the room and spread to ever corner of the universe. Images from all over the multiverse that were transpiring in the past, present, and future flashed through the light. Kytax's influence spread throughout the Earth Multiverse as he extended his power directly into the core of Imagination Energy. He was searching for the backup Crystal of Harmony using his omnipotence, and it could not hide from him. The light slowly grew in intensity, until it was a mad whirl of wondrous light. Then, suddenly, Kytax slammed his hands together in a clap.

That was all it took. A single clap, and the second Crystal of Harmony was located and destroyed in a second. The sound reverberated throughout the whole multiverse. It was a low, sepulchral tone that spread across space and time. And with that… the Harmony System shut down. The most powerful weapon ever devised was disabled by the most powerful being ever to live. The horror, the deaths, and the sacrifices that led to this finale ended. The death of Regal Crescent, Miranda Arkine, Ravencroft Solace, and Flaming Star had not been for naught.

"Was that… was that it?" breathed Wild. Suddenly he felt very old and very tired. Slowly he sat down and shook his head.

Rarity gave out a little "squee!" of excitement. All that pressure and fear that had been building inside of her dissipated.

"Well! That was invigorating!" exclaimed Doxia. He had shaken off the magnitude of the event as easily as someone shakes off a winter coat. He was not one to dwell on past events.

"It is not over yet," said Kytax quietly, "The Paradox and Pictor still live."

"Only them? What of Vaporis?" said Doxia.

"Vaporis just died. Mattimeo has slain him as recompense for the deaths that he has caused," replied Kytax.

Doxia shook his head. "I liked Vaporis… but Mattimeo did what he needed to do."

"Violence is never an option. What Mattimeo did was wrong, but forgiveness is always on the horizon," said Kytax, "But now we must move on. The Paradox must be stopped."

Kytax gestured slightly, and he opened a portal straight to the My Little Pony dimension. No silly little Phantom Device could stop him.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: KYTAX HAS ARRIVED! Things are really boiling down fast! See you all tomorrow! Don't forget to leave a review! If you do, I will give you a kitten-nator. It transforms targets into kittens. It is deadly, efficient, and precise. I know you want it... you know you want it...<strong>


	95. Chapter 95 - Gazing into the Abyss

**Note: Wow, there were QUITE a few negative reactions to Flaming Star's death. Didn't I tell you all NOT to start mourning yet? The sun has yet to set on Part 5, so much can happen! On a lighter note, I just played that one Deadpool game, and I realized, is it just me, or is Doxia a lot like Deadpool, just wiser and nicer? Food for thought. Now, enjoy the Part 5 finale!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Everfree Forest_

_Time: Over two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

The Paradox glanced up at the hole in the ceiling. There he could see Twilight, still bound in chains, sobbing her eyes out. Her tears trickled from the ceiling like a faint mid-spring shower.

"Forced to watch you future husband die," said the Paradox in mock sympathy, "How terrible. I will admit now… Pictor had it right all along. Perhaps violence is the right way… But no matter. It all ends here…"

With that, the Paradox approached the tree. He walked up to the six-key-hole box that lay at the base of the tree and picked it up.

"Amusing that I put harmony power in here to mask its true purpose. I was always creative when it came to deceiving those who are good," muttered the Paradox. He placed three fingers from each hand over the chest. It began to glow, and the tree began to glow brighter as well. The box then opened up and a stream of rainbow light erupted from the epicenter and shot off into the sky. Is disappeared over the horizon. As the energy cleared, a single, large, red button lay at the bottom of the chest.

"And so it ends… right… here…" said the Paradox as he reached forwards to press it. A magical bolt from Twilight suddenly flew from nowhere and struck the case, knocking it from the Paradox's hands. Sighing, the Paradox threw up an energy shield around himself and the case.

"Stupid filly… thinking she can stop me," muttered the Paradox, "I am a god. I have more power than any of them, and everything I have made is indestructible…"

The Paradox picked up the button and pressed it. Then, suddenly, the aura of the tree went out. Just like that… it went out.

"Was that… was that supposed to happen?" breathed Pictor.

For the first time in his life, the Paradox felt something… he felt fear. Icy, gripping, gorging, consuming fear.

"N-n-no…" whispered the Paradox.

Then a voice echoed from every corner of the cave. "Paradox…" said the voice, "I have returned. I am coming for you."

"Kytax," gurgled the Paradox, "It's Kytax."

"You know what?" snarled Pictor, his voice tight with anger and fear, "Screw this. Screw you. It's over. We've lost. But you know what? Kytax is going for you first. That gives me a head start."

"Y-you're not going to help me?" asked the Paradox. His voice had suddenly become very small. He was terrified. Somehow those stupid little Dimensional Travelers and their pony friends had gotten Kytax to return. And now Kytax was coming for him.

"What? Did I ever say I was?" hissed Pictor, "I don't need you. Hell, I was planning to kill you later."

"But… but our plans…" said the Paradox in a stupor. He could not believe what was happening.

"It's over, Paradox. I am leaving you to your fate. As for me… I have a chance. What? Don't act so surprised. How could you not have seen this coming?" snarled Pictor. He then opened up a portal… and vanished.

The Paradox stumbled back. He glanced desperately around, looking for something to help him escape the coming predicament. However, the only things littering the floor of the cave were the dead bodies of Ravencroft Solace and Flaming Star.

He then looked up at Twilight, who was still sobbing her heart out above. A hostage? No. Kytax could easily stop that. There was nothing here for him.

The Paradox shook his head as if trying to clear it. His Great Plan was in ruins, his allies either dead or going rogue. He was all alone. Was this what it felt like to be all alone? Was this truly what he had been trying to achieve? The Paradox felt hopelessness eat away at him as his mind raced. There HAD to be something he had forgotten, something he had overlooked.

Then he remembered… The vial he had gotten from the Grand Devil. The bottle of Maelstrom. THAT was powerful enough to help him. Hope blossoming inside his chest, the Paradox quickly opened up a portal to floor 9854171, room 8 of the Capitol Prime building of the Amethyst Dimension. He had spent untold eons in that room. Some could even say he lived there during the post-Maelstrom War time. He had planned and plotted here. This is where the Great Plan had taken place. And now… perhaps it would offer him yet another Great Plan that could ensure at least his survival.

Hand shaking, the Paradox stumbled into the room and typed into a keypad. The table in the center of the room suddenly split in two and slid away from the center. A small box levitated from the gap and floated half a meter from the surface of the halved table. With his hand shaking, and darkness eating away at the edges of his vision, the Paradox reached for the box and opened it.

A gurgling gasp of horror forced its way from between his lips. There was no vial in the box. Only a small note.

At first, the Paradox simply reeled backwards as if he had been struck. His breathing became heavy, his stomach began to churn, and a ringing noise raged inside his ears. This was total, utter, failure. He was going to die. However, after a moment of near-hyperventilation, the Paradox could not help but take the little note out of the box. He folded it open and read the messy scrawl on it. It was graphite pencil on paper made from trees… unusual. The note read:

"You've failed once,

Now failed twice,

Two choices now left

I hope you choose right!

~Hugs and Kisses, H.D."

The Paradox stared at the note and read it again and again. Then he scanned the note's signature, the name H.D. and the writing style with the Amethyst Multiverse Database. Then a most unnerving and unusual thing happened: the search came out negative. The Amethyst Multiverse Database knew everything about everything, LITERALLY. There had never been a single incident in a trillion years where a search had come out negative. Thus, this note… technically should not have existed. This H.D. being was not real. But yet, here is was.

The Paradox had no time to ponder this strange sensation, and his brain was too numb to comprehend it anyway. He then glanced inside the box, and his heart skipped a beat. Lying neatly at the bottom of the box, originally covered by the note was a handgun. But this was no ordinary handgun… It was Astartus Imperius MK VI Projectile Blaster, also known simply as an Inquisition Blaster. This weapon was designed to KILL Dimensional Lords. It fired a projectile filled with Dimensional Energy. It would kill anyone if aimed correctly, even Doxia.

Hope once again blossomed forth in the Paradox's chest. Thank God someone had given him this. With a fully loaded Inquisition Blaster, he could kill Kytax, Doxia, and Mattimeo. Then he could find Pictor and kill him. Then he could take over the Sapphire and Amethyst Armadas and try a new Great Plan. The Paradox almost shouted out loud in ecstasy.

Then, another horrible thought crossed his mind. No… it wasn't possible, was it? He need to find out. The Paradox checked the magazine of the handgun, and he nearly shrieked in despair. The magazine… it had only one bullet in it. Only one bullet. Then he remembered the poem that the mysterious H.D. person had written: "Two choices now left/I hope you choose right!"

The Paradox gulped as his dreams and ideals crumbled to nothing around his ears. His whole worlds was gone, and his livelihood was nothing but dust. He was nothing. He was finished.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Everfree Forest_

_Time: Over two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

"Oh Flaming Star," mused Doxia as he saw the disheveled corpse on the ground, "Why?"

"Sacrifices," sighed Kytax as he strolled up to the dead body of Flaming Star, "In the future, it will not be me who will be remembered. I did not stop the Paradox. It was all of you working together. You slowed him, you found me, and you thwarted him. I did nothing… you all… you all did everything."

Then Kytax turned his face upward. There was Twilight, still crying, oblivious to the events unfolding below.

Kytax gestured slightly. The chains around Twilight fell away, and she suddenly found herself teleported next to Kytax. He was so wondrous, that she stopped crying for a moment.

"So… beautiful…" she breathed, her reddened eyes widening, "Am I… in heaven?"

"No, little one," said Kytax, "But I understand what you want more than anything. Tell me… did you love Flaming Star?"

"Yes!" sobbed Twilight, breaking down again, "I loved him! I loved him I loved him I loved him I loved him I loved him I loved him…"

Her babbling trailed off into broken sobs once more.

Kytax turned and strolled over to where Doxia kneeled by Flaming Stars dead body.

"What are you going to do?" said Doxia, a strain of interest in his voice.

"I will bring him back. It was not his time to die," said Kytax, "But, in the end, it is He Who Sits on the Throne's decision."

Kytax extended a hand over Flaming Star's body. There was a pause, then the wound in Flaming Star's throat closed. He stopped bleeding, and there was not even the faintest scar left over. Then… Flaming Star's eyes shot open and he took in a deep breath.

"I… I was dead! I saw Archangel Michael! He told me to wait a bit… and I did… and then there was this…" babbled Flaming Star as his eyes darted around. Then he saw Kytax and his voice caught in his throat.

"You're… you're Kytax," he breathed. Kytax nodded his head.

"That I am, Abimael," said Kytax quietly, "There is someone waiting for you…"

Flaming Star looked behind Kytax and saw Twilight.

Twilight then looked up as well… and she saw Flaming Star, alive.

"OH BY EQUESTRIA!" she screamed in joy. She hurled herself upon him and hugged him tightly, "I thought you were dead!"

"I thought I was too! But now... Now I cannot wait any longer!" said Flaming Star though the hug. He eased away from Twilight and straightened up in front of her. He then conjured up a beautiful diamond ring and said, "I have waited long enough. We need to get married. We need to get married now."

Twilight broke down crying again. This time is was not because of grief, but because of joy. Even Rarity began to cry, and it looked like Wild teared-up as well.

As this was transpiring, Doxia and Kytax inspected the forlorn body of Ravencroft Solace.

"Are you going to bring him back as well?" asked Doxia quietly.

Kytax shook his head. "I can see him right now. He is in the Celestial Heaven Multiverse, being reunited with his family. He does not want to come back. He wants to be where he is now, with those he loves. He understood the cost of life, and he has paid his debts in full. This is what he wants, this is what he deserves, and this is what he gets. Rest in peace… Ravencroft Solace."

Kytax gestured slightly, and Ravencroft's body suddenly shimmered and vanished into nothing. Naught but a single Bleeding Heart flower marked his passing… and that is all that Ravencroft ever wanted.

"Are you going to go after Pictor and the Paradox?" asked Doxia after a pause.

"I am going to confront the Paradox, yes," said Kytax solemnly, "But not Pictor. He was born to live in terror, and to flee from his enemies. He must continue down that path a little while longer… he is destined to. Thus, He is to live a while longer. But now the Paradox must answer for his crimes against life itself."

"Are you going alone?" said Doxia, "Do you need me to come?"

"No," said Kytax, "You shall stay here. Mattimeo and his team will arrive here shortly. Shut down the Phantom Device and round up the Phasetroopers. They will answer to you now."

"Will you be taking anyone?" persisted Doxia.

Kytax nodded. "I will be taking Joseph Torrus and Samuel Dellor. A circle must be completed, and another circle must be started."

"I have no idea what you said, buddy, but I'm cool," snorted Doxia, "Gotcha. Have fun messin' with the bad guy!"

Doxia then strolled away to congratulate Flaming Star and Twilight.

Kytax snapped a finger and teleported away.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Over two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

Sunset Shadow, Fluttershy, Starlight Amber, Desmond, Caustic Rain, and Luna all sat together under a tree. Though it seemed that imminent war was on the horizon, they were enjoying a picnic nonetheless.

"This is all I've ever wanted," sighed Sunset, almost mournfully, "All I want is to be with Fluttershy and Starlight, and enjoy the sunlight. This is all I wanted. How can fate be so cruel as to keep throwing me curveballs?"

"I don't know," sighed Fluttershy, resting her head on Sunset's shoulder, "But I am enjoying us being here today as one happy family. These moments will last forever in our memories."

"I agree with Fluttershy," said Luna, "These events come rarely in our time, so they must be cherished greatly."

"I really wish I could be doing something to help, though," muttered Desmond.

"There is nothing you can do as of yet," said Sunset kindly, "So why don't you stop worrying about what you cannot change and have a sandwich?"

"Yes, dad," snorted Desmond. He had started to call Sunset "Dad" as a joke, but it kind of stuck anyway.

"This is kind of boring, though," added Caustic Rain.

"This is the best kind of boring," said Sunset with a grin.

Then… Kytax arrived.

Immediately the whole group, Luna, Sunset, Desmond, and the rest pressed their faces to the ground in absolute awe as he arrived in a blinding flash of light. Most of them were used to the grand arrival of an Archangel… but this arrival of Kytax… it was something totally different.

"Greetings," murmured Kytax, his voice echoing loudly and yet softly at the same time.

"Are you… are you… are you Kytax?" gasped Sunset as he looked up timidly.

"I am. And do not worry, I am not here to harm you. Please, do not bow to me." Kytax then proceeded to help each on to all fours.

"You're so beautiful," breathed Fluttershy, "Can I… can I touch your face?"

A deep rumble of amusement came from Kytax's throat. He was happy. "You may, little one," said he.

Fluttershy reached up and gently touched Kytax's mask. Then she quickly withdrew as searing bolts of love, happiness, joy, peace, and hope jolted through her body.

"Fluttershy," said Kytax quietly, "You hold a power as great, if not greater, than mine. You soul is pure, and your thoughts are clean. Though there have been stumbles and mistakes made along the path you call life, you have maintained something that usually only the Heaven Multiverse has: purity."

Kytax then turned to Sunset and said, "Joseph. You are more important to this multiverse than you will even know. A greater arc of events will envelope your life, and the Paradox is only a single event in that arc. Much worse will come. But never you fear. You are perhaps even greater than me as well. For you have pulled yourself out of the abyss, and become whole. You understand what it is to do good, and you have maintained purity throughout that understanding. That is good. Keep your eyes straight ahead, and do not look to the left or the right."

Kytax then finally turned to Caustic Rain, "Samuel… though you yourself will not partake in the events that will be rising soon, your existence is integral in the greater arc of things, and that makes you invaluable. Remember to never doubt yourself, for you have great power as well. You have been hurt in the past, and you will continue to struggle, but there is always a storm before peace. There is always dark before light. But the light is coming. It is coming."

There was a long pause. Then, finally, Sunset said, "Is there something else?"

"Yes," said Kytax, "Joseph, Samuel, you two must come with me."

He opened a portal, and motioned for them to follow him.

"Daddy? Where are you goin'?" asked Starlight.

"I will be back in a moment. Give me a moment," murmured Sunset to Starlight and Fluttershy. He then turned to Desmond and said, "If I do not come back, you are the man of the house. I trust you… son."

Desmond nodded his head stoutly, but worry shone in his eyes.

Sunset then followed Kytax through the portal. Caustic Rain finished kissing Luna before he, too, followed Kytax.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Amethyst<em>

_Planet: Capitol Prime_

_Specific Location: meeting room, floor 9854171, room 8_

_Time: Over two and a half weeks after the Paradox took over Equestria_

The Paradox slowly looked at his Inquisition Blaster. Should he use it? What should he do? Who the hell was H.D.? What was going on? And how the HELL did this H.D. being get an Inquisition Blaster? There were only supposed to be three made, and two of them were…

The Paradox's thoughts were interrupted by a portal opening in front of him. Gasping in horror, the truly insane Paradox scrambled backwards like a cornered wild animal. Holding his gun out in front of him, he prepared to meet him doom.

Kytax strolled out to meet him, flanked by Sunset Shadow and Caustic Rain.

"Stay back, monster!" hissed the Paradox.

Kytax actually stopped. He regarded the Inquisition Blaster curiously. "That gun… where did you get it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" spat the Paradox. His voice cracked, and his breathing became heavy.

"That is because you do not know either," stated Kytax, "And the Amethyst Database comes up with nothing as well. But there is something else that is disturbing you... Ah... That note you are holding as well is not supposed to exist. But that is not for you to consider. However, the note is correct… you have two choices now: you can either shoot me and then run, or you can put down that weapon and surrender."

The Paradox laughed. "I think this H.D. being had other ideas."

He then held the gun to his head.

"You're going to shoot yourself?!" exploded Sunset, "How could you? Please, for the love of God… come to your senses and put that weapon away! There is still time to forgive! Heck, I'll forgive you right now if you apologize! I know it has been difficult, Doxia told me about the circumstances surrounding your madness. I understand. Please… don't commit suicide. I once thought of doing it, and even entertaining the thought haunts me today."

Suddenly, the Paradox began to laugh. "Oh! The irony! You fool! You cannot even begin to understand how sadistically ironic this is!"

"What… what does he mean?" asked Caustic Rain in a harsh whisper to Kytax.

Kytax sighed deep and long. "You are about to find out. Joseph… brace yourself."

The Paradox doubled over as he continued to laugh, "I've watched you live my life and wondered if I, too, could pull myself back from the edge… but I cannot. And now here I am, like you, with a gun at my head. It's just one… big… loop… And you know why?"

The Paradox reached up and pressed something on the back of his helmet. The helmet hissed as it unlocked. Then… the Paradox pulled it off… The face… It was the face of Joseph Torrus.

"Recognize me?" snared the Paradox, "Oh… of course you do. I'm you!"

"What?" gasped Sunset, his face turning sheet white, "No… NO!"

"Oh yes," cackled the Paradox, "I'm you from Orbis Terrarum! I am the first alternative version of you! But we had much of the same troubles… ohhh yes…"

"Nononononononono…" muttered Sunset, who was completely in shock, "But you're a trillion years old! I'm twenty-four! You can't be me!"

"Oh God, when will you ever learn? Time isn't linear! But now, look at me. And guess what? We've dealt with problems in relatively the same way, right? What does this 'Harmony System' plan remind you of? Could you think of anyone insane enough to pull that off?"

Sunset gasped. "The Madman of the Multiverse…"

"Now you see it," hissed the Paradox, "See how a single human mind can be warped so hideously? Even if you had my powers stripped away, I still would be just a copy of you… With that in light, guess who never found a little miss Fluttershy in their life? That's right… ME. Guess who let the hurt from the betrayals fester? ME. Guess who wanted to prove so badly that he was better for those betrayals that he decided to destroy all evil? ME. Guess who finally could just not take it any longer? ME. I've tried so hard, and I have failed so many times. I thought I could finally end my suffering by ending everyone else's simultaneously, but I was wrong. So, I turned to killing. Isn't that what you would do?"

Sunset could not believe what he was hearing. In his memory, he could hear himself saying the EXACT SAME THING. "But… but if you're me, then you can understand that, using me as an example, you could become good! You could become a hero!"

Paradox bared his teeth, and froth began to form at the corners of his mouth. "But that's not what I want. Don't you see? Almost every Dimensional Traveler knows you as the Madman of the Multiverse. Your name will forevermore tarnished. As for me? I cannot stand thinking that. And what's worse, is my name will be ruined for even long after yours. No… it is too late. But I can alleviate myself of this all. Now… Joseph, gaze upon me and see what you could have become. Gaze upon me and know that this will always be inside you… bottled up. Gaze upon me and see that this is inside EVERYONE. How can you not do what I did knowing the truth? I know I could not stand it. And look where it got me."

With that, the Paradox held the gun to his head… and pulled the trigger. The Dimensional Energy bullet simply blew his head away, dissolving the whole corpse in a second. In an instant, the Dimensional Lord Joseph "The Paradox" Torrus was dead and long gone.

Sunset Shadow gave a broken sob. He couldn't help it, he was broken.

"Why… why didn't you tell me?" whispered Sunset to Kytax, "Why didn't you stop him?"

"It was his choice," said Kytax quietly, "And I could not tell you… nor could anyone else. When alternate versions of a single person interact, they tend to be deeply influenced or emotionally effected. We could only let you understand the magnitude of you copy's crimes when he was at the height of his madness, when he was the most detached from the true version of you. But now you understand that evil will fester where it can."

Kytax sighed deeply. There was another pause, then Kytax said, "The mind and the heart have an incredible capacity for good and evil. Lord knows why he gave such fickle creatures as us both."

Then, Caustic Rain spoke. "I do not know why I was here to witness this, but I understand what I must safeguard against. Kytax, must we reside here any longer?"

"No," said Kytax, "We do not. Come, let us return to your loved ones."

With that, Kytax opened another portal straight back to the Harmony Tree dimension. Back to Fluttershy, back to Luna, back to Flaming Star, back to Twilight, back to everyone. It was over.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: Rerenhaw_

_Time: Two days after the death of the Paradox_

Kytax stood with Doxia, Mattimeo, Desmond Butler, Jetfire, Wild, Krausk, Daniel Dragoon, Franklin Montgomery, Flaming Star, Sunset Shadow, Starlight Amber, Caustic Rain, Night Shade, Scootaloo, Luna, Trixie, and the Mane 6 in a clearing in the Everfree Forest.

"Well? What is going to happen now?" said Mattimeo quietly, "The Paradox is dead. The Phasetrooper soldier line has been discontinued, the Armadas have been returned to Kamina, and everything is secure."

"Yes," said Wild softly. He would usually speak irratibly in such situations as this, but Kytax calmed something within him, "What are we to do?"

There was a pause. Then Kytax spoke.

"It is time for life to start anew."

Sunset put his head to one side and said, "What do you mean?"

"It means many things," replied Kytax, "For you who live here, I offer you a new life."

There was another pause.

Then Sunset let out a sharp breath. "You're… you're going to take our powers away."

"I am. But it is a choice. You many keep your powers if you wish," continued Kytax.

This day seemed to be one for pauses, for there was yet another long, drawn-out bit of silence.

"I'm keeping my powers," said Flaming Star immediately.

Flaming Star then looked to Sunset. Sunset shook his head, "My powers? They are a curse. Such power is always a curse. I want my gone. But Kytax, please, make me a Pegasus, like my wife and filly."

"Get rid of mine as well," said Night Shade, "I have no more use of them."

"Dimensional Traveler powers were sooo last season, darling," commented Rarity airily, "I did enjoy them, but I guess I shall give up mine as well."

"I wish to keep mine, if that is okay," murmured Caustic Rain quietly, "Please."

"Get rid of mine as well," said Desmond, "If Sunset is giving his away, I will give mine away as well."

"Your choices are yours. You have made your decisions," said Kytax, "But now you all residing here will be at peace. This realm is safe."

Kytax then turned to Doxia and Mattimeo.

"However for you two, my friends, your journey about to begin."

Doxia threw up his hands in the air dramatically. "Come ON! I never get any peace and quiet. Eh, okay."

Kytax chuckled. His laugh bubbled through the air like musical bells, and made everyone else present want to laugh as well.

"You have had eons to rest, my friend. For now, I have a task: it is time for the Amethyst Empire to rise once again. I have talked to the last of the Dimensional Lords and they have agreed. Amethyst will rise again."

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait… The Amethyst Empire is returning? Does that… does that mean you're returning to use?" gasped Doxia.

"No," said Kytax, "I will not be returning. I must go. You, Doxia, and you, Mattimeo, will rule the new empire."

Doxia sighed. Then he nodded. "Yes… Yes, I understand. Is there anything else?"

Kytax nodded. "Yes. We must reassemble the Rerenhaw Council. The Maelstrom vial is gone, so you must be ready for the worst."

Mattimeo crossed his arms. "That is understood."

"Kytax?" said Rarity meekly, "Kytax? You're leaving us?"

"Yes, my daughter," sighed Kytax, his voice like a chorus on the wind, "Yes. I have lived out my time in this multiverse. I no longer belong."

"But you could!" exclaimed Wild suddenly, "You could stay with us all! You have friends!"

"I know I do," replied Kytax, "But I cannot. One day, you will understand. Goodbye."

A bright light began to glow from Kytax. As the light grew brighter, his voice echoed out, "Remember: it was not me who did anything. It was all of you. When will darkness reign when there is so much good?"

With that. He was gone. Forever. As the light cleared, Sunset Shadow, Desmond, Rarity, and Night Shade felt their powers drain from them. As the light finally vanished, seven beacon crystals floated in space.

"Will I ever see him again?" sniffed Rarity, her eyes beginning to well up in tears.

Doxia sighed sadly as he plucked the beacon crystals out of the air and put them in a case that he conjured out of the air. "I don't know. Kytax no longer belongs to our multiverse, or any multiverse for that matter. But if we ever need him again, we can call him. If we're lucky, he might just answer back."

"Sooooooo… what happens now?" said Desmond, trying his best not to blanch at the sound of his own voice breaking the silence.

Sunset smiled as he felt his unicorn horn dissolving into nothing. "Well… There is only one thing left for me: go home with my family." With that, Sunset turned around and trotted away. He was followed by Fluttershy, Starlight, and Desmond.

"I suppose I will go back to my home dimension with my ship and go brag to all the other admirals," chuckled Krausk, "I just helped save the multiverse. This is going to be fun."

"Trixie the great and powerful is finished with Equestria," said Trixie, "She shall be returning to her true homeland now, with her people in the Stallion Empire."

"Same," exclaimed Jetfire in guttural tones, "Time for me to head myself home..."

Daniel stretched. "Well... for me... I think I will go back to Demon hunting. There are still plenty of monsters out there that need to be vanquished, and now I can do that. And while I am at that, I think I will work to bring order back to the ranks of the Dimensional Travelers. It is time that the Era of Anarchy came to an end."

Franklin stretched at well. "I think I might join you," he said, "But first I need to go see Sapphire Anemone. I want her to know I am okay. Heck, I might even turn into a stupid pony form so that we can hang out without giving anyone a heart attack."

"I will join you as well, Daniel," added Wild.

"I guess I'll just go home, then," said Flaming Star simply.

Twilight smiled and placed her head on his shoulder. "You mean we'll go home."

Night Shade pulled a face. "Yep. Going home sounds like a good idea."

"Why the orange juice is everyone so keen on going home?" snorted Doxia, "I think I will go and have a billion-year vacation on Meshe. I can tell you, that place is better than Risa, Wonderland, and Hawaii put together!"

"Nice try, Doxia," said Mattimeo quietly, "But we have work to do."

Doxia shook his head dramatically, "Yeah, I suppose. But then again, that is really part of the one thing we will all do from this day after..."

Rarity looked up and said, "Whatever do you mean, darling?"

Doxia chuckled. "Well, the one thing we will all be doing..."

Doxia then turned to look off into the distance, "... is to live on."

Mattimeo nodded. "It is time for us to live on."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Right, that is the end of part 5! Now here we go to part 6! However, before I leave you guys, I want to let you know what is going down. I have grown really tired of juggling all of these OCs, main characters, and side characters. You would not believe how difficult it is to keep track of them all and still write an exciting story. Judging by the reviews and PMs, I did a fine job, but I really want to try something new. Thus, part 6 will take place TWENTY-TWO YEARS after the events of this chapter. I will still bring back a couple of the best of the OCs, and bring in one or two new ones, but that is it. However, do not worry. After part 6 and part 7, part 8 will return to the current time, and I will focus on character developing for all of the characters that I think were awesome, and yet did not get enough face time; that being Desmond Butler, Caustic Rain, Fury Wing, Sapphire Anemone, and a few others. Anyway, don't forget to leave a review! I love reviews! If you leave a review, I will give you a cookie. No guns, no kittens, no bacon, no Ferrari, just a cookie.<strong>


	96. Chapter 96 - A New Day

**Note: And here we go! Part 6! YAY! Oh, and as another note, if you have not seen it already, I have attached a table of contents onto chapter 1. And, once again, I would like to state that it is doubtful that I will ever write a sequel. Most probably I will simply append whatever works following to this whole story and separate them into seasons. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p><span>Season 2: Hearts of Darkness<span>

Part 6: Inquisition

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Frozen North, Stallion Empire_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

The Stallion Empire is not the healthiest place on the planet. The ruler is corrupt, and the land is harsh. The icy hand of winter is always asunder on the vast land. Temperatures sometimes drop lower than the temperatures of outer space, and icy bullets of hails and snow rip through the environ. However, those environments are only native to the southern planes. The north is even more unforgiving. In the frozen hell of north, the mountains give back very little. Very few ponies are able to traverse the towering spires of rocks, ice, and frozen earth. One of those "very few" ponies is Lyric Reed.

Lyric Reed had been orphaned when he was little in the mountains. By some miracle, this dark purple unicorn with a blue mane and treble clef cutie mark had managed to keep alive, and he taught himself the ways of the mountains. For thirteen years now he had been traversing the frozen hell of the north, and he knew every nook and cranny of the frozen mountains. To survive while traversing the mountains, Lyric would make a living by lying and stealing by putting on musical shows. As his victims were distracted, he would subtly pickpocket them. It was well though-out, and it worked every time. Of course, even stealing from others did not provide enough in the harsh lands of the north, for the ponies he stole from had very little as well, but it was enough. However, even "enough" was not enough for him. Ever since he was little, he could not come to terms with stealing. He felt terrible each time he did it, but it just seemed like a way of life for him. There was nothing that could pull him out of that life, and it gave him a sense of hopelessness. He hated his life. It was just that, hopeless.

Hopelessness seemed to be the keyword in the mountains today, for a heavy snow lay upon the ground, and the bleak sky stole the wonder from the icicles as they hung from dead trees. The sky is always what truly brings wonder to a snow day. With a sparkling sun, icicles dazzled and flashed like frozen rainbows, and the ocean of snow that lay on the mountaintops looked like a cozy blanket of sparkling whiteness; however, without the sky, the icicles looked like the teeth of a predator, waiting to kill a traveler too weak to defend themselves, and the snow looked like a sea of dead, cold, nothingness.

The sky was dead today, and Lyric knew it. The land he trotted across had no luster, no wonder. It was just dead. A howling wind tore through the crags and towering rocks, and the silence was oppressive.

Lyric blew out a frozen mist of breath from between his heavy hand-woven mufflers as he mumbled to himself, "By the Emperor, this place is worse than ever. Just my luck…"

He shook his head. The next town was not yet even a day away, and he was running low on rations.

"If I don't pick up the pace, I am going to end up a frozen dinner for the mountain wolves," muttered Lyric as he tried to pick up the shuffling pace. Unfortunately, the snow lay so heavy on the ground that the white material gripped to his hoof like a murderous bog of frost and ice, threatening to slow him and drag him down.

"I… hate… snow," growled Lyric as he did his best to rise above the icy grip of the land. After a pause, he began to chuckle at the irony. He had lived in the mountains all his life, this WAS his life. If he hated the snow, he hated his life… which was a fairly accurate description all things considered.

"I've got to pick up the pace," sighed Lyric again as he tried to redouble his efforts once more. This time he managed to drag his body forward. Then he stubbed a hoof.

"Ow! Stupid… rock… who was in charge of putting it there in the first place…" muttered Lyric. He fell back onto his behind hard and began to massage the stubbed hoof. Then he glanced up to glare at the offending object that had caused him pain. However, when he saw it, he stopped massaging his hoof and stared. It was not a rock like he had first though; it was metal plating. And on the corner, there was some paint on it, like an insignia.

"Huh, that's weird," muttered Lyric. He shuffled forward and brushed away some more snow, revealing the whole of the metal plating. It was a hatch, an aircraft door. Painted on the front of said door was an airline insignia. It was Grand Pegasus Airlines. Though Lyric had lived in the mountains his whole life, he was not as isolated as the mountains themselves were, and recognized the airline insignia immediately.

"Grand Pegasus? They never fly stuff out here. Well, they've gone and crashed now. That means they're all dead, so it doesn't matter. Nothing to see here, better move on," snorted Lyric to himself. He then turned around and began to work his way around the massive pile of snow he now knew hid the wreckage of a crashed airplane. However, as he continued to trot, he began to think more and more about the airplane. It was crashed, right? If it was crashed, all passengers and pilots were either dead or gone. And, since it was crashed, he would probably be correct in assuming that it was abandoned in a hurry, thus, there might be some supplies (albeit frozen supplies) that would be left over for him to plunder.

Lyric finally slowed to a stop. A battle began to wage on in his head as he thought of the pros and cons of stopping and checking and continuing on his journey unobstructed. After a minute of thought, he gave into the former of the two options and he trotted back to the massive snow pile. After inspecting the frozen plane hatch for a moment or two, he trotted up to the colossal mountain of fallen snow and he began to dig. There was a lot of digging to be done, it seemed, for the more he dug, the more snow he found. After several minutes of continuing his work, it became apparent that this plane had been buried under the snow for a very long time. Finally, Lyric gave up and sat down. He began to breathe hard onto his frozen front hooves, and rub them together to get the circulation going again. It looked like his wager had been wrong. Now he had lost a dozen minutes, and he was hungry, cold, and exhausted… all for nothing.

Lyric was about to stream a long line of curses under his breath when he noticed something interesting: a faint blue-colored glow emanating from the tunnel he had dug in the snow pile.

Cocking his head to one side in curiosity, Lyric crawled back into the hole and began to dig once more. In less than a minute, he broke through and his right hoof struck something metallic. Thanking his lucky stars that he had not given up when he had been less than a centimeter away from his prize, Lyric began to inspect the metal plating he had discovered. The blue glow was emanating from just below the newly uncovered area of metal. Scraping away the snow, Lyric found that it was a porthole, with the glass still intact. The bluish light was glowing from some source behind that porthole. Lyric leaned in close and inspected the glass. Ice particles had forced its way into the material, and had spread frozen film all over. Basically, after an extended exposure to the icy climates, the glass had frozen solid and had turned into ice itself. Rearing back a hoof, Lyric punched the glass hard, and it gave way immediately. It shattered into shards and splashed the interior of the plane with a cascade of tiny frozen particles. Lyric wriggled into the plane and flopped into one of the cold, cracked, frostbitten airplane seats. The entire plane was about the size of two buses end on end, and though there were obvious hull breaches in many places, snow had yet to claim the whole thing. Frost crept in films everywhere, and snow layered the seats and the aisles, but it was not yet buried. The entire thing looked abandoned. Not a living soul in sight.

Regularly, Lyric would have sorely regretted not bringing his large saddle pack (which he left by the entrance of the hole) with him, for it had a flashlight, but this time the blue light illuminated everything.

Though he was now inside the airplane, the source of the blue glow was still unknown, for it was glowing strongest a couple meters down the aisle in the middle row of seats. Licking his lips almost greedily, Lyric struggled onto his cold and numb hooves and trotted up to the middle row of seats to where the light was thickest and brightest. He took a single step closer, and was surprised to feel resistance. As he put one hoof forward, a distorting effect rippled around said hoof, and he felt like he was pushing that appendage through maple syrup. However, this weird effect did nothing to deter Lyric. Shaking his head in wonder, he pushed forward some more and pressed his whole body through. As he pushed through the barrier, a tingling feeling rippled in along his body in sync with the rippling light-distorting effect. Suddenly he managed to pull his body through and he fell on his face. As he scrambled up, he realized that the temperature around him had risen thirty degrees, and it looked quite obvious that the thing he had just pushed through had been an invisible bubble shield. Still not deterred by this new development, the curious pony Lyric turned around to look at the source of blue light that was bathing his body. His mouth dropped open when he finally saw the source: it was another bubble of power.

However, inside this bubble of blue light was something else: a pony.

A Pegasus was floating in animated suspension inside the blue ball of light. Now Lyric was totally overcome with curiosity. What was a pony doing inside a light bubble, inside a shield bubble, inside a crashed airplane, inside a massive pile of snow, inside the godforsaken mountains, inside the Stallion Empire? He had no idea, but now he was determined to find out.

Lyric reached forward with a hoof and prepared to touch the light bubble, but then he withdrew. Why should he touch it? As of now, he was inside a warm shield bubble with a light source. From the looks of it, this shield had endured for many months now, and it showed no signs of waning. He could make this place his home! It was bright, cozy and isolated. After all, he did not even know if the touch of his hoof would do anything to the light-energy bubble. In fact, the touch would, in all probability, set off a defense mechanism that would end up killing him. No, it was probably best to stick to his new plan…

Lyric sat down and began to bask in the heat that the shield bubble brought. Nonetheless, as he continued to sit there, the thoughts of the pony trapped inside the bubble continue to fill his thoughts. He may be a thief, but he was not cruel or mean-spirited. When he saw a pony in mortal danger, he usually came to the rescue at any cost. Of course, this was obviously contradictory, and many a fellow thief laughed and scorned him, but he himself viewed it as his one redeeming quality. And now, he was backing down on that quality by sitting here and enjoying the heat as opposed to trying to find a way to rescue that poor pony trapped in a living limbo.

Sighing, Lyric's conscious finally prevailed and he got up. Glancing around, Lyric found an abandoned tray that was broken beside him. Picking up a long shard, Lyric then proceeded to poke the shield. Though it was so obviously made of light, he felt like he was prodding clear, blue-glowing rubber: the shard could simply not penetrate the shielding. Sighing once more, Lyric tossed the shard away and looked at his hoof. Then he looked at the bubble, then he looked at his hoof again. Biting his bottom lip hard, Lyric raised that hoof, almost mechanically, and reached forward to poke it. Even though now his mind was raging for him to pull back and retreat, he could not stop. He had to do SOMETHING to help this pony, and it seemed like poking it with his bare appendage might do the trick. He did not know HOW he knew, but that did not matter now that he was doing it as if another mind had taken control of his.

With that, he tapped the bubble. It felt tingly, and searing bolts of pleasure lanced up and shot through his body. The blue light went out, revealing a translucent hexagon-pattered energy shield. There was a pause, and then the bubble contorted and twisted… then it popped. The pony inside the bubble then flopped to the ground and draped over a couple of the middle aisle seats like a ragdoll. As the light cleared, Lyric got a chance to inspect the limp Pegasus before him. The pony's mane was a light chestnut with streaks of brilliant purple, and it was long and straggly. Additionally its coat was deep yellow. It did not move.

Gasping in horror, Lyric scrabbled forward and dragged the pony forward. He flopped the body onto the ground next to him and began to search for a pulse to see if it was dead. Though it was obvious that nothing living could ever survive for so long in the cold mountains, Lyric could not help himself. He had to try. That attempt was immediately rewarded by something mind-blowing: a pulse. Lyric blinked. Then he shook his head as if to clear it. A pulse? How could that be? Nevertheless, a pulse was there.

Lyric's mouth flopped open. This pony was alive. Who was it anyway? Lyric then checked the ponies flank. It had a cutie mark: it looked like a purple, solid-color symbol that looked like a phoenix with outspread wings. Curios. Lyric, still wishing to know more about this strange pony that had somehow defied death with a bubble of power that appeared to transcend magic, then began to roll the pony over onto its back, exposing it. Now belly-up, the pony flopped (still like a ragdoll) and lay still. Lyric glanced over the pony's body up and down and raised an eyebrow. The pony was a female and about his age. Weird.

Lyric then slowly sat on his haunches as he began to think of his options. What could he do? This pony was alive, and so that meant, if his morals meant anything to him, that he could not leave her behind. However, he also had no way to know when she would wake up. He could not leave her, but she herself could not shift on her own. Sighing, Lyric realized there was only one solution: to carry her. At first he recoiled at the idea. He couldn't. She would slow him down, deplete his rations, and provide nothing in return. She was a deadweight, and that was unacceptable. But he could also not leave her to die. The bubble that had preserved her body and kept her alive was gone, and it was his fault. She was his responsibility know, and he could not shirk that. Even thieves had honor, though only a few respected it as highly as he.

"I hate being a good guy," snarled Lyric. He rolled the female pony back onto her back once more and shimmied her onto his own back. Growling as he strained to stand under his own weight, Lyric staggered up and stomped over to the broken porthole that he had used as an entrance. He flopped her onto the seat by that porthole and began to look about. Ensuring that the female pony was secure, Lyric then began to scavenge for abandoned material. As he expected, there was a lot left behind, but so much of it was devastated by the cold or frozen solid that most of the found objects were useless. Nonetheless, he did strike the jackpot several times in the form of a stocked-up first-aid kit, and a couple of thin first-class airline blankets. That was it. Simultaneously disappointed and pleased with his findings, Lyric trotted back to the unconscious female pony and strapped the new supplies to her back. He then shoved her through the porthole. He then crawled through, and began to shove the female's backside hard as he pushed her and the supplies out of the many meter-lengths of the hole he had dug. In a couple of minutes, though, he made it through, and he toppled her out onto the snow. Unstrapping the blankets and the first-aid kit from the mare, he then added it to his saddle bag. He then tossed the bag onto his back and straightened up. Now with this mare, the journey was about to get a lot longer, maybe even three days as opposed to the original one and a half. But he could not leave her behind, that would be condemning her to death, and he was not a murderer. Never. So, with a frosty huff of resignation, Lyric shouldered the mare onto his back and began to trudge off into the distance.

With the new weight on his back, and the boggy texture of the snow all around him, Lyric was going even slower than he had before. He felt his strength drain from him, and hunger began to gnaw at his stomach, but there was nothing he could do. He could not start a fire until he reached the small frozen forest to the north, and he would now not reach there until tomorrow at that pace. If he wanted to keep this mare alive, he would have to sacrifice his evening meal. Was he really willing to do that? For some ponies in far-off lands, that might not be too bad, but he had not eaten anything since the break of dawn, and that was taking his toll.

"I've… tried so hard… to keep you alive… mare…" muttered Lyric as he grit his teeth against the strain and the cold, "Couldn't… you give me something… in return?"

Then Lyric froze. Had… had the mare moved? Lyric stood stock still in the howling wind and the biting cold as he waited on his senses to confirm his thoughts. Had she really moved? Then… the mare muttered something. It was unintelligible, but it was something anyway. Lyric's jaw dropped for the second time in the day: not only had this pony survived this crash many seasons ago and lived, but now she was waking up. She was waking up.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Once Upon a Time<em>

_Planet: Fairy Tale Earth_

_Specific Location: Snow White and Charming's Castle_

_Time: Twelve years after the Curse, twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

A massive castle stood like a sovereign spire of stone. It was surrounded by a lake, and a long trail led from the massive drawbridge into a forest. The sun was shining, and the sky was blue, but, nevertheless, the place had an absolutely terrifying feel about it. Why? Because it was abandoned. Not a single bug chirped, not a single bird squawked, and not a single animal howled. Pure silence reigned in the environment. Even inside the castle, the same oppressive silence reigned supreme. Not a single peasant and not a single guard was residing within the cold stone walls. Even inside the hall of feasting, where all festivals were held, it was empty. That is… until a portal opened up and a being stepped out. This being was tall, lithe, and deadly. He was bipedal, with snow white armor with a huge circular disc of dark gray covering the area of the breastplate that would be covering the stomach. His entire set of armor was dotted with blue stars, and a whole set of different forms of daggers were strapped to his arms and wrists. A long double-headed spear with serrated edges was strapped to his back, and a power energy rifle was slung along his hips. This was the Dimensional Lord Traitor Orion. Or, as he was known by every other Dimensional Lord: Orion the Traitor, scourge of the Interdimensional Empire of Sapphire.

Orion the Traitor crossed his arms and leaned his arms against a pillar in the massive abandoned castle hall. After simply standing there for a moment or two, he called up a holographic projection in front of his face and opened up a private email application. He pulled up a message and he read it over a couple of more times. Then he sighed and closed it. The message definitely told him to meet at this place. He was about to simply shrug and leave when, suddenly, another portal opened up in the hall. Another powerful being stepped out into the light. It was Pictor.

The two stood there, facing each other for a long time.

"Orion," hissed Pictor, "Why have you called me here?"

Orion leaned to one side and scratched his chin nonchalantly. Then he swaggered up to Pictor and pointed to Pictor tipsily (even though he was not drunk) and snorted, "Forgive me if I answer a question with a question, but who the hell are you?"

Pictor drew himself up and stated regally, "I am Dimensional Lord Pictor, formerly of the Interdimensional empire E.D.D. Right-hand man of the Paradox, the leader of the Enigma Empire."

"Oooooohhhh… So we're attaching titles to our names, is that it?" chuckled Orion scathingly, "Okay… my turn. I am Orion, or, as my friends called me: 'Star Bear.' Unfortunately, I killed all my friends, so no one really calls me that anymore. I am the Traitor, responsible for the destruction of the Sapphire treasure vaults, and the burning of the Kashykus stronghold dimension during the Maelstrom wars. Oh… and I almost took over the Earth Multiverse… twice."

Pictor crossed his arms belligerently as he said, "I know who YOU are. However, that still does not answer my question: why did you call me?"

"Oh, that's funny, I was still going to answer that question with yet another question by asking you why you called ME?"

"But… but you called me…"

There was a long pause. Then Orion slowly drew forth his long spear, and Pictor conjured up balls of time-space-matter-vaporizing power. The two began to eye each other, and their surroundings, with increasing distrust. Pictor was almost a second away from hurling his attacks at Orion when Orion snapped, "We shouldn't be fighting, idiot. We've been set up. Both of us."

Suddenly a loud, mocking, drawn-out, golf clap resounded from the shadows.

"Oh my god… And suddenly the light dawns. You know, for being two of the most powerful beings the Multiverses have ever seen in all of Creation, you two are pretty stupid," drawled a voice in the shrouds of darkness.

Orion hurled his spear in the direction of the voice. However, just before the spear reached the spot, it stopped in midair. Orion glanced at Pictor, who had stopped the spear. Pictor gave Orion a meaningful side-glance and then turned to the shadows, "What do you want? Why have you set us up like that?"

"Well, Pictor, I couldn't just send you two an email to ask you over for supper, so I decided to draw you here for something a little more – shall we say – tantalizing. You know… killing people and stuff."

Orion stretched out a hand, and the spear hurtled back to him. As he strapped it onto his back once more, he said, warily, "Okay… You've got us. Now you have two seconds before I kill you. I'm really good at that, you know."

"Oh, of course you are, you big baby. However, you might find killing me… a little difficult…"

At this point, Pictor drew in a sharp breath (though technically Dimensional Lords have no need to breathe). Orion glanced over at Pictor. Pictor gave the shadows a wary looked and motioned for Orion to come in closer. Orion drew a dagger inconspicuously (just in case he needed to quickly assassinate Pictor) and then took a step closer to Pictor. Pictor then opened a private telepathic link to Orion and said over that link, "I've just scanned the person in the shadows. I came up with a negative result on the search of his DNA."

"That's stupid," snapped Orion back telepathically, "There is no such thing as a negative match on the DNA. He's alive right? Oh, he might be non-corporeal. Did you try sentient energy-signature scans?"

"I did. That came up as negative. I've tried everything. Whoever is in those shadows… technically he does not exist. He has no Imagination Energy running in him."

"That's idiotic and impossible. He cannot be a sentient void. In fact, I simply think you're lying."

"Do I look like a liar?"

"Heck yeah. In fact, you have it written all over you armor. I'll do it."

"Your database software is outdated, Traitor. You lost all connection with the Imperial Upgrade systems on Kamina when you were defeated by… well, you know. But nevertheless, your database scans have even less a chance of finding anything, and my database found nothing."

"Well, I made a few adjustments to my database, so I would like to differ."

"I am running the Amethyst Database 158.7, made by Doxia. You think you can trump him?"

"Maybe."

Suddenly the voice in the shadows echoed out, "Ladies! Please! You're both very pretty. Stop arguing about the Amethyst Database. But I would like to mention that even Doxia does not know everything. Well, he knows everything except the stuff surrounding my existence, but then that is understood."

Orion sighed. This creature not only could evade scans and fool the Amethyst Database, but he could also break into the private telepathic communications between two Dimensional Lords. Something of that magnitude required incredible willpower and mental capacity on such a level that it bordered on impossible. No non-Dimensional Lord could ever do it. Was this being a Dimensional Lord?

After a moment, Orion straightened up and turned to the shadows. "Make yourself known to me… COWARD!"

The voice chuckled. "Oh, you're only saying that to bait me. Ummmmm… no. I have the advantage, and I like it that way. It's frustrating isn't it? I love that. Now, enough of these theatrics. Orion and Pictor, I have called you two here today because I need something done."

Pictor crossed his arms stubbornly and snapped, "If you will not show yourself, then you can count me out."

The voice snorted disbelievingly. Then he said, in almost a sing-song-like voice, "It involves killing. Don't you just looooooove that? Come on… be a good Pictor and blow some stuff up for me…"

Pictor began to shake in rage, and energy began to ripple out of him, distorting the time-space continuum and ripping holes in dimensional fabric. "Show… yourself…" hissed Pictor.

Orion shook his head, both frustrated by the arrogance of the mysterious voice and amused at how easily Pictor was taking the bait. However, he finally said, "Yes. As much as I think you take after my own heart, voice, I will not make a deal with someone so dishonest that they cannot even show their face."

The voice sighed in mock exasperation. "Damn. And here was I, hoping I did not have to play my spare draw-4-wildcard. Well, at least it is just a spare. I am about to show you something. When you see it, you will want to help me soooooo bad that it will not matter what I look like. Hint: I am made of matter."

With that, a box suddenly materialized in front of them and swung open. Pictor and Orion looked inside. Inside the box was a photo of the Maelstrom vial that Leviathan gave to the Paradox. Scrawled messily in ink on the bottom of the photo like a signature were the words: "I have the vial."

Orion recognized the contents of the vial in the photo immediately and straightened up. "You could be lying."

"Oh, seriously now. Run a time-scan on the photo. You will see where the camera was when it took the picture, and what it was pointing at. Temporal evidence never lies."

Orion did it, and at least that came back positive. This voice indeed had the vial in his possession.

"Well, now that I know you have that… I would be delighted to help," snorted Orion.

Pictor sighed and nodded. The one who held the vial had great powers. It was best to stay on this voice's good side… for now.

"Well?" said Pictor after there was a minute-long pause, "What do you want us to do?"

"Oh, Pictor, so full of hate," chuckled the voice, "I can see, with the lack of stuff you've really done to hurt those who you hate, how you can be so eager to jump on the bandwagon."

"Screw you," hissed Pictor, "I've done a lot. I killed Twilight and Flaming Star's daughter. I've also brought down several important planets."

"Um, let me see… Yes, you killed the Firstborn's sweet little daughter, but those planets… no. Those were just scouting planets, and Doxia was letting you take them out so that he could figure out how to stop you without blowing up another dimension," chuckled the voice.

Pictor took a deep, shaking breath and then said, "Fine. Fine. So, could we get a move-on? Since we will be doing stuff for you, what should we call you?"

"Oh, just call me… ummm… Ah! Call me Harold. I think I will be fine with that. Now, listen very carefully. Orion, you will be up first, so I want your attention riveted to the whiteboard while I explain step one…"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Well? How did it go? I hope you enjoyed reading it, because I certainly enjoyed writing it!<strong>


	97. Chapter 97 - Summer and Winter

_Dimension: Reset Dimension (Orbit)_

_Planet: Space_

_Specific Location: Three parsecs from Earth_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox and the fall of the Insurrectionists_

"This is the Dawnstar, we're getting ready to jump. Amethyst Defense gates open, over?"

The sub-dimension broadcast device beeped as the message was sent from the helm of the United Federation of Colonies' Presidential Transport. A second later, a voice rang back, "This is Amethyst Docking Control. You are confirmed to jump. Relocate to these coordinates, and we will open a hole in the shielding in sync with that position."

The helmsman turned back to look at the U.F.C. President. The President nodded his head. "Relocate to that position and prepare to jump."

The helmsman nodded. The president got up and strolled off to the conference room. He sat down in his chair and sighed. Typing something quickly into a keyboard on his chair. A glass and a bottle of wine rose from a compartment. The president picked up the bottle and poured himself a shot.

"I see you are not doing as we agreed," said a voice behind him. The president jumped, and poured the wine all over the council table. He turned his head quickly. Mattimeo was standing behind him.

"God! Lord Mattimeo, you scared me," gasped the president.

"I apologize. However, should you not be working on the paperwork we sent you?" asked Mattimeo, "If you don't do it, I will get Joseph Langely to do it for you."

"Sheesh, Lord Mattimeo. I have a whole interdimensional nation to run, so I have other things to worry about than thinking about this Rerequack council."

"It is Rerenhaw. And I have a whole empire that I rule. Please, we are…" suddenly Mattimeo stopped talking.

The president immediately realized something was wrong. "Lord Mattimeo, what is wrong?"

"This could be a problem…" murmured Mattimeo.

Then the whole ship exploded. Massive releases of light, heat, and sound ripped through the decks, meticulously wiping out all life and shredding the whole ship into nothing. In an instant, everyone on board other than Mattimeo was killed.

Mattimeo floated in space for a moment, amongst the wreckage. He looked about at the red-hot pieces of debris that danced in the blank scape of space. Rippling wakes of dark energy shimmered through the void in the aftermath of a massive Dark Matter nuke discharge. Had everyone just died? Undoubtedly. But the real question, who did it?

Suddenly, it became clear. "Act of terrorism. No detection. It got by even me. Orion has returned," muttered Mattimeo.

Mattimeo quickly conjured up a distress beacon out of nothing and activated it. He then tossed it away and opened up a portal and exited without a single word.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Unknown<em>

_Planet: Unknown_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Unknown_

A massive scape of stars stretched out in all directions. Almost like liquid glass, the surface of this mysterious firmament shimmered, and the stars trapped within that expanse twinkled and flash. Suddenly there was a flash, and a dark blue unicorn with a dark green mane, dark green eyes, and a solid green endless knot cutie mark dropped from the sky. This was August Dellor, son of Samuel Dellor (Caustic Rain) and Princess Luna.

August scrambled up and looked around. Then he realized he was in a dream again. He was in THE dream.

Suddenly images began to flash by him in a swirl of bright lights, louds sounds, and vivid smells. He was reliving these images, even if they were not his own. August screamed in pain as the images continued to dance by him, giving him glimpses of memories that he knew were not his own.

There were explosions, death, war, and assassinations playing out in the images. Monstrous creatures rose and fell, powerful enemies fought to destroy all that is good, and traitors attempted to bring down empires from the inside.

"What's going on?!" roared August, now trying to simultaneously cover his eyes and ears at the same time, "Who are these people?! Where are these from?!"

The images did not reply. Instead, they began to pick up in intensity in their mad dance. Now nothing but a blur of blinding light, the images whirled in a tornado, squeezing closer to him. Closer… and closer… and closer… and closer… and closer…

August shot up out of his bed. He was still in his bed in Canterlot Castle, and it was still twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox. However, that dream and the time that had passed within it had seemed very real nonetheless. Breathing hard, he looked around. He took a deep, shivering breath and picked up his cellphone which was lying beside him. He quickly typed in a phone number. In a moment, the being on the other side of the line picked up.

"Hello? Yes, I know it's early. Yeah, right, got it. Okay, meet me at the same spot in one hour. Right. See you then, Gene."

An hour later saw August by a large oak tree just outside Canterlot. It was on a rassy hillock, surrounded by a sea of poppies, sunflowers, and lilies. August Dellor rolled his eyes as he leaned his back against a tree. Gene Grayson was late. So late that even the fashion of being late was becoming unfashionable.

Suddenly Gene dropped from the tree he was leaning against and landed next to him, scaring the living daylight out of August.

"God! Gene! You scared me!" exclaimed August, "Seriously, this is no way for a 30-something-year-old to act."

"You were expecting me to show up. I was just seeing if you were expecting me to show up unexpectedly."

August rubbed the back of his neck, thinking he had sprained it when he had jumped. "Yeah, well, I would say that it is so unexpected that it was barely even possible. I mean, you're, like, an old man."

"Please. I'm a Dimensional Traveler," snorted Gene as he crossed his arms.

There was a pause. Then August said, "You would look better as a pony."

Gene sat down. "Well, you look better as a human."

August looked at Gene curiously. "You think so?"

Gene leaned over and murmured, "Of all of the children of the Dimensional Travelers, you are the only one who inherited the powers. I don't know if you heard Doxia talking to your family a couple of years ago, but that is not supposed to happen. You're special. And special means you might as well turn into a human."

"Yeah, I heard him, and I've heard you say that before Gene, but I really don't care. I cannot open portals, so who cares if I can shapeshift and throw colorful bits of light about? I am pretty much just an alicorn without the wings."

"Well," said Gene in a matter-of-fact tone, "Magic is medium-level Aganonces. Thus, it can only control matter, energy, space, and time. The power you wield is high-level Aganonces. Thus, it can control magic, dimension, matter, energy, space, and time. It really is in the fabric of Imagination Energy. See, the level of…"

"No, Gene, stop. That's the physicist in you taking," snorted August, "I really don't care."

"Well? I've been putting up with you being boring, for a long time, so, what do you care about then?" said Gene, giving August a side-long glance.

"Ummm… To do… good?" said August after a pause.

"Yeah, wrong answer," replied Gene.

August rolled his eyes. "Come on! You've known me forever. Haven't you figured it out already?"

Gene chuckled. "Ooooohhhh… So THAT is what you want to do? How boring."

"Yep," said August, "Go to school, go to college, graduate, get a job, get a house, die."

"And that is why you are so boring," said Gene, "You know, we really should get out sometime. What do you say? I'll open a portal, and we can go hang out at Caltech in Earth Prime."

"That's your idea of fun," replied August, "As for me, I think just sitting under this tree will be fine."

"And, as I said, you're boring," replied Gene.

"And yet, here I am," said August.

There was another minute-long pause. Then August said, "Gene, look, the reason I called you here is because I had that dream again."

Gene sighed. "Again? I am pretty sure that that is bad. Why haven't you talked to your mom about it? She is the princess of the night, after all."

"I have!" exclaimed August, "And she cannot see anything! Whatever is happening in my mind is also blocking her out as well."

"I guess then you will just have to endure it," sighed Gene, "But I actually do not think it is that bad. If you are indeed experiencing memories, then it is possible that these memories are teaching you something. Remember that one event we had with that Animus a couple of years back? Remember the bleeding effect? Yeah, well, this could be something like that. These memories could be teaching you something."

"I don't really care if they're teaching me something," snorted August, "I really just care why they are in my head, who sent them, and what those memories are about. I only get to experience each individual memory for a nanosecond, thus, I have no time to comprehend the time, location, and circumstances surrounding each event."

"And that we may never know," said Gene, "There is nothing I can really do for you know. Maybe we should seek out help from Sunset Shadow. Or, better yet, a Dimensional Lord."

"Yeah, like a Dimensional Lord has nothing better to do than listen to some random pony with crazy dreams," chuckled August harshly.

Gene was about to open his mouth again, when August then held up a hoof. Gene shut his mouth and listened. Then a portal opened up and Dimensional Lord Doxia stepped out.

Gene's mouth dropped open. He had only seen a Dimensional Lord a couple of times. Doxia looked at August and said, "Yo! August! How are the leaves fallin'?"

August, who had been totally shocked and surprised, immediately got over it and sighed. Because of his name, Doxia would always ask him that.

"I'm fine, Doxia," snorted August.

Doxia shook his head. "Wrong answer. Remember what we talked about?"

August facehoofed. Then he mumbled, "The leaves are falling on the right side of the trunk."

Doxia nodded. "Much better. Soooo… Where's your dad? And where is Sunset? And Flaming Star? You know, all those totally famous people that you are related to in some way or another."

August blinked. Doxia had not called for a meeting like this in over twenty years, or so his dad said.

"Yeah, his dad and the rest are in Ponyville right now, I think," said Gene.

Doxia nodded. "Coolio. Grab my arms, guys."

Gene shrugged and seized Doxia's outstretched arm. August shrugged as well and did the same with the other. In a second the environment blurred and they were suddenly in Ponyville town square.

Immediately the ponies that saw Doxia rushed up to greet him. Doxia had become like a second Pinkie Pie, and he certainly acted like one.

"Derpy! Still up for lunch tomorrow? Vinyl! Nice haircut! I love it. Sweetie Belle! You're just cute. I had to get that off my chest."

At this point, Flaming Star arrived, looking as young as ever. "Doxia! Nice to see you again! What brings you here?"

Doxia took a deep breath, "You remember that one meeting we had? Well, we need to finish it."

Flaming Star blinked. "You need to finish a meeting… what?"

Doxia nodded. "I need you, Sunset Shadow, Caustic Rain, and August. Gene can come along as well because he's funny, and I like that."

August shook his head, as if to clear it. "Wait… Don't you have, like, the Rerenhaw Council?"

Doxia shook his head. "Not yet. I have yet to assemble the people worthy."

"Well? Why are you asking us for a meeting? You have Mattimeo! You have all of those other Dimensional Lords!" persisted August.

"I know," replied Doxia, "But I think you guys are a lot wiser than some of those trillion-something-year-olds."

"You're weird, Doxia," snorted Flaming Star, "But I respect you. So! When is this meeting?"

"Right now, in fact," replied Doxia.

A couple of minutes later, Doxia was with Sunset Shadow, Caustic Rain, August, Flaming Star, and Gene.

"Well?" said Caustic Rain, "What is going on?"

"Here's the problem," sighed Doxia, "Someone dangerous has returned from our past. Yes, I know that sounds cliché and cheesy, but there is a major problem here."

"What happened?" said Sunset, "Who is it?"

"Just a couple of minutes ago, the president of the newborn intedimensional empire, the United Federation of Colonies, was killed in an act of terrorism while attempting to meet up with an Amethyst Embassy."

"An embassy? If a president was going to meet an Amethyst Embassy, wouldn't protocol mandate that a guard member of said embassy be present?" interjected Sunset.

"Yeah. Mattimeo was on board, and that is what makes it weird," said Doxia, "The ship exploded and everyone other than Mattimeo was killed. And that is where it gets weirder: Mattimeo was unable to detect the act of sabotage until after the fact."

Flaming Star facehoofed, "So the culprit got away."

"Aha! And that is where you are fortunately wrong. The fact that it was undetectable made the culprit totally detectable. His name is Orion the Traitor."

Sunset shook his head. "I'm sorry if you meant that to be dramatic, but who is Orion?"

"Yeah, well, here is his story. He was one of the first Dimensional Lords chosen to serve under the Special One of the Sapphire Empire. At first, he was the perfect Dimensional Lord. In fact, the Special One of the Sapphire Empire often compared him to me. Sadly, darkness was in the heart of Orion, and it festered. In the end, he went rogue, and attempted to take over the multiverse using a unique device in a dimension called Meshe. He was stopped by me. However, he learned from his mistakes, and the second time, it seemed that he was unstoppable…"

There was a pause. "How was he stopped then?" said August.

"They were stopped by something called the Inquisition," said Doxia dramatically.

"That sounds cool," snorted Flaming Star, "But how does that help us?"

"Oh, and we think Orion is not working alone," continued Doxia, ignoring Flaming Star's question , "I think Pictor is helping them. I have many things I need to attend to, and this is just one more thing that I need to worry about. So, I will need help in taking Orion and Pictor down, and, thus, the Inquisition will be required to rise once more."

"I don't understand," said Sunset, "How does this involve us? I really don't see the use in coming to us, since we are of no use in this situation."

"Nonononono," interrupted August, "I'm interested. Could you tell me a little more about this, um, Inquisition?"

Doxia grinned. "Right. Sit down, me hearties! I will tell you a tale of a long time ago…"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Frozen North, Stallion Empire_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

Lyric gently laid the mare on the ground and took a step back. Then he leaned in close until his eyeballs were a hairsbreadth away from her closed eyelids. The mare's eyelids flickered and she mumbled something again. Lyric leaned back and sat down. Nothing happened.

Sighing, Lyric suddenly started talking. "Ummmm… hey. I know this is kind of weird, but I like your mane. It's kind of pretty. Ummmm… So, how are you? I know I've never met you, but I want you to know that it is sort of suspicious, you hanging around here. I mean, like, I found you in that crashed plane, and you were surrounded by that energy bubble! That was pretty cool, though. I've heard of these terrifying monsters in that twisted land of Equestria that could do stuff like that. You don't look like a monster, though. Weird. I wonder what your name is, though."

"Summer."

Lyric's ears pricked up. Had she just said something? Then, suddenly, the mare's eyes snapped open.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" she screamed. Her limbs flailed and her eyes were wild.

Lyric immediately grabbed her and tried to hold her down, shouting, "Calm down! CALM DOWN!"

The mare continued to writhe and scream.

Lyric took a deep breath and roared, "SUMMER! CALM DOWN!"

The mare stopped screaming. She blinked. Then she looked at Lyric.

"W-what?"

Lyric quickly let go of her. "I said for you to calm down. Er, Summer, that's your name, right?"

The mare nodded meekly. "Y-yes… I-I'm so sorry. I just had the most terrible dream."

Lyric cocked his head to one side. "Er… Sorry, but what was it about? I don't mean to pry, of course."

Summer massaged her temples with the tips of her hoofs. "Oh no, it's fine. I guess you have a right know since I was screaming and everything. I… I had a dream that I was in an airplane, flying to… somewhere… I fell asleep. Suddenly I woke up and I was alone!"

Summer's breathing became labored, and tears began to squeeze from her tear ducts. "I heard crackling and I felt heat… the engines were on fire! The plane went into a dive… and then… and then… and then I woke up here."

Summer was now crying. Lyric sighed. "That wasn't a dream, was it?"

Summer sniffled as she got her emotions. She sat there, staring off into the distance. Lyric looked at her. Her eyes were a vibrant violet. Gorgeous, and yet somehow vacant. "No. No it wasn't I suppose. But I can't remember anything else! I don't remember anything!"

She continued to look off into the distance. Lyric scratched the back of his head. "Er, I don't get it. I mean, seriously, how do you remember airplanes then?"

Summer shrugged, her eyes bleak. "I don't know. I just know those things, powered by magic, fuel, and air propulsion driven at high pressure drive metal bodies of aluminum through the air… How do I know that?"

Lyric chuckled. "You don't remember anything? And yet, you remember that."

Summer sighed. "I… I can't. I know what I am feeling is snow, and I know what makes snow and all of that, but I have no idea who taught me."

"So… You don't have anything?" snorted Lyric, "No family? No friends? No nothing?"

Summer began to tear up again. "No…" she sobbed.

Lyric shook his head. He sat in front in her and reached forward. He lightly grasped her shoulders and said, "Hey… hey… look… look at me."

Summer eyes remained bleak, and she stared off in the distance.

Then… Lyric's voice caught in his throat. "You're… you're blind."

Summer turned her blank eyes in the direction of his voice. "Is that… is that a problem?"

Lyric slowly moved away. He ran a hoof across his face. He was in the worst possible position. So she had shown those special abilities, so what? Now it seemed that she would not be able to cast that warming energy shield again. In addition to that, she had no memory, AND she was blind. Maybe fate could justify him leaving her. Maybe letting her die would be alright in this case. Then Lyric's eyes hardened. No. He couldn't leave her to this. He couldn't.

Lyric took in a long, shaking breath. "No. That is not a problem. Why would you think it would be a problem? I don't see a problem."

Summer's blinds eyes looked around. "Where ARE we?"

Lyric nodded his head. "We're in the Stallion Empire."

Summer nodded her head. "Um. Yeah, great. Where are we?"

Lyric couldn't help but grin. "Oh, yeah, sorry. We're in the mountains of the Stallion Empire. So, you know…"

Summer sighed. "Yeah. Cold."

She shivered. Lyric quickly pulled out a couple of blankets from his saddle bag and tossed them around her shoulders. Then he got up and said, "Well, the bad news is that the nearest town is a day and a half away. The good news is that you're walking now."

Summer got up. Lyric winked at her and began to trot away.

"Where did you go?"

Lyric stiffened at the sound of Summer's voice. She was blind, he could not just walk away like that. Face burning in shame, he went back and gently took one of her hoofs.

"God I'm an ass. I'm so sorry," he mumbled.

Summer chuckled. "Nah. It's okay. I'm sorry if I'm a burden, but I cannot tell you how MUCH this means to me. I mean, no pony would usually do that. Well, at least no pony that I can remember…"

Lyric sighed. "Yeah, that's me. The gentlecolt."

"Hey, I didn't catch your name!" exclaimed Summer, giving Lyric's hoof a squeeze.

Lyric's face began to blush even more. "Oh, er, yeah, that. My name is Lyric Reed. N-n-nice to meet you."

Summer's face brightened. Even her blank eyes sparkled. "There we go! A name! Lyric… that's a beautiful name."

Lyric couldn't help but give her a little shove. "Beautiful is for girls. I prefer to think of it as manly."

Summer returned his shove with a greater shove. "Yeah, sure. I still think it's beautiful."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Okay everyone! I've decided that every Tuesday I will release a chapter called a "Flashback Episode." These episodes will tell the story of something that happened some time in the past, be it just after the death of the Paradox, or just before the Maelstrom War. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Leave me a review! If you leave me a review, I will give you an invisible Rolex watch. You want it. I know you want it.<strong>


	98. Chapter 98 - The Inquisitors

**Note: Here is the first episode of the Flashbacks! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span>Flashbacks: T<span>he Inquisitors

_Dimension: Doctor Who_

_Planet: Space_

_Specific Location: Two hundred parsecs from the Andromeda Galaxy_

_Time: 445 Billion years before the death of the Paradox, two months after the reincarnation of the Second Doctor_

The Amethyst Empire was the greatest empire of all time. Its colonies spread across a vast portion of the multiverse. Its standard of living was infinitely high, and the technology it possessed was beyond imagination. Its cities were grand, vast, clean, and crimeless. People where happy. Its military was also extremely powerful. It had a fleet of exactly a vingtillion ships, and its soldiers were beyond count, some say it was beyond a googol. The empire was led by beings that could bring down a whole dimension in less than seven seconds. However… that is not why the Amethyst Empire terrified every single enemy ever. That is not why the empire was so powerful, that it could afford to do whatever it wanted. It was not the armies, it was not its leaders, and it was not its economy… it was something else. This something else was called the Amethyst Inquisition. The Inquisition consisted of exactly 5950 soldiers split up in three's or seven's. These groups of three's or seven's were called "Chapters," and there were 1189 of those chapters. These soldiers were what made the difference. They were trained to kill Dimensional Lords who threatened the Amethyst Empire without mercy. They were extremely powerful, and heavily armed. They could hunt down a single molecule across the whole multiverse, and destroy it so utterly, that it would cease to exist, and be wiped from the timeline. No Dimensional Lord besides the Great Doxia, the Great Mattimeo, and the Illustrious Kytax could ever stand up to them. However, just like there is always one student who excels in a classroom of students, there was one Inquisition Chapter that was the reason the Inquisition was even feared in the first place. This was the John 3 Chapter. It seemed like a standard chapter, holding three soldiers. Their names were codenamed Blue, Dark, and Sunflower. However… they were no ordinary Inquisition soldiers. They were unique because no records were ever held of them. The Chapter was not even supposed to exist, but suddenly, they were there, and no one questioned what had happened. This chapter held the most missions accomplished, and the most enemies neutralized. They were the Inquisition, they were fear.

Blue was the leader. He was powerfully armored with full blue-colored body armor, massive armored shoulder plates, and plated gloves and boots. He wore a masked helmet that had a thin T-Visor that stretched to the bottom of the jaw of the mask, and to each side of his head. Strapped to his back was a beautiful longsword that was charged with Dimensional Energy. He could gut a Dimensional Lord with ease with it. On his hip was an Astartus Imperius MK VI Projectile Blaster, also known simply as an Inquisition Blaster. An Astartus was one of the few projectile guns still in existence, but there was a reason why it had not been replaced: it fired a shell at 2000 meters a second. Inside the shell was a dense compound of Dimensional Energy. Once the shell struck, the target was beyond dead. The Astartus was the only effective handheld weapon capable of delivering such a deadly payload. However, this was not Blue's weapon of choice. This was not why all Dimensional Lords (aside from Kytax, Doxia, and Mattimeo) feared him. The reason why he was the most powerful Inquisitor to live was his wristblade, and the skill he showed while wielding it. No one knew how Blue had gotten the wristblade, but everyone knew the wristblade's origin. It had been created by the fallen Archangel Bottarr, just before he was tasked by He Who Sits on the Throne to start creating Dimensional Lords. It was capable of killing anything. ANYTHING.

As for Blue himself, he was a strange person. He rarely talked, and when he did, it was only to say something that mattered. He stood tall and distant, and barely even interacted with his teammates. He was an enigma, a mystery, and he kept it that way.

As for his teammates…

Sunflower was like his name: sunny. He joked a lot, but it was only a front. Beneath his jovial disposition, he was a killer sniper. He was armed with two precision Amethyst Sniper Rifles, and an Astartus. He could clip a butterfly's wings from a distant planet, and that was not just a figure of speech. Amethyst rifles had incredible distance, and could fire across a galaxy, all one needed was the skill to aim it, and that Sunflower had in abundance. He too had full body armor, though it was colored yellow. He had sharper shoulder plates that swept backwards, and he had an elbow blade on his right arm for close combat. His masked helmet faintly resembled a Warhammer 40k Space Marine helmet, but the eye pieces were fused into a T-Visor, and the mouth vents and oxygen tubes were lacking.

Dark's personality was like his name as well: dark. He was rough and blunt, and not willing to mince his words. If there was killing to be done, he did it, and he did it in the most effective way possible: with his fists. He was armed with an Astartus, a tri-barreled Amethyst rocket launcher, and a fold-out power hatchet. However, all he ever used was the rocket launcher… and his fists. This really reflected on his character; nevertheless, he was loyal to the death. Dark, like his two teammates, had full body armor, but his was black. His armor was cut close to allow free movement, but he had spaced armor on his shins, arms, and chest. His helmet resembled a Halo Venator, but had larger visor vents that swept to either side of his head.

Blue, Sunflower, and Dark. They were the John 3 Chapter. They were death.

The A.E.S. Carbine was a transportation cruiser. It was sparsely armed and sparsely manned. It was a transportation cruiser, after all, and A.I. units ran ninety-percent of the ships operations. Most of its power was aimed towards keeping those being transported comfortable. However, the Carbine was no ordinary cruiser, it was hiding a secret cargo of interdimensional weapons that were designed to wipe out universes from the adjacent dimension. This powerful weapon was hidden in a small box in the captain's room. Something so small… yet so vastly powerful…

Naturally something that powerful needed guarding, but this was a covert operation, so a convoy of battleships and a sea of armed Amethyst Soldiers were out of the question. The Rerenhaw Council knew that they needed to keep the operation a secret, but they also knew that the operation needed the utmost protection. Thus, they were assigned the greatest team of all time: the John 3 Chapter of the Amethyst Inquisition.

Blue stood at a window in one of the grand hallways of the Carbine, staring out into space. He did this as often as he could. It was simply what he did. Suddenly an Amethyst Soldier strolled in from another room.

"Sir," said an Amethyst Trooper stoutly, "They have called you."

Blue just tipped his head slightly. The solider quickly left. Blue then turned around and began to stroll away to a secret passageway. Once and a while, finely dressed beings of many diverse species would stop and gawk at the towering Inquisitor.

Blue just ignored them and kept walking. He was abruptly joined by Sunflower.

"Wonderful weather, isn't it?" said Sunflower amiably, "Well… It is wonderful weather somewhere… Just not here. Why does space not have weather? It could use some…"

"Shut the hell up Sunflower," growled Dark as he joined them, "We could do without your babble."

"Oh look," laughed Sunflower, "Mr. Gloomy has decided to blow a gasket. You know what? Fine. I'll pretend I am invisible. I am sure you will enjoy that."

"Quiet," said Blue calmly. He then stopped and turned to face a blank wall. Reaching up, he ran his hand in a specific pattern across the blank surface. Suddenly a door appeared out of nowhere. It slid opened and the three strolled inside. The room they entered was quite dark, with a dark purple light illuminating the scene. The crate containing the powerful weapon sat in the middle of the room.

Lord Doxia stood with his arms crossed on the side of the area opposite to the entrance.

"Gentlemen," chuckled Doxia, "So nice to see you both! Oh, there's also Dark. Hey Sunflower! I got a joke! Why was the Dark Ages dark?"

Dark snorted indifferently, but Sunflower laughed and said, "I don't know! Why?"

"Because there were so many knights! Get it? Knights? Nights! It's awesome!" laughed Doxia. Both Sunflower and Doxia broke down laughing.

Blue crossed his arms and stood to one side, observing the scene quietly. After it was apparent that the laughter was never going to die down, he said, "Are we here for something?"

The moment Blue spoke, all noise stopped. Doxia cleared his throat.

"Ah, yes… It seems that our secrecy might have been compromised," said Doxia cheerfully, "Don't know how, but we are going on red alert. I myself have to go, but I want you three to keep a lookout. You know what to do. Adios Amigos!"

With that, Doxia opened a portal and hopped through.

"The covert operation has been compromised," repeated Dark in a gravelly voice, "Stay on alert. If we need to kill something, we need to do it quickly. We cannot blow our cover."

"I am going to set up shop, then," said Sunflower, "I will have the overview."

"You do that," said Blue quietly, "I am going to watch the stars."

"You ALWAYS watch the stars," sighed Dark, "Find something different to do. What do those inanimate balls of burning gas and plasma tell you, anyway?"

"More than you will ever know," whispered Blue. He then exited the room.

"Oooooohhhhh! Burn!" snorted Sunflower. He flipped out one of his high-powered rifles and walked away. Dark couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle himself. Blue was a mystery.

Blue went back to his position by the window. Once again, he immersed himself in the glory of the stars. Nature, stars, grass, trees, wind… It all was a wonder to him. He could never have enough. It was his protection, his love. Suddenly he stiffened. Had he just seen something? Then he sighed. Quickly he opened a link with Sunflower and Dark.

"Sunflower? Dark? We have company. Expect an impact in thirty seconds. Expect boarding parties in two minutes. Be ready."

Blue took a few steps back, and then he charged the window. He smashed through it and was launched into space. Fortunately the containment shields immediately were activated so that no one was sucked out with him. Blue quickly pulled out his Inquisition blaster and aimed it at a blank spot in space. A bullet flew out and sizzled off true, and exploded against something invisible. Suddenly the invisible object de-cloaked. It was a massive Maelstrom War ship. By some mysterious power, Blue had known exactly where the invisible ship was, and exactly where the invisibility generator was.

Now knowing its cover was blown, the Maelstrom Warship opened fire on the A.E.S. Carbine. The explosions ripped through the decks. The Carbine listed as power was immediately diverted to self-repair. In seconds the ships was perfectly fine as the molecules of the destroyed decks were pulled together again. However, the Maelstrom War ship fired again, and again, and again. Soon the Carbine's power systems were out. The little luxury transport ship was no match for this warship of the Maelstrom. But was the warship a match for the John 3 Chapter?

Activating a jump boost from his boots, Blue latched onto the hull. Quickly he sprinting across the surface, his boots magnetizing their soles to the surface. Immediately proximity turrets activated and turned their attention to Blue, firing hails of infected energy bolts. Blue ducked and dodged them with ease. Then, in a single smooth motion, he unsheathed his sword and hurled it. It clipped all of nearby turrets and returned to him. Just as it flew back, Blue leapt in the air. He seized the blade and brought it down with a powerful swing on a specific spot on the ship. When the blade struck, a massive explosion tore through the hull. Blue had sliced through a vital power component. Nevertheless, the warship was broadside the Carbine now, and was unloading a massive army of Maelstrom soldiers. Blue glanced to look at the multitude of long tubular energy gates that were attaching themselves to the Carbine like parasites.

"Dark, boarding attachments are locking onto the port side, deck twelve. Repel the intruders. Sunflower, get to deck sixteen. I am bringing their helm shields off, so you will be in charge of eliminating those in the captain's nest."

"Whatever. Sure."

"Understood."

Blue continued to run across the expanse of metal that was the ship. More and more turrets turned their attention to Blue and fired. However, despite the pure power and accuracy with which the turrets shot their attacks, not a single bolt of energy seemed to be able to mark their target. Blue, on the other hand, knew exactly what to do. Deftly he drew his Inquisition blaster and began to shoot the turrets as he passed by. A single bullet from his gun vaporized a whole turret with ease. Soon Blue reached the loading hatch that led to the interior. It was powerfully shielded with infected Codrex steel and a Dimensional Energy shield film. Blue simply drew his Imagination Energy wristblade. He sliced a large hole through the porthole like a hot knife through butter and kicked the hatch inward. He leapt inside and was immediately accosted by at least two hundred ravenous Maelstrom troopers. Blue made short work of them with his sword and wristblade, and quickly flipped over their corpses. As he worked his way to the shield generator, he was met with all kind of resistance, ranging from Maelstrom troopers to Maelstrom arch-agents to mechanical traps. But each challenge was defeated easily, and soon Blue reached the generator. Not even breaking his stride, Blue pulled out his Inquisition Blaster and shot the generator, totaling it immediately. As the generator went up and flames, he shot the hull next to him, blowing a hole through the warship. Blue then pulled out a powerful singularity grenade and activated it. Dropping it next to the flaming generator, he rushed the hull breach and dove through it just as the grenade went live. As he hurled through space back towards the besieged A.E.S. Carbine, the whole engine room of the Maelstrom warship dissolved into nothing. Angling his body perfectly, Blue smashed right through a window and into a large group of Maelstrom troopers. The troopers whirled to confront their new adversary, but it was too late. In less than a minute all four hundred of them were dead.

"I was going to kill them," snapped Dark as he suddenly approached from the shadows with his battle hatchet drawn in his right hand and his tri-barreled rocket launched his left hand. He strolled past Blue and looked at the hull breach that Blue hand entered through.

"Nice hole," commented Dark suddenly as he got down on one knee, "I can hit their boarding tubes from here."

Dark began to fire volleys of rockets off from his rocket launcher. The rockets hissed through space and struck the access points of the myriad of tubular boarding bridges that connected the warship to the Carbine. In a minute all of the access points were gone, and the limp warship began to drift away. At this point, Sunflower contacted Blue and Dark. "I killed all twenty-seven Maelstrom pilots in less than a second. Is that a new record? Eh, I doubt it. Oh, by the way, I might have 'accidentally' hit their main control panel with an encryption bullet, making the warship's main computer think it needs to self-destruct in less than half a minute. We're cool with that, right?"

"As long as that ship only counts as one kill," snorted Dark.

"Wait, we're counting again? I thought we agreed to stop the kill count after we were removed from the Inquisition Leaderboard because we had too many points," laughed Sunflower.

"Stop it you two," said Blue, "Something is not right. If the Maelstrom knew that we were carrying a secret cargo, then it most certainly knew that the John 3 Inquisition Chapter would be guarding it. Attacking us as directly as they did would be suicide. Dark, where are all of the Amethyst Troopers?"

"They're held up in the cargo bay, defending the civilians. We are the only ones not trapped on deck 1. Why?"

"Deck seven was the one that held the device. It was hidden, but there is no guarantee it is staying that way. We need to get there immediately to ensure its safety."

With that, Dark and Blue sprinted off. As they ran, Blue contacted Sunflower, "Sunflower, I need you to set up on the top balcony level of the Dining Hall. I have a feeling you will be needed there."

"The Dining Hall? What are you planning?" asked Dark as they ran. Suddenly the two turned a corner and faced a hallway full of Maelstrom troopers. Without even breaking his stride, Dark pulled out his battle hatchet and hurled it. He threw it with such force that it punched straight through twenty Maelstrom troopers before smashing into the hull of the ship and blowing a major hole through it. The new containment breach immediately sucked all of the present Maelstrom troopers into space. Dark extended a hand while he continued to run, and the hatchet returned to him. He folded it up and strapped it to his back as he said, "I get all of those kills, since I am the one who blew the hole in the wall."

Blue did not respond, and the two kept running. They then burst through into the Dining Hall. It was a grand affair. Gold and silver was everywhere, and a massive, grand diamond chandelier hung from the ceiling far above their head. The roof stretched up twenty decks, and balconies for each deck lined the walls. The floor was polished marble, and reflected like a mirror. However, it was not the grandeur of the hall that stopped Blue and Dark in their tracks, it was the sight of someone very dangerous: Orion the Traitor. The extremely dangerous Dimensional Lord was standing on the opposite side of the hall.

"Oh! Blue! Nice to see you!" laughed Orion. He was holding the crate that held the special device.

Blue pulled out his Inquisition Blaster and pointed it straight at Orion. Orion snorted.

"Please, you know how this is going down. If you shoot me, I'll destroy this device. Got it? You know how much little Doxia wants this device, right?"

Blue shot Orion. The bullet sizzled through the air and blew Orion's arms off. Orion screamed. He then reared back with a foot and charged it with deadly energy. He prepared to stomp on the crate and destroy it. But in the nanosecond before he could do that, an energy bullet flew from Sunflower's sniper rifle up high and ricocheted off the ground and the crate at a perfect angle. The crate skidded across the room and came to a stop in the middle of the Dining Hall. Orion stood there. Then he began to laugh. "Oh my God! I will admit that I never saw that coming. However, I bet none of you saw this coming either."

Orion snapped a finger, and suddenly the wall exploded behind him. A sea of Maelstrom troopers rushed out from the newly made holes in the wall. Dark and Blue glanced at each other. There was a lot of enemies rushing in their direction now. Then the whole ship abruptly listed sideways.

"Oops!" laughed Sunflower over the coms, "I might have accidentally taken over the ship a couple of minutes ago and accidentally caused the ship to flip on its side. Please forgive any inconvenience I may have caused."

The angle of elevation of the marble floor was rising rapidly, and Maelstrom troopers began to slide to the far wall. Blue quickly drew his sword, set its energy level to freeze, and drove it into the ground. It stuck fast, allowing him to anchor himself to the floor. Blue then glanced at Dark and said, "Take out that wall."

Dark immediately understood. Blue seized the scruff of Dark's neck armor as Dark drew his tri-barreled rocket launcher again. He fired off a volley of rockets in the direction of the wall that all of the Maelstrom troopers were sliding toward. The wall exploded into nothing, and all those troopers were immediately sucked out into space.

Blue then let go of Dark as Dark drew his hatchet and drove it into the ground as well. The angle of elevation was not almost ninety degrees, and all the air from the room had been sucked out.

Blue glanced up to ensure Sunflower (who was on the top balcony) was safe, and then glanced to see where Orion was. Orion was simply floating there, surrounded by a gravity field. The only reason he had not attacked yet was because he was charging up a massive bolt of power, which he released.

The attack sizzled through the air. Time, space, and dimension distorted terribly as the wake of the energy bolt tore holes through the space-time continuum. It flashed towards Blue. However, just as the attack reached him, Blue unsheathed his wristblade and flicked it upwards. The massive energy attacked made contact with the blade… and dissipated.

Orion just stood there in shock. Blue took advantage of Orion's surprise and hurled himself through the air, activating the bio-magnetic properties of his boots while in midair. He turned ninety-degrees sideways as he flew, and landed on the ground (which had pretty much now become a wall) running. He dashed towards Orion at high speeds.

Orion recovered, and drew his serrated spear as Blue drew his sword. The two met with a clash, and began to battle it out with furious blows. Blue expertly drove Orion away from the crate which had been pinned to the marble wall/floor by a bio-magnetic bullet pin fired from Sunflower's sniper rifle. The two powerful beings continued to fight with expert skill and agility. Even though he was missing an arm, it was obvious that Orion was vastly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, and was holding his ground well. Blue continued to drive Orion in one large circle with hacks, slashed, cuts, and jabs that would have slain even the most expert sword fighter in the multiverse in seconds. Then, suddenly, Blue dodged an attack from Orion with agility deemed even impossible for the average Dimensional Lord and ducked under a cut. He brought the butt of his blade crashing into Orion's jaw. Orion stumbled backward, dazed. Abruptly he felt a hand firmly grip his shoulder. Orion turned to see Dark rearing back an arm. Dark then sent a powerful fist smashing into Orion's face. A shockwave emanated from the contact point, shattering the marble floor/wall and sending up shards of stone. The balcony walls cracked and crumbled, and any loose objects blasted away. Orion flew into the air. As he tried to recover, a sniper energy bolt flew expertly from Sunflower's gun and clipped Orion's other arm. The second Orion hit the ground, he hand lost both upper appendages. Orion activated his gravity bubble once more and lay against the marble floor/wall, breathing heavily.

Blue then strolled up to him and pointed his Inquisition Blaster straight at Orion's face.

Orion laughed. "You're not seriously going to pull that, are you? Come on, you're a good guy. Look, I surrender. You've gotten back the crate, and you caught the bad guy. Yay! Celebrate. Come on… you don't have it in you…"

Blue pulled the trigger.

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><p><strong>Note: Well, that was interesting. Hey, is anyone interested in ponified satire? If you are, check out my Equestria News comic on my deviantart. Yeah, I was bored. Anyway, my name is Aganonce there. Okay... Don't forget to review! Thanks!<strong>


	99. Chapter 99 - A New Adventure

**Note: Sorry everyone, but I had to post this off-schedule. The reason for this is that I will be away from the computer for the rest of the day. I apologize to everyone for the inconvenience, and hope that no one was confused. Anyway, enjoy!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait," Sunset exclaimed, interrupting Doxia's tale, "Blue KILLED Orion?"

Doxia stretched and yawned. Then he said, "Yep. Well, it depends what you mean by KILLED. He did shoot Orion's face off, but Orion had planned for an event where he could possibly be killed, so he set up a special device that brought him back. However, we discovered the device shortly after, so if we take Orion out this time, he's gone for good."

"That's not the point," persisted Sunset, "Orion surrendered, and Blue shot him anyway. In fact, even when Blue was faced with Orion destroying that special device, Blue threw caution to the winds and shot Orion without remorse. I really hope this was not supposed to be a tale of inspiration, because it was not."

"Nah, not really, but I think it meant a lot to one pony, isn't that right, August?" said Doxia, jabbing August playfully with an elbow.

August had been staring off into the distance; however, the jab brought him back to reality. "Huh? What are we talking about? Uh, yeah!"

"Oh, we were talking about if we should sacrifice you to the marshmallow gods or not. I am so glad you agreed to be the first sacrifice, it has been a while since it rained marshmallows," commented Doxia airily.

Seeing the alarmed look on August's face, Gene rolled his eyes and said, "They were JOKING August, calm down."

August blushed and mumbled, "Oh… yeah… sorry…"

Flaming Star looked at August curiously. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know… it just seems that there was something wrong with the story that Doxia jut told," muttered August apologetically.

"Well, if you mean wrong in the sense that it was immoral, than, yes, you are right," said Sunset grimly. Doxia put a hand on his chest indignantly as he began to chuckle.

August shook his head vehemently. "It was nothing like that! It felt like a detail was missing… Aha! I got it! Doxia! Sunflower's shoulder pads weren't swept back, they were rigid semi-circles with hexagonal-serrated edges!"

There was a long pause. "Yyyeeeaaahhhh… and you know this how?" said Flaming Star skeptically.

Doxia looked at August curiously. Then he reached forward with a hand, and tapped August's forehead gently. Suddenly August felt Doxia taking a peek into his mind. Reflexively, August pushed all the memories of his dreams to the foremost part of his memory, showing Doxia exactly what he had endured over the past couple of months.

Doxia then withdrew his hand and looked at August quietly. There was another minute-long pause. Finally, Doxia said, "This is interesting… Caustic Rain, August, I need you two to come with me."

Caustic Rain blinked. "What?"

"Oh, it will only take a moment," snorted Doxia, "I'm not going to arrest you. It's just that something astronomically awesome could possibly be happening. However, I'm taking it all in stride."

Doxia snapped a finger and a portal opened. He then motioned for Caustic Rain and August to follow him. Caustic Rain gave Sunset an alarmed look just as August glanced in surprise at Gene. Then the two followed Doxia through a portal.

They found themselves in Rerenhaw. Mattimeo was standing with another Dimensional Lord. This lord was a head shorter than Mattimeo. He also had yellow energy bands running down his powerful full-body armor set. His masked helmet had a visor shaped like outspread wings of an eagle, and was glowing gold. This was Meadolax. Meadolax was talking to Mattimeo.

"Then Langley was like, 'lol wut?' and I was like 'totally brah,' and then we blew stuff up and things like that," chirped Meadolax happily. He was certainly enjoying himself.

Mattimeo patiently listened to Meadolax's ramble. However, Mattimeo then noticed Doxia's arrival and held up a hand. Meadolax looked off in the same direction as Mattimeo's gaze and saw Doxia.

"Doxia! What's up buddy?" Meadolax exclaimed happily.

Doxia raised a hand and the two high-fived. Meadolax then turned to look at Caustic Rain and August.

"Ah! Samuel and August Dellor! Coolio! Nice to meet you two! Why are you here?" he chirped.

"I will explain that in a moment," said Doxia. He then turned to Mattimeo and said, "August had these dreams. I am sending you the data."

There was a pause, then Mattimeo telepathically called up several holographic terminals in front of his face. Mattimeo regarded the information with an air of interest. "This is interesting. I am unsure if this is wise, though. August is nowhere near ready to do anything."

"Yeah, well, Orion is back," said Meadolax, "I was considering hunting himself down myself, but we have no idea where he is. I guess August will be the one who is running the whole show then."

"WAIT!" yelled August, "What are you guys talking about?"

"I dunno. Ice cream?" snorted Doxia, "Don't yell. Hey, Caustic Rain. Do you remember anything about your father?"

Caustic Rain blinked. "No. Not really. He was a war veteran of some war… but then he died. My mother died shortly after. I was all alone…"

Doxia nodded. "Coolio. That's all set then. August, I am about to say something so cliché that you will either burst out laughing or think I'm crazy. However, since I am already insane, I suppose all that is left for you to do is burst out laughing."

August regarded Doxia worriedly. "Ummmm… okay… what is it?"

"Well, you are special. We need you to do something for us," said Doixa.

August blinked. They needed HIM to do something? "What? Why?"

"The dreams are a special detection device hardwired into your DNA. You are what is called a Detector. When the Inquisition was first created, we needed SPECIAL beings to be trained. We couldn't just grab any ordinary Amethyst trooper. We needed special peeps. So Kytax created a special species of Earth Prime humans called Detectors. The missing information that is in inherent to human DNA was filled with information hardwired to detect an Imagination Energy signature unique to beings able to withstand the augmentations of Inquisition armor and training. You're grandfather, August, was a Detector secretly. Usually Detector DNA doesn't pass down, though, but I suppose this is a special case where the DNA did recur within you. Now you are a Detector."

August blinked. "I… am…? Well, what am I supposed to do with it?"

Mattimeo had been staring hard and long at Doxia. Then, Mattimeo turned his head to consider August. Then he said, "Almost all of the Detectors are gone. However, your grandfather was the last, we don't know how he was, but he was. But with him gone, we assumed that the Detector lines were finished. The Inquisition program went on lockdown after the Maelstrom war ended, and without the Detectors, we all assumed it would be on lockdown for eternity. That would have sorely cost us now, considering that Orion, one of the few beings who almost REQUIRE to have a whole Inquisition squad set on him, has returned. But with a new Detector alive, we can use you. Please, we need your help."

August almost had a heart attack. Mattimeo, who was even more powerful than Doxia, was asking HIM for help. "Er, sure! Okay!"

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! You can't just send my son off on some wild goose chase!" exclaimed Caustic Rain.

"Well, technically they can," said Meadolax apologetically, "But, yeah, is there something you want to know first?"

"For starters, what exactly are you sending him off to do?" asked Caustic Rain warily.

"When the Inquisition program was shut down, the Inquisition soldiers were sent into cryo-sleep in the core of the center planet of the dimension of Meshe II. However, there were three soldiers who did not go into cryo-sleep, the John 3 Chapter. However, they are also they ones most qualified to take down Orion, Pictor, and anyone else involved in these new acts of terrorism. Thus, we need a Detector, namely August, to find Blue, Dark, and Sunflower."

"I guess I can do that…" muttered August, "But how do I find them?"

"First you need to find Blue, since he is the most important," said Doxia, "However, he discarded his armor. Thus, you need to find his armor first. His armor will lead you to him. A couple billion years ago I managed to isolate most of the pieces of armor within specific dimensions. However, I could not waste time looking for them because I was neither a Detector, nor was I free: I was being watched by the Paradox at that time. But now we have you. I will give you the names of the dimensions, and you can go find the armor."

"I can't even open a portal! And I don't even know how these Detector powers work!" burst out August, still trying to wrap his head around what was happening.

"Way ahead of you big boy," snorted Doxia. He pulled out a weird, horizontally-stretched mask with long curving sides. It was colored gold. "You see this? This is a BIONICLE mask of power called a Kanohi Olmak. This mask has the ability to open portals to any dimension, kind of like our powers. You will use this to jump from place to place."

August took it in his hoofs and regarded it. "Okay. Great, so now I have this. How am I supposed to tell when I've stumbled upon a piece of Blue's armor?"

"Oh, you will know," chortled Doxia, "Just like you knew my description of Sunflower was wrong."

August blinked. "Wait… you got that description wrong on PURPOSE?"

Doxia nodded his head. "A while back, Luna called out to me, asking me to help you with the nightmares that she could not detect. I became suspicious when I saw the data, but I had to be sure. You are familiar with the Inquisition armor sets because that is part of the data wired into your DNA as a Detector."

August sighed. It all made sense now. Those images he had seen were memories of the Inquisition program. His doubt was slipping away. "Okay. I understand. But can I bring someone with me on this journey?"

"I will go with you," said Caustic Rain immediately.

"No," replied Mattimeo, "Luna needs you. August, I suggest you take Gene Grayson with you. You two will make an excellent team."

Caustic Rain eyed the assembly before him truculently and then turned to August. "Son, you don't have to do thus," he murmured.

August shook his head. "I know, but Mattimeo is asking me. I am going to do it. If this Orion being is as dangerous as they say, than there is no telling what he could do. In fact, he might be the one responsible for killing Flaming Star's daughter. That act of terrorism seems quite similar to what is transpiring now. I will do my best to bring monsters like Orion to justice. I will do this."

"But, son, I thought you wanted nothing to do with adventures!" exclaimed Caustic Rain.

"I know I said that, but... But the truth is I've always wanted an adventure, that is why I tried to distance myself, because I felt like I would never have one, and that thought made me feel hopeless."

August then turned to Doxia. "I will get Gene and leave immediately."

Doxia chuckled. "Coolio. Right, I'll show you the door."

Doxia opened a portal and motioned for Cuastic Rain and August to leave. They did. Doxia then closed the portal and looked at Mattimeo. There was a long pause.

Finally Meadolax broke the silence. "You know… I don't know if I should be appalled or amused. Doxia, I have never seen you lie so many times with such a straight face."

Doxia sighed. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, we aren't all perfect. But this needs to be done."

"No, it doesn't," said Mattimeo emotionlessly, "August could become corrupted during his trip. You are playing on the fact that he has some strong sense of morality, which he might not. And you lying to him like that is not going to make anything better."

"Archangel Michael and I were present when he was born, and Michael could sense great good within him," said Doxia, sounding serious for once in his life, "I never play chance."

"Sooooo… are you SURE there is someone controlling Pictor and Orion?" asked Meadolax.

"I am positive," sighed Doixa, "I am positive. We need to hope that we can prepare, though."

"I am reinstating the Amethyst army," said Mattimeo, "I am doing what I can."

"And I am hanging out in the Reset Dimension, Orbit," chirped Meadolax, "Doing nothing too useful other than ensuring those human dudes don't kill each other too much."

"As for me, now that we've got Dellor the Detector – hey, I like that name! – on his quest, I can go back to doing what I was doing before," said Doxia dramatically, "I can go back to reassembling the Rerenhaw Council! This is going to be soooooo awesome! I can think of a bajillion different candidates who would be totally awesome."

"Awesome and qualified are two different things, Doxia," said Mattimeo quietly, "Ensure you know the difference before you settle on the available choices."

"Yeah, cool, whatever," snorted Doxia, "Great. Now, let's get moving! Rome wasn't built in a day, so let's see if we can build it in TWO days!"

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Frozen North, Stallion Empire_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

"Sooooo… Whatcha doin'?" said Summer.

Lyric snorted. "I am walking. Just like you." Silence pressed in again.

"Soooo… How old are you?" persisted Summer.

Lyric blinked. He was really quite bothered by Summer's babbling, but he could not bring himself to ignore her or snap at her. He took a deep, shaking breath and said, "I'm thirteen. And you?"

"I'm thirteen as well. What month?"

"January."

"Dang it. You're older than me. I was born in July, in the summer. That's why my name is Summer, get it?"

Lyric gave Summer a side-long glance. He was astonished at how this blind pony was so happy. He had only seen another blind pony once, and that poor stallion ended up being left out to get eaten by mountain wolves. That pony had been harsh, murderous, and suspicious of everything. Summer was jovial and sweet. It annoyed him most of the time, but it also made him want to protect her, which offset his urge to leave her behind quite nicely. After a moment of thinking these thoughts over, he nodded his head slowly and said, "Yyyyeeaahhhh… I get it."

"So, why are you named Lyric? Is there a reason?" said Summer, determined to keep the conversation going despite the fact that hunger, exhaustion, and cold made it difficult for them to talk.

Lyric released a snort of frozen air. Then he said, "Well… I'm a musician. I play music in towns."

"You play music in the Stallion Empire? Ugh, that sounds pretty harsh. How do you make a living?" asked Summer innocently.

Lyric glanced defensively at Summer and gave her the "please stop asking me questions" glare. Then he remember that she was blind. He was about to roll his eyes when Summer said, "Are you glaring at me? You're glaring at me."

Lyric's jaw dropped. "Um, er, no… how can you tell?"

Summer smiled and gave him another little shove. "I can just tell."

"Yeah, but that doesn't answer anything."

"No, it answers everything, silly! Blind ponies sometimes have that, you know."

Lyric eyed Summer warily now. If she could tell when he had his eyes on her, could she tell when he was lying as well?

"Anyway," continued Summer, "You haven't answered my question! How do you make a living, playing music?"

"I… I make enough," mumbled Lyric, now trying to not look at her.

Summer actually turned her blank eyes in his direction. However, after a moment, she turned away and went back to staring off into space.

Lyric sighed silently in relief. She was actually quite scary. Finally, he decided to resume the conversation himself. "Do you know where you came from? I mean, you were in an airplane and all, flying from somewhere," he said.

Summer shrugged. "I guess I came from somewhere, I just don't know. Are we there yet?"

Lyric looked around and bit his frozen bottom lip. By the way Summer was gripping his hoof, he could tell that she was weakening. He could also feel himself becoming faint. They needed to find shelter from the icy wind which was still whipping around them.

"No," he sighed sadly, "We're not."

Summer sighed as well. Then she tried to sound cheery as she said, "Well! That's no problem! We just keep on trotting and keep on talking. Talking will keep our minds off food. However, how long do you think it will be until we reach that one frozen pine forest you were talking about?"

Lyric shaded his eyes. "If you really want to keep going, we should make it an hour or so after nightfall."

Summer blinked. Then she lifted her muzzle and took in a deep breath of the harshly frozen air. "It's going to be about an hour before the sun finally sets," she commented, "So that makes it two to three hours of trotting, then?"

Lyric nodded. "Er… yeah… how did you know?"

Lyric turned her face to the sun which was poking its weak rays through the billows of thick, gray, gloomy clouds. "I can feel the sun on my coat. And unless the sun decided to rise in the west today, it is soon going to be setting."

Lyric grinned. "You're crazy."

Summer grinned as well. "If by crazy you mean super-wicked-awesome, then yes."

Lyric's face actually began to burn as he began to blush. "Yeah… and pretty."

"Oho! Taking advantage of the blind little filly, are we?"

Lyric immediately let go of Summer's hoof, sat down in the snow, and began to babble, "Oh! No! I didn't mean that! I mean, yeah, sure, you're pretty… but not in THAT way! I mean, er, no! You ARE pretty! It's just that…"

Summer began to laugh. Even though her face had started to turn blue from the cold, and the wind had ravaged both of her and his ears and lips, the laugh still danced in the frozen air like musical bells. "It's OKAY Lyric! It's okay! Thanks! And… I think you're handsome."

Lyric sighed deeply in relief, and then saw this as a chance to regain his "cool guy" composure. "Oh yeah? How do you know I'm handsome? For all you know I have one eye, a gold tooth, and a Mohawk!"

Summer sat down next to him. Then, she began to breathe on her hoofs and rub them together. Lyric was about to ask her what she was doing when she reached forward with her right hoof and gently touched his face. Lyric shut his mouth tight and stiffened. Summer began to run her hoof gently over his face and mane. Then she withdrew and smiled sweetly. "There! And now I have a perfect picture of you in my head. I think you're handsome."

"Thanks," replied Lyric hoarsely, "Is it, er, hot in here?"

Both he and Summer burst out laughing.

After a pause, Lyric took a deep breath and said, "You know, I'm really glad you are with me. It's really lonely, being a loner, as the name implies. I never knew company was so great. I really look forward to tonight. It's been so terrible, every night, having to listen to the wolves howl, looking for prey. Sometimes I never get any sleep, but now someone will be sleeping with me…"

Lyric blinked, and realized what he had just said. Once again words ran out of his mouth like a river as he tried to explain, "Oh! I mean! Arrrggg… I meant that it would be nice to have a pony to share a night shift! That means I don't have to stay up alone or go to sleep alone! No! I mean…"

"Shhhh!" exclaimed Summer suddenly. She held up a hoof. Lyric, glad for a reason to shut up, clamped his jaw down hard.

Summer's ears flicked. Her unseeing eyes slowly darted around. Then she got up.

"What is it?" asked Lyric, immediately sensing something was wrong.

"I hear an avalanche," whispered Summer, "And I think it's coming our way."

"An avalanche?" asked Lyric, "How is that possible? Do you think your loud screaming earlier triggered it?"

"No," replied Summer, "That's a myth. However, there is an avalanche coming nonetheless."

"I still don't think that's possible," snorted Lyric, he then turned around to look behind him… then his jaw dropped again. His jaw had probably hit the floor more times today than his entire life. Off in the distance, and gaining fast, was a massive wall of fast-moving snow: an avalanche.

"Lyric?" said Summer, her voice suddenly small, "What do we do?"

Lyric's eyes hardened. Summer was counting on him now, and he had no intention of letting her down. After all, they probably would both end up dead anyway, so he might as well not leave her behind.

"Lyric?"

"Summer… we have to run."

With that, Lyric grabbed Summer's hoof and galloped off. Sadly, the boggy snow slowed them down, and the avalanche kept getting closer and closer. Seeing that running had obviously failed, Lyric looked around desperately for a solution. Unfortunately, the only things around him were snow, and the steep rock faces of the mountains. There was no cover. He let out a long sigh. They were done for.

"Lyric? Are you okay?" asked Summer, her blank eyes still darting about.

Lyric shook his head. "No. There's nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide."

The rumbling of the avalanche had become a road now, and it was sweeping down the hill towards them. Summer reached with her free hoof and took Lyric's other free hoof. Then she pulled him into a hug. Lyric smiled sadly. He returned the hug as he watched the wall of white barreling towards them fill his vision. Then the avalanche struck.

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><p><strong>Note: I am glad that my first Flashback episode was a hit. What do you guys want to see in the upcoming episodes? Please let me know! And don't forget to review! If you give me reviews, I will give you a kangaroo. I've always wanted one, and I am sure you've always wanted one as well.<strong>


	100. Chapter 100 - Final Preparations

**Note: Guess what? THIS IS MY 100TH CHAPTER! EVERYONE CELEBRATE! YAY!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Frozen North, Stallion Empire_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

Lyric blinked. Was he in heaven? He then noticed Summer, who was still clinging to him. Was she in heaven as well? Wait… he was a thief, how did HE get to heaven?

Then Lyric realized that they were still in the mountains. Now, unless heaven (or hell) looked exactly like the unforgiving mountains of the north ranges of the Stallion Empire, he and Summer were still alive. Then he noticed an energy bubble was surrounding him and Summer, just like the energy bubble he had found inside the crashed plane. The moment he saw it, it all became clear. The avalanche had struck them, but the energy bubble had popped up around Summer, protecting him and her from the tsunami of snow and ice.

"Summer? Summer!" Lyric exclaimed, shaking the mare into wakefulness. Summer's eyes snapped open. She looked around wildly with her blind eyes and exclaimed, "Lyric? Lyric! Where are you?!"

Lyric squeezed her shoulders. "I'm right here! Remember?"

Summer took a deep breath. As she released the breath, the energy bubble dissolved into nothing. Lyric blinked again. So she DID control the energy bubble! Didn't she?

"Why are we still alive?" asked Summer, her eyes darting about.

"You don't know? You cast that crazy awesome energy shield around us!" exclaimed Lyric, "It was amazing!"

Summer turned her unseeing eyes to look in Lyric's direction. "Energy shield? What?"

"Oh… you really DON'T know," mused Lyric, "Well, when I found you in that plane wreck, you were surrounded by an energy bubble. And now, when that avalanche hit us… we were surrounded by that energy bubble again! It was amazing!"

"W-what?" breathed Summer, "I don't know…"

"Come ON!" exclaimed Lyric, "I know you do! Do it again!"

"I-I don't know how," murmured Summer.

"Sure you do! Just feel it in your gut! It must be there somewhere!"

"I don't know how!"

"Come on!"

"NO!" yelled Summer. She covered her ears with her hooves.

Lyric looked downcast. Now he felt really bad. He shouldn't have pushed her like that. She was obviously unstable, but he had let his greed for that power get a hold of him.

Gently he reached forward and tapped Summer on the shoulder. She shook his hoof off and shook her head. Lyric sighed. He then stared at her intently as he thought about what to do. Finally he gathered up enough courage to say something. He leaned in close and murmured, "Hey, Summer… I'm really sorry. I got carried away. I didn't mean to push you like that. Do you forgive me?"

Summer sighed as well. She put down her hoofs and said, "Yeah, I forgive you. But honestly, I don't know what those things are. In fact, I cannot remember what they are and where they come from. All I know is that they pop up when I am in danger."

Lyric nodded. "I understand. Hey… we're losing daylight, and I don't want us trotting out in the night without shelter for too long. We better get a move-on."

Summer nodded. "Okay."

Lyric and Summer struggled to all fours.

"Okay Lyric," said Summer, promptly holding out a hoof for him to take, "Where to now?"

Lyric grasped Summer's hoof and said, "Right. Follow me!"

The two ponies began to work their way through the snow again. It was even harder now because of all of the extra snow from the avalanche. However, the two were not deterred. In fact, their brush with death had made them work twice as hard to work their way through the bog of frost.

However, as darkness began to shroud the foreboding faces of the mountains, Lyric could see the darks heads of the frozen pine forest.

"We're almost there," said Lyric, "Maybe thirty more minutes."

The two lapsed into silence once more as they continued to trot through the meter-high snow. However, just as the last bit of rays of sunlight vanished behind the iron teeth of the frozen mountains, Summer suddenly said, "Lyric. Talk to me."

"Ummmmmmmm… beg pardon? I didn't hear you. I think my brain just shut off," said Lyric, totally shocked.

Summer laughed, her voice dancing through the cold air like musical bells. "I said talk to me, silly!"

"Oh. Er. Um. A-a-about what?" stuttered Lyric. His mind really had gone blank. He had been getting used to the silence, like he always had, and he really did not want to talk. He never had anypony to talk to other than himself before, anyway. But he could not say no to Summer. He simply couldn't.

"Describe the world to me," said Summer with a dreamy sigh, "Tell me what you see. Don't leave out a single detail."

"Oh… okay…" said Lyric. He took a deep breath and then began to talk. He told Summer about how the mountains shored up forebodingly on either side like vast grey walls. He told her about how the snow covered the massive stretch of land between the mountains like a fluffy white tablecloth. He told her about how the sky was like a vast blue drape, with sparkling points of light filling the sky completely, painting a beautiful picture of light and wonder.

As he talked, Lyric felt his worries fade away. The pain of his past life, the anger against those who had betrayed him, the hate against his current life, and the worry for the predicaments surrounding Summer and her helplessness simply all faded away.

Next thing they knew, there were entering the pine forest.

"We're here now!" exclaimed Lyric.

"Well?" said Summer.

Lyric glanced at her and said, "Well... what?"

"What does it look like?"

"Oh. Tall brown and green spikes that stick out of the ground and stretch towards the sky. However, everything has white covering it all, so it is not as welcome as you would think."

Summer let go of Lyric's hand and wandered off a couple of meters to his right. Groping with a hoof, she felt the bark of a nearby pine tree.

"It's cold, hard as steel. Everything here is cold and hard, even life."

Lyric nodded his head in agreement. "You're right. But we cannot let that stop us. Come on, I'll build us a fire and cook up some food. Then we can settle down for tonight."

Summer nodded and sat down. She looked intently with her sightless eyes at the vast sky above her as Lyric gathered some wood for kindling and fuel.

He piled up the woodpile and lit it. In a couple of minutes, a hearty blaze was going. Lyric put a pot over the fire and melted some snow, then he began to cook some potatoes and carrots into a soup. As he watched the soup cook, he bit his bottom lip. This was almost all of the food he had left. Could he really spare anything for anypony other than himself? Could he really? It was a dog-eat-dog world out there, and he could not really afford to look out for others than himself.

However, almost as if she sensed his thoughts, Summer suddenly said, "I don't need to eat anything. I didn't do anything other than talk, and I don't think that burns many calories. However, you had to dig me out of that pile of snow and carry me for a while, you deserve something."

That immediately made up Lyric's mind to give her something. Face burning in shame once more at the fact that he had even CONSIDERED being stingy, Lyric exclaimed, "Heck no! We both get equal shares, and that is that."

He carefully poured two bowls of soup. However, he gave himself the bigger bowl of soup, thinking that he deserved it (though he knew he was now going to hate himself in the morning).

"This is very good," commented Summer, "I didn't know you were such a good cook."

"I'm not," snorted Lyric, "But anything tastes good when you're starving."

Summer nodded. "I understand. Nonetheless, you might want to know that those two other carrots in your pack have sedimentary poisoning. I can smell it."

Lyric blinked. "But… but…"

"I don't think it would be a good idea to eat it," sighed Summer, almost apologetically, "I don't think either of us want to end up sick."

"How can it they bad? I don't see anything wrong with them!" exclaimed Lyric indignantly as he drew the two carrots out of his pack. They looked perfectly fine on the outside.

"Take them out and break one in half," insisted Summer. She sounded earnest, so Lyric decided to take her seriously.

He broke one in half, and looked in horror. The insides were rotting away. Sighing in resignation, he tossed both carrots away and said, "There goes tomorrow's breakfast. Thanks though. How could you tell?"

Summer grinned. "Augmented sense of smell. You're welcome. However, never you fear! I am sure we can work out something for tomorrow's breakfast. Never lose hope."

A long, drawn-out howl resonated from the distance the moment Summer finished talking. She flattened her ears against the side of her skull and whispered, "What was that?"

"Oh, that? Nothing. That was just a lone mountain wolf. He's alone, so he won't hunt us. Don't worry," said Lyric, happy he finally knew something she didn't.

Summer sighed and looked down at her hoofs with her blank eyes. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, "I'm just a helpless filly here, aren't I? I am slowing you down."

"No! No you're not!" exclaimed Lyric, "I love your company. First, you saved me from that avalanche, then you saved me from eating those carrots!"

"Technically I saved BOTH of us, so that doesn't count," muttered Summer.

Lyric rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine. Technicalities aside, you saved me, and I am grateful. In fact, what's more, with you here, I have no need to worry about that wolf. You see, regularly a lone wolf would pose a problem to a lone traveler as myself, but with you here, the wolf, if it come this way, will see both of us and will think twice. See? There are many pros to having you with me!"

"Okay, you win," said Summer, her usually jovial attitude returning. "So! Who gets first shift?"

"That may happen in movies, but not really out here," chuckled Lyric, "We're both going to sleep."

Then there was an awkward pause. Finally Summer took a deep breath and said, "Okay, since you're so obviously too scared to say it, I will say it: I suggest we sleep together in order to conserve body heat. There! Happy?"

Lyric mumbled something unintelligible and slowly lowered himself onto the ground in a sleeping position by the fire. Summer stood there by his side for a moment. Then she sat down and groped with a hoof until she located his form. Then she lay down as well and snuggled in close.

Lyric felt incredibly comfortable with her coat pressing against him on one side, and the fire on his other side, but he also felt incredibly uncomfortable by virtue of the fact that a girl was sleeping right next to him. However, Summer was pretty awesome, and she made him feel less awkward. Thus, eventually comfortable gradually overcame uncomfortable, and he managed to drift to sleep in a fuzzy warm haze, rocked to sleep by the rhythmic breathing of the mare beside him.

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

"You want me to do WHAT?" snorted Gene, regarding August as if he had suddenly turned into an elephant.

"I need you to come with me on a quest," repeated August.

"Seriously? That makes no sense! I mean, here you were, not more than an hour ago, telling me that you just wanted to live an extremely boring life, and then you're here now, telling me that you want to go on an adventure! Really?" exclaimed Gene, "I sense a major discontinuity error right here."

"Gene, please," sighed August, "You know I just said that stuff to mask my longing for adventure. Ever since I've heard the tales of adventure from Sunset Shadow about heroes and things, I've wanted to go off and be a hero as well! What could be better than being a Dimensional Traveler, exploring the multiverse and saving innocents from the forces of evil?"

"What could be better? A lot," replied Gene dryly, "Look, August, Sunset may have had amazing adventures, but he was lucky. In fact, it is a freaking miracle that he did not get himself and all that he loved killed by acting the way he did. Being a good guy comes with a hefty price tag, you know."

"Sunset was able to do it, and now I'm going to do it," said August stoutly.

"This is crazy. You're crazy… Okay fine, I'm in," snorted Gene.

August winked. "Great."

At this moment, a portal opened up behind the two beings and Doxia stepped out. He was holding a holopad and a small cardboard box.

"Hey-o kiddos!" exclaimed Doxia in a very jocund manner, "What's up?"

"We've been waiting for you!" said August.

Doxia nodded. "Right. Great. Now, here is what the deal is, this is the holopad containing all of the pieces of armor we HAVE located. Sadly, some pieces are still missing. However, I will do my best to locate the rest while you are on the move, and do not hesitate to ask around just in case any dimensional natives or other interdimensional travelers have info that might prove useful."

August took the proffered holopad and glanced it over. "It says the BIONICLE dimension."

"Yeppers! That is exactly what is says! The right shoulder pad of Blue should be somewhere in there. I dunno where, but it is there."

"Okay," said Gene, nodding his head, "Tell me… what is in that box?"

"Oh! That's right, the box…" said Doxia. He opened it up and pulled out a gun. But this was no ordinary gun, this was the Inquisition Blaster that the Paradox had used to shoot his head off.

"After we took this off the Paradox, we fixed it up," said Doxia, "This is for you, August, to defend yourself; because heaven knows Gene has a hard enough watching his own backside. Imagine him having to watch yours as well!"

Gene rolled his eyes as August took the blaster and looked it over carefully. He then handed it to Gene for inspection. Gene regarded the weapon with an air of interest. Finally, he said, "This is a projectile gun. However, where is the ammo?"

"Oh, that. Well, for some strange reason the automatic reload system had been cleverly disabled when we got it, but after a couple of years, I finally managed to locate the problem. This device is very clever – designed by Kytax it was – for the clip not only holds the bullets of Dimensional Energy, but also creates them out of nothing. The clip holds six shots, and can conjure up a full reload in three seconds."

"That's amazing! So it reloads itself with an infinite amount of ammo! Three second reload you say? Not bad," chuckled Gene, now regarding the weapon with an even greater air of interest.

"Wait a second," interjected August, "KYTAX made this? But, isn't he like the embodiment of good or something? Why would he make something like this?"

"Oh August," chuckled Doxia lightly, "You think Kytax was always that awesome? Anyway, let me tell you how it is going to work. Armed with that weapon, the Kanohi Olmak, and the holopad, you and Gene will travel throughout the multiverse locating all the armor pieces. Once you have done so, bring them back and I will use my scanners to track the wearabouts of Blue. Once we have found him, we can find Sunflower and Dark. With the John 3 Chapter reassembled, Orion and Pictor will have nowhere to run. They will be hunted down in no time. Got it?"

August nodded.

"Good!" exclaimed Doxia, "Now one more thing…"

The powerful Dimensional Lord snapped a finger, and suddenly August was surrounded by bright bands of multicolored light. The tornado of energy spun around August and grew brighter and brighter… then it vanished. As the lights faded, August appeared to be human, with light battle armor and a backpack. August blinked in surprise. Though he had transformed into a human more often than naught just so that he could feel like what it meant to be one, he usually preferred to stay as a pony like the rest of his friends and family.

"You ain't goin' 'round as a colorful pony, partner," chuckled Doxia, "Now that you are all set… Adios! Don't forget to celebrate my 100th chapter!"

August blinked. "Ummm... what did you just say?"

But it was too late, for, Doxia dissparead in a flash of light. August looked down at his body for a moment, and then looked at Gene. "Well… I guess we better say goodbye to my family and then be on our way. I have no idea how long this trip will take, so we better hurry up and get this all over with."

"I guess you're right. Let's go," replied Gene.

The two quickly strolled off to Canterlot Castle in the distance.

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><p><em>Dimension: Once Upon a Time<em>

_Planet: Fairy Tale Earth_

_Specific Location: Snow White and Charming's Castle_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox, twelve years after the Curse_

Orion strolled slowly up and down the abandoned Dining Hall of the empty, yet grand, castle. The Harold person had called for yet another meeting.

"Harold…" muttered Orion to himself, "What kind of name is that anyway?

Orion sat down in one of the rickety, dusty old chairs and looked around. This place worried him. He was powerful, all right, but by virtue of the fact that he could not see or hurt Harold made him nervous.

He was so nervous, in fact, that he almost hurled his powerful spear when another portal opened up and Pictor hopped out.

"Pictor," acknowledged Orion coldly. Pictor simply nodded his head in return. The moment they did that, the voice of Harold rang out from nowhere.

"Well, nicely done Orion! You have Amethyst scrambling for the Inquisition! I am quite pleased."

"Well, you might be pleased, but I am not," snapped Orion, "I don't know if you know, but last time I faced the Inquisition, they were my downfall."

"Wait… what?" interrupted Pictor, his voice tight with what sounded like fear, "What about the Inquisition?!"

Harold began to laugh. It was loud, mocking, and sarcastic.

"Oh my god! You guys are honestly scared of the Inquisition? Come on, now… seriously!"

"You would be scared of the Inquisition if you know what they are capable of!" hissed Orion, "I have been around since day one of the rise of the interdimensional empires. I was living when Doxia and Arcturus stated that the Inquisition program, and I was present when seven Inquisition soldiers took down fourteen different Dimensional Lords from the three empires in a training match. And what is more, three Inquisition soldiers beat me and two hundred thousand Maelstrom soldiers. They are unstoppable."

There was a pause. "Ummmmm… wrong. They are very stoppable. You just need to know how to do it."

Pictor stared apprehensively into the shadows. "Are you MAD? How is that possible? The Inquisition holds pure power. They ARE power."

"Wrong. In fact, your whole definition of power is wrong. Power is not the ability to strike another being down. Power is knowledge. And that is something I have more than anything."

"Yeah, right. Just because our scanners don't come up with anything when we try to identify you does not mean you have an edge in knowledge."

"Let me try to get through that thick skull of yours with an analogy. In the case of a video game, who usually has the most knowledge of the entire works? The developer. This whole arc of events that are unfolding right now is because of me. I am the developer, and thus, I have the most knowledge, and thus I hold the most power."

"You? The developer? That's a laugh."

"Laugh all you want, but you cannot extinguish the fact that it is true. Let me explain... I was the one who fed Celestia that hilariously convincing 'prophecy' about demons and heroes. I was the one who convinced the Paradox to trap Sunset Shadow in the Harmony Tree dimension so that he would be converted. I was the one who suggested that Caustic Rain be sent to be in the Harmony Tree dimension as well. And I was the one who orchestrated the final moments of the Paradox. We're all playing by my rules now."

Pictor slowly began to back away, so Orion took it upon himself to scathingly say, "I thought that everyone was playing by my rules when I almost took over the multiverse single-handedly. But then the Inquisition showed up. We will see. But now, how in the hell do you plan to stop the rise of the Inquisition?"

Harold began to laugh again. Then he said, in a sing-song voice, "I know something you don't know."

Pictor ground his teeth together and hissed, "I swear…"

"Please, spare me your bumbling words," interrupted Harold, "I have a plan. Now… listen very carefully. Orion, I have yet another job for you…"

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><p><strong>Note: Oooohhh... Everything is moving right along now! Okay, since this is my 100th chapter, I have a whole new set of things to trade with you! If you give me reviews (A.K.A. FEEDBACK) I will give you this invisible, yet incredibly life-like, ceramic model of Twilight and Flaming Star sitting together under a tree reading books! Isn't that cute? I KNOW you want one...<strong>


	101. Chapter 101 - Hearts and Picnics

**Note: Okay... Judging by the fact that I got very little feedback, not many wanted that totally awesome ceramic model? Come on people! Don't make me go "Bambi eyes" on you. Anyway... moving on...**

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><p><span>Flashbacks: Hearts and Picnics<span>

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville Schoolhouse_

_Time: A year after the death of the Paradox_

It was another bright day in Ponyville. The sky was blue, the sun was bright, and birds twittered happily. There was a certain energy in the air that made everpony happy. This same energy was pulsing through the Ponyville schoolhouse.

"Okay dearies," exclaimed Cheerilee, "Do you all know what today is?"

"Hearts and Hooves day!" exclaimed everypony in the room.

Cheerilee nodded enthusiastically, "It is. Do you remember what Hearts and Hooves day is about?"

"Us and our special someponies!" yelled the classroom once more.

"That is correct!" said Cheerilee cheerfully, "Now, remember, this is about true love. You might want to keep that in mind this year, right, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo?"

There was a scattering of laughter and giggles from the classroom (mainly from Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara) and the Cutie Mark Crusaders blushed a bit.

Cheerilee gave them a wink and then said, "I hope you all enjoy the rest of the day!"

The classroom immediately erupted into noise as several conversations started up with the end of the school day.

"So, what are we going to do today, then?" said Scootaloo to the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they strolled away from the schoolhouse.

"Maybe we could try and find a special somepony for someone else again!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo pulled a face. "If I recall, we aren't too good at making matches."

"I know… but there is nothing else for us to do," whined Apple Bloom, "What else IS there to do?"

"You all could hang out with me, you know," exclaimed someone behind them.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped and turned around. It was Doxia.

"Hey! How are my favorite crusaders?!" said Doxia happily. He extended his arms and got onto his knees.

"Doxia!" shouted the CMC gleefully. The leapt into his arms and hugged him tightly.

On many occasions now over the past couple of months, Doxia had helped them on their crusades for Cutie Marks. Unlike the rest of Ponyville who usually laughed or simply humored them, Doxia took their ideas very seriously. He even once posed as a French Bon-Bon chef to distract Rarity so that Sweetie Belle could "borrow" some perfume. Doxia enjoyed it, and he energetically helped them without once having to use his powers (though it sometimes ended up with them having to push through sticky situations without leverage).

"So, what are you three talking about?" laughed Doxia as he set them down.

"Oh, we were just wondering what to do today," sighed Scootaloo, "Cheerilee made it very clear that we can't try pairing her up with a special somepony this year, so we don't know what to do!"

"Hmmmmm… Why don't you try playing pair princesses with somepony else, then?" mused Doxia, "I hear Mayor Mare has no date…"

"I don't think we are very good at that," sighed Scootaloo, "Whenever we do something like that, it ends in disaster."

"What is your definition of disaster?" said Doxia cheerfully, "You don't know how bad it can get until you try it!"

"We did. You were there," said Sweetie Belle flatly, "Remember last year with Twilight and Flaming Star?"

Doxia stared at the CMC for a moment in silence. Then he coughed and said, "Ummmmm… No. I don't remember that."

Apple Bloom trotted up and poked Doxia's knee accusingly, "Yes you do, mister! Yer were the one supposed to distract them!"

Doxia sighed. "Oh yeah. The giant flowerpot. In my defense, I looked like a really good sunflower. It brought out the color of my eyes… if anyone could see my eyes, that is."

"So, since that is out of the question, do you have any ideas as of what we can do?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Doxia shrugged. "Lol I dunno. Heh. I like that. I could say it faster and it could become its own word, like swag. Lolidunno. I like that."

There was another pause. Then Apple Bloom said, "Hey, Doxia… do YOU have a special somepony that yer goin' out with today?"

"Nope!" exclaimed Doxia, stretching, "I am totally unattached. I tried hitting on Rarity for a bit, but she just looked confused. God, I am terrible at dating."

"What… you never had a girlfriend?" pressed Scootaloo.

Doxia suddenly froze. He stood there, thinking, for a moment. Then he slowly sat down with his legs crossed. He beckoned for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to come closer. They scampered up to him and sat down, with Scootaloo on his right knee, Sweetie Belle on his left knee, and Apple Bloom at his feet.

"Well," said Doxia in a low voice, "I did have a girlfriend, her name was Allison."

"You DID?!" squealed Sweetie Belle happily. She grabbed Doxia in a hug. "I'm so happy! Did you get married?"

"Well? Do you see a god-like, stunning, female Dimensional Lord hanging about?" chuckled Doxia.

Scootaloo actually looked about for a moment just in case. Then she said, "Oh. No."

There was another pause, but this one was really long. Sweetie Belle was about to ask Doxia if he was okay when Doxia slowly said, "No. Sweetie Belle was right. I did get married."

Scootaloo blinked in confusion. "You did? But I don't see a god-like, stunning… Oh no."

Doxia sighed. "She died. A Maelstrom Agent put a hole in her head just mere hours before the Maelstrom itself fell."

"Oh, Doxia, I'm so sorry," sniffed Sweetie Belle, who felt really sad. She snuggled up close and clutched at Doxia. Doxia gently ran his fingers through her mane.

"Hey, it's okay kiddo," said Doxia, trying to lighten the mood once more, "I've had over 400 Billion years to get over it."

"Is there… is there anything we could do to help you?" queried Apple Bloom.

Doxia shook his head. "No. However, I guess I should be going now."

Doxia gently set Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo on the ground. Then he straightened up and shimmered into nothingness as he teleported away.

"Man, that's tough," sighed Scootaloo, "He's all alone on Hearts and Hooves day, with nothing but the memory of his wife to keep him happy."

"On Hearts and Hooves day, too," said Apple Bloom quietly to herself.

Then, suddenly, Sweetie Belle brightened up. "Girls," she said stoutly, "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

Scootaloo brightened up as well. "Yeah! We could totally find Doxia a special somepony!"

"That's a great idea!" exclaimed Apple Bloom.

"Come on, Cutie Mark Crusaders! Let's move out!" said Sweetie Belle dramatically.

The CMC trotted off into Ponyville. As they did so, they began to scan their environment.

"Who do you think Doxia would like?" said Scootaloo as she looked about.

"Oh, somepony smart, kind, loyal, funny, lovely, and perfect!" said Sweetie Belle with a little hop, skip, and jump.

"Wow. That's sounds like a regular Celestia," said Apple Bloom skeptically.

Sweetie Belle's eyes brightened. "That's it! We could get Celestia to be Doxia's special somepony!"

Scootaloo shook her head. "No. Remember them during the Grand Galloping Gala? They are like brother and sister, and from the stories Doxia told us, he's known her since she was born. In fact, he probably knows more about her than Luna does."

Sweetie Belle pulled a face. "Way to pour cold water on my ideas there, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Doxia means a lot to me. If we are going to do this, we are going to do this right."

"That's right!" exclaimed Apple Bloom, "No tricks! No Spells! And NO love potions!"

Sweetie Belle pulled another face. "There goes my second idea."

While they continued to brainstorm, the CMC trotted off to Sweetie Belle's house. As they trotted up to Rarity's cottage, they saw Derpy dropping off some mail on the front door.

"Hello Derpy!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle, "How are you today?"

"I'm just fine, thank you," replied Derpy happily, "Just dropping off some supplies from Manehattan for your sister. How are you?"

"We're okay," said Scootaloo for Sweetie Belle, "How is Hearts and Hooves day going for you?"

Derpy thought about it for a moment. Then she shrugged and spread her wings. "Okay, I guess. See you guys later!"

As Derpy flew away, Sweetie Belle had a last-chance idea. "Derpy!" she shouted up at the grey Pegasus, "Do you have a special somepony today?!"

"No!" shouted Derpy back as she continued to fly away, "Bye!"

Sweetie Belle rubbed her front hooves together almost maniacally, "There! Derpy is perfect!"

Apple Bloom blinked. "Derpy is perfect? Are ya sure?"

"Sure I'm sure!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle, "What do you think, Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo rubbed her chin with an air of expertise. "Hmmmmmm… She is a really kind pony, and loves everyone, but is not as crazy as Pinkie Pie. I like it!"

"Excellent. Now all we need to do is figure out how to get them to be together…" continued Sweetie Belle, "It needs to be clever, well-designed, and original."

"The picnic idea again?" asked Apple Bloom bluntly.

"Undoubtedly," agreed Sweetie Belle immediately.

It took several hours of planning, but the CMC went at it with a will. Well, when I mean "went at it" I meant that they got Flutershy to make a basket of food, they got Applejack to make them the famous apple cider, and they got Flaming Star to ensure the location looked especially romantic.

"So… Is everything set?" said Sweetie Belle hopefully as she sat next to the perfect picnic setting.

Scootaloo nodded as she glanced about. The picnic was set up, the sky was still blue, and the nearby Everfree forest was as lush as ever. "Yep! Now, when are we going to stage 2?"

"Right now," replied Sweetie Belle promptly, "Apple Bloom is inviting Derpy to have a picnic with us right now. Good thinking, asking Mr. Cake to bake us some blueberry muffins."

Scootlaloo winked. "I still think it's a vicious stereotype, but if it works…"

"It will! It has to!" said Sweetie Belle, "Now, Doxia will be joining us as well. He will be here the exact same time, thinking he will be having a picnic with us as well. The moment Apple Bloom spots Derpy on the horizon, you go off to see if Doxia is coming as well. When we both know they are coming, we hide. Got it?"

Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah. But… isn't this how that one Hearts and Hooves day went bad a couple of years ago with Cheerilee and Big Mac?"

Sweetie Belle pulled a face. "Maybe… but we're older now! We've got this one nailed!"

"I hope so," murmured Scootaloo. At this moment, Apple Bloom rushed onto the scene.

"Derpy is one her way here now!" she exclaimed, "How is Doxia doin'?"

Scootaloo pulled out a pair of powerful binoculars and looked through them. "He's strolling out of Sunset's house," she reported, "He's walking this way… he's stopped… Oh!"

Scootaloo started to wave. She then whispered out of the side of her mouth, "He's seen me! He's waving! You two go! I'll keep him occupied and then join you!"

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded. The two then scampered off as Scootaloo continued to wave her hooves in exaggerated motions to beckon Doxia forward. After doing this routine a couple more times, she put the binoculars down and galloped off to her friends in a hiding spot in a range of bushes.

Sweetie Belle picked up another set of binoculars hidden in the bushes and looked through them.

"Here comes Doxia…" she whispered, "Now here comes Derpy…"

Up on the hill, Doxia was whistling as he glanced around. He loved every inch of spring. It was the best thing ever.

"Except when ponies are in their heat," he muttered, "I swear I will kill the idiot who thought of that word and concept in the first place."

He then chuckled and shrugged it off. He went back to whistling as he continued to climb the hill. As he reached the top, he saw the picnic. Realizing that it was probably for him and the CMC, he went over and sat down.

"Huh, weird," he muttered, looking at all the hearts and flowers adorning the scene. A minute later, Derpy arrived.

She too was looking about appreciatively as she trotted along. However, she stopped in her tracks when she noticed Doxia.

"O-oh…" she said. She had seen Doxia before, but she had rarely gotten the chance to talk to him. In fact, she still was a little scared of him.

"Derpy!" exclaimed Doxia, "So nice to see you! What are you doing here?"

"Apple Bloom invited me to a picnic here," she said, "She didn't tell me that there would be you… no offense."

"None taken," replied Doxia promptly, "And, if I may add, they said nothing about you being here as well. Rather confusing, but I am sure they can clarify these happenings when they get back, since it seems they are missing as of yet. Anyway… come! Sit down, we can wait for them together."

Derpy sat down and the two waited. After three minutes of silence, Doxia cleared his throat.

"Derpy, my dear gal, this is what is called a set-up," he said, chuckling, "I guess they wanted me to meet you."

"But why?" said Derpy, "They could have just asked."

There was another pause. "Hearts and Hooves day," they both said simultaneously.

"Well, I guess we might oblige them!" exclaimed Doxia. He plucked a fresh flower from a nearby bushel of flowers and gently placed it in Derpy's hair. Derpy blushed.

"For the lovely grey mare," laughed Doxia. He poured them two glasses of cider and handed one to her.

"Are you going to take off that helmet to drink that?" said Derpy as she sipped her drink.

"Nope!" exclaimed Doxia as he poured the whole thing over his head.

Derpy gasped, and then began to laugh. "How do you eat then?"

"Oh. I don't. I never have. Well… I haven't for as long as I can remember. Hmmmm… Yeah…"

Derpy cocked her head to one side. "That's unusual."

Doxia nodded. "It is, I suppose. But we are all special in one way. I have an affinity for sticking foodstuffs to my head, and you have that absolutely gorgeous misaligned vision thing."

Derpy blushed and looked down. "You think that?"

Doxia nodded his head vehemently. "Of COURSE I think it is pretty. That is just one more thing that makes you special. Of course it causes a little trouble with double vision, but that doesn't matter, it's who you are."

Derpy nodded. "I've told myself that a lot. I really have to accept myself for who I am."

Doxia poured himself another glass of cider and raised it in the air. "To Derpy, the special one," he said happily. Derpy raised her glass as well and they clinked them together. Derpy then drained her glass as Doxia poured his cup all over his head again.

"Tell me Doxia," said Derpy, now comfortable with the situation, "Why don't you ever take off that armor? I've only ever seen you wearing that stuff."

Doxia shook his head. "I just don't. I don't ever."

Derpy smiled. "But why?"

Doxia shrugged and smoothly switched the subject. "I don't know. Do you know? I'm sure you don't know. Is that Karenique Shampoo I smell? That is most certainly Karenique. Do you use that? I love that type."

Derpy laughed. She like Doxia, even though he was so blatantly trying to alter the flow of the conversation.

"You're avoiding the question," she said with a wink, "Come on. You can tell me! Oh… but you don't need to if that makes you uncomfortable."

"Oh, I'm fine with that. But I really like that brand of shampoo. It really softens-up hair strands. Can I touch your mane? Just for a second."

Derpy winked again. "I will let you if you take off the glove. I don't want that unknown metal plating running through my mane."

Doxia looked at Derpy quietly. It honestly looked like he was having a really big struggle with something is his mind. He looked at Derpy and then he looked at his hand. Then he looked at Derpy and then the hand again and then Derpy again. There was yet another pause as he contemplated the offer.

Finally he extended a hand. As he reached for her mane, the metallic gauntlets shimmered and slithered away from his fist like billions of tiny, interweaving metal snakes. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo all crowded around the binoculars to watch, their mouths hanging open in astonishment.

Doxia's hand was colored like a human's. It was slightly tanned, and the skin was poreless and shiny. A strange aura surrounded his fist. Doxia looked at his own hand in shock for a moment. Then he laughed.

"OOOHHHH… So THAT is what my hand looks like! I was wondering about that!"

Derpy smiled and gently took Doxia's hand. She looked at it for a moment.

"See? No problem at all," she said with a smile, "You may touch my mane… if you would like."

Doxia reached forward and quickly ran his fingers through her hair. Then he withdrew and the metallic gauntlet covered his hand again swiftly like running water.

"Nice shampoo. That stuff really softens up the hair if I do say so myself," Doxia said happily. He then opened the basket and pulled out a couple of sandwiches.

"These were undoubtedly made by Fluttershy," said Doxia as he inspected them. "Weird… I thought there would be love potion in here somewhere."

Derpy looked up from the sandwich she was chomping on. "Er… what?"

"Oh, nothing," said Doxia quickly, "Tell me, do you think I should make my sandwich look like the Sydney Opera House, or the Big Ben Clock Tower?"

Derpy blinked. "I don't know. You tell me. Why?"

"Oh, I'm just looking for the perfect shape for my new hat!" chortled Doxia.

Derpy couldn't help but grin. "ANOTHER hat? You wear your sandwiches as well as your cider?"

Doxia nodded. "You betcha! They make BRILLIANT hats. You must try it sometime."

Derpy actually took her half-eaten sandwich and put it on her head.

She winked. "I don't feel the magic."

Doxia laughed. "You make me love you already, Derpy. But it takes years of sandwich hat-wearing to bring out the true magic. I'm joking. I have no legitimate reason for why I wear food on my head as opposed to eating it."

"Well? Then why don't you take off the helmet and eat it?"

Doxia shook his head and said, jovially, "One thing at a time, missy. I'm taking this slow."

Derpy nodded her head understandingly. "I see. Is there anything else weird that I might want to know?"

Doxia scratched the back of his head. "Oh, let me see… I don't eat. I don't sleep. I've never kissed someone. And I've never played Scrabble."

Derpy blinked. "You don't sleep?"

Doxia sighed. "Yeah. It's kinda weird, I know. But, hey! I just get more hours to have fun!"

"Sleeping does a whole lot more than that, you know," said Derpy kindly, "It also allows for reflection, rest of mind, and peace. And, if you are with someone else, it can be a whole lot more calming and happy."

Suddenly Derpy began to blush profusely. "I said that? Did I say that? What did I say?"

Doxia snorted. "I didn't hear anything. I blame Hearts and Hooves day. Well… I had a wonderful time Derpy."

Derpy smiled. "I had a wonderful time too!"

There was an awkward pause. Doxia then drew himself up and said, "No awkward pauses for me! The problem with most ponies – and I am mainly addressing Flaming Star here – is that they are too scared to end or finish something. I, on the other hand, never have that problem. Derpy, would you like to go to dinner with me next week? Then maybe we could go see a movie? How about Tuesday?"

Derpy's face fell. "Oh, yeah… I'm sorry. I'm busy that day."

Doxia shrugged. "Okay, cool. How about Wednesday?"

Derpy bit her bottom lip as she thought about it. Then she nodded her head. "Yeah. That will work."

Doxia nodded. "Okie Dokie Lokie! I will see you then! I know you are a busy mare, so I will let you fly off. I will pack things up here."

Derpy nodded. She spread her wings and prepared to take off. However, just before she did that she stopped and turned around. "Doxia," she said timidly, "I really liked hanging out with you today…"

Doxia laughed again jovially. "Aw shucks. Thanks! I enjoyed hanging out with you as well. Just steer clear of the friendzone. It sucks soooooo much."

Derpy blinked. "Huh?"

"I have NO idea what I am talking about," said Doxia, "I will see you next Wednesday!"

Derpy smiled, waved, and flew off.

Back in the bushes near the edge of the forest, Sweetie Belle was saying, "Derpy has spread her wings… She finished talking with Doxia and is now flying off!"

Apple Bloom could barely suppress a "squee!" of excitement. "It worked! Stuff me in a barrel and called me pickled! It worked!"

Sweetie Belle put down the binoculars and turned to face Scootaloo and Apple Bloom. "It did! Now we just wait for Doxia to walk off, and I think we've done it! Great job, girls!"

"Yes… great job, Crusaders."

The CMC leapt and turned to find Doxia, looking down at them.

"O-o-oh! Doxia! We didn't see you there!" squeaked Sweetie Belle, "We were just… er… hanging out in the bushes… looking for… er…"

"Looking for birds eggs for Fluttershy!" interjected Scootaloo.

Apple Bloom nodded. "Um… yeah!"

Doxia sat down and chuckled. "The moment I saw the picnic, and my hearing detected your giggles, I knew you guys set it up."

Sweetie Belle looked down at her hooves, downcast, "You're not mad at us… are you? We saw how sad you were about your wife, Allison… and… and we just wanted to make you happy!"

Scootaloo stuck out her bottom lip, and Apple Bloom's face burned in shame.

Doxia sighed deep and long. Then he held out his arms, inviting hugs.

"No," he said as he hugged them tightly, "No, I'm not mad. But it isn't right to set ponies up like that, after all, that could have ended up ugly."

"But it didn't!" exclaimed Scootaloo, who was pressing her muzzle into Doxia's left shoulder plate.

Doxia nodded. "Ahhh yes… and that is the integral part. I will have to admit I was faking it for a bit, just to ensure Derpy was not hurt, but, in the end, I will have to admit I like her. But then again, I like most ponies of Ponyville. This specific dimension is awesome."

"But… do you love her?" prodded Sweetie Belle, looking up at his face.

Doxia chuckled again. "Well… no. There is a lot more to this than love. Yes, I did ask her out on a second date, but that is because I am interested. It is not every day that you meet a pony so young yet so wise. It usually takes decades, even millennia, to acquire the wisdom that reflects in her eyes. So… yes… you three did good."

The CMC leapt in the air for joy and then proceeded to perform their special CMC-specific high-five. They then looked at their flanks expectantly. They were still blank. They collectively pulled a face.

At the sight of their faces, Doxia burst out laughing. "Don't worry you three! A cupid cutie mark would have looked silly anyway. However, I owe you three now, and that is worth a whole lot. Now, tell me, would any of you like ice cream? It's on me… and since I am a Dimensional Lord, I am indescribably wealthy."

"Yay!" yelled the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I will admit right now that this chapter only loosely ties into tomorrow's chapter. However, I really wanted to show the connection between the CMC and Doxia. Anyway, how about this? If you give me a review, I will give you a cookie! I know surfing the internet gives you plenty, but I am sure you guys want more. Deal?<strong>


	102. Chapter 102 - It Begins

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

"Depy? Derpy!"

Derpy started as August's voice puller her out of her memories. "Huh? Oh… Hi August!"

August cocked his head to one side. "Are you okay?"

Derpy nodded her head quickly. "Yeah… yeah… Ummmm… What were we talking about again?"

"We were discussing Doxia's mission with you," said Gene quietly, regarding Derpy's glazed-over look with interest.

Derpy started again. "Oh! That's right! I have lunch with Doxia tomorrow!"

August grinned. "You guys have been having lunch every Wednesday for the last twenty years, or so I've heard. Anything interesting going on we should know about?"

Derpy blushed and stuttered.

"August! Stop making her nervous! Whatever goes on in her life is for her to know, and you to find out! Now would you mind telling me why you look like a human today?"

August himself jumped at the sound of the musical voice behind. He turned to see Starlight trotting up to them.

August grinned sheepishly and looked down at his feet. "I… I'm going on an adventure…"

Starlight smiled sweetly, knowing very well that she made August feel nervous. She had been his babysitter and Ponyville teacher (after Cheerilee retired) for as long as he could remember, so whenever he met her out of context of those two scenarios, he felt very exposed. After all, she probably knew more about him than he did himself. "Oh, an adventure. That's very exciting. I hope you will remember the number-one rule… right?"

August scuffed a foot on the ground as he mumbled, "Always stay safe."

Gene began to chuckle as Starlight said, "That's right. Keep your head down. And if you are attacked, go for the throat or the head. Enemies generally don't protect either of those very well, but ensure you are using a sword or high-velocity projectile weapon before looking for those weakspots."

Both Gene and August stiffened and looked at her in shock. Starlight began to laugh.

"My goodness! You two are so easy to confuse! So, tell me… what kind of adventure are we talking about?" laughed Starlight.

"Oh… er… well… We are going on an adventure across the multiverse to uncover some special pieces of armor," explained August.

Starlight nodded her head sagely. "Ahhhh… A quest to find mystical armor! Well… I wish you two all the luck in the world. And remember, I am good friends with Doxia, so if I see fit, I WILL make him go after you two."

August grinned sheepishly. Starlight blinked at him expectantly, and there was a long pause. Then finally August exclaimed, "Ah! That's right! Hugs!"

He got reached forward and hugged his babysitter tightly. She returned the hug and said, "I'll be keeping my eyes on you, mister; but do not forget… In any situation, choose to do what is right. We are the light in this multiverse, a lighthouse in the sea of darkness, and we must act like it."

August nodded his head as eased away. "Of course…"

Starlight smiled sweetly, and then beckoned Derpy to follow her. The two mares then trotted away.

August rubbed the back of his head furiously as he began to blush. He then mumbled something unintelligible. Gene just laughed a bit and patted him on the back.

"Come," said Gene, "Your parents are at Susnet's house for some kind of reunion or something. Let us go say goodbye."

The two worked their way through Ponyville as they strolled off to the house. As they went through town square, no pony gave them a second glance. Ever since the death of the Paradox, the My Little Pony dimension had become a hub of activity for interdimensional travelers, so it was not uncommon for humans to be seen walking and talking with ponies all over Equestria.

In a couple of minutes, August and Gene had made it to Fluttershy and Sunset's house. August knocked on the door. It was answered by Fluttershy.

She smiled sweetly at them. "August! Gene! It is so nice to see you both. Come in!"

August nodded to Gene and the two stepped into the living room.

Caustic Rain, Princess Luna, Sunset, Flaming Star, and Twilight were all there. August gulped. He had not expected the room to be so full. However, before he could change his mind and run away, Flaming Star said, "August! So nice to see you! Don't worry, Caustic Rain has told us all about your upcoming adventure."

August bit his lip and looked worriedly at his mother. She was well known for shutting down his little escapades with excellent tact, and considering the fact that he was about to enter the possibly dangerous unknown, he could see her telling him that he was grounded for eternity with ease.

Luna cocked her head to one side as she considered her son with interest. Finally she said, "The Amethyst Empire needs you, so I will not argue. I understand how important this could be to the multiverse. However, son, I must ask you… is this what you want?"

August sighed. "I… I don't know. I just want an adventure SO BADLY."

Luna nodded her head. "I know. You may have said otherwise out loud… but I know."

"Remember," said Flaming Star seriously, "The multiverse is not a friendly place. Since the fall of the Infernal Realm, there might be fewer demons to worry about, but there are plenty of those scoundrels left, and there is a plethora of mercenaries, thugs, and assassins still lying in wait. Keep your eyes open. Do you have a weapon?"

August nodded his head stoutly. He held out the Inquisition Blaster that Doxia had given to him. Everyone but Luna seemed surprised to notice the powerful weapon in August's hand. Gene noticed this.

"Ma'am? Have you seen this weapon before?" he asked quietly.

"She sure has peeps!"

The voice came from Doxia, who had suddenly materialized from behind August and Gene, causing them to tumble heads-over-heels in surprise.

"Doxia!" gasped August, "Please stop doing that!"

Doxia chuckled, "I'll stop when I want to stop, young'un. But I have to admit, August, your mother is one smart pony."

August cocked his head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"Well," explained Doxia, "When your mother learned that we wanted you to go on an adventure, she said she would only allow you to do so if we gave you a weapon. Now this is where it gets brilliant. From the accounts that Caustic Rain gave her about the Paradox's final moments, she deduced correctly that the weapon he used to kill himself was probably one of the most powerful weapons in existence. Thus, she told me she would only allow you to go on the adventure if we gave you that weapon the Paradox had. Thus, that is why I gave you the Inquisition Blaster earlier. As I said... pure genius."

August looked at his mother in awe. She just smiled quietly. "I just want you to be safe... son."

"Well, isn't that just cute?!" said Doxia loudly. Then he began to chuckle as he said, in a kinder, quieter, tone-of-voice, "You be safe, August."

Doxia then teleported away without another word. August holstered the Inquisition Blaster and turned to his friends and family. Now he looked ready. He had a blaster strapped to his waist, the Kanohi Olmak in his right hand, and the holopad in his left.

Luna rushed forward and hugged him tightly. "Be safe," she murmured.

Caustic Rain then joined the hug.

In a moment, they all let go and August turned to Gene. Gene nodded, and August activated the Kanohi Olmak. A golden-glowing portal opened up to the BIONICLE dimension. August then checked the holopad to ensure they were going to the right place, then he stepped through the portal, with Gene right behind. The portal then closed with a little "pop."

They found themselves on a beach. It was very quiet, and the waves gently lapped at the shore. Off in the distance they could see a lush forest, and even farther off in the distance they could see a white capped mountain, with smoke rising from the very top.

"Weird…" muttered Gene, looking around, "I don't see anyone."

"It's because this place is abandoned," said August, looking at his holopad, "It appears that nothing but wildlife and fauna are here…"

Gene nodded his head slowly. "Ohhh… Okay. So… where are we supposed to go?"

August shrugged. "I don't know."

Gene blinked. "Wait… what? What do you mean, 'I don't know'? Aren't you, like, a Detector or something? Dellor the Detector! Do your thing!"

August lightly shoved Gene. "Stop it! I have no idea! Give me a sec'!"

Gene rolled his eyes. "Oh great. This is going to be the shortest adventure ever. And after all those teary hugs and farewells too… maybe we could camp out here for a couple of days, and then return…"

August abruptly stiffened, and his eyes went blank. The shoreline had triggered something. Inside his head, a memory that was not his own began to play out. Inquisitor Blue, walking along the shoreline. He looked battered, tired, and fatigued. In fact, it looked like his spirits had been crushed to the point of despair. Blue stopped for a moment, his heavy armored boots sinking into the moist sand. He looked about for a moment. Then he looked at the smoking mountain in the distance. As he studied it intently, he reached up and slowly detached a large metal shoulder plate, the one with the black Amethyst insignia on it. He held the plate in front of his masked visor for a moment, as he studied it as well. Then, with metal shoulder plate in hand, he began to make his way to the mountain…

"August! Earth to August! Snap out of it!"

August jumped as he was pulled from the memory. He shook his head as if to clear it, and his eyes refocused.

"Did you see anything?" said Gene, shaking him firmly by the shoulders.

August nodded his head slowly. "Yeah… yeah. I did. I saw Blue. We're looking for the shoulder plate… It's somewhere on the mountain we see… Ummm… The Mangai Volcano, I believe. Follow me!"

August strolled off at a brisk pace. Gene ran to catch up with him. When he did, he said, "I don't understand! Why are we walking? Couldn't we just teleport?"

August shook his head, "No. We're walking. I have a feeling that Blue never actually got to the top. I am thinking he left somewhere before then… So either on the rocky slopes, or in the jungle surrounding the volcano. Come on!"

The two continued to work their way through the sand towards the lush forest before them. Little did they know, however, that they were being watched.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Frozen North, Stallion Empire_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

Lyric took a deep breath while his eyes were still tightly shut and sighed. Weird. Last time he remembered, it was the middle of the winter. The air should have been sharp, frozen, harsh, and bland. Instead, the air he was breathing was sweet, and smelled of lush forest. He took another deep breath and sighed. The air certainly smelled sweet. It was a warm haze that surrounded his muzzle, and it felt like nothing he had felt before.

It felt like heaven as the warm haze surrounded his face. He tried to snuggle in closer so that he could breathe in the sweet scent and feel the warmth on his cheeks.

"Um… Lyric? Could you stop doing that?"

Lyric's eyes snapped open at the sound of Summer's voice. He had been pressing his face into the female Pegasus's forehead. Her mane was swathed around him like a gentle blanket, and he noticed one of her wings was draped over his waist. Her blank eyes were looking up through him with an air of surprise. She even looked a little bit scared.

Lyric leapt up and fell over into the dead fire pit, stirring up cold ashes.

"By the Emperor! I'm so sorry!" he gasped, "I was asleep! Honest! I had no idea…"

Summer got up and fixed her mussed-up hair. "It's okay Lyric. What happened?"

"I felt like it was… it was spring," muttered Lyric, "I've never felt that before…"

Summer smiled, her blank eyes sparkling. "I understand. I forgive you. At least you didn't kiss me."

Throwing caution to the winds for no reason whatsoever, Lyric immediately said, half-jokingly, "Oh, of course... But would you like me to?"

Both began to blush profusely.

"No," said Summer, though she looked as amused as she looked embarrassed.

Lyric turned his face away. "Sorry," he mumbled, "I don't know where that came from."

Summer immediately brightened up. "That's okay. Hey, what are we doing today anyway?"

Glad for a chance to immediately switch the subject, Lyric said "Oh! Yeah! Well, we're about a day's walk from the nearest town. It's a nice, cozy place. If we hurry, we can make it by nightfall, just in time for me to put on a performance!"

Summer's face beamed like a warm sun slicing through overcast skies. "Wonderful! I would love to hear you play! Well? What are we waiting for?"

Lyric got up and stretched. "Yeah, yeah… I'm going as fast as I can, Miss Bossy…"

Summer smiled as she reached over and picked up his large saddle bag. It was already packed. She tossed it onto her own back as she explained, "I cleaned up everything while you were still asleep. Well, that is until you decided that I was a teddy bear and grabbed me, that is."

Lyric blushed profusely and mumbled something unintelligible. Then he said, "Wait! What are you doing?"

Summer was securing the saddle pack to her own back as he said that. She turned her blank eyes in the direction of his voice and replied, "I'm putting the saddle pack on. What does it look like I'm doing?"

Lyric shook his head. "I see that. But you shouldn't have to do that! I'll carry it."

He reached forward to take it off, but she warded it off with a gentle hoof. "No, Lyric! It is about time I did something useful. Why are you so worried?"

Lyric sighed. "I don't know. I guess I'm just worried about your wellbeing. Isn't it a little heavy?"

Summer chuckled. "I'm not spoiled, Lyric, I know how to carry stuff. Don't worry, I'll be fine. And if I get tired, I know that you, being heroic and strong, with save me from my burden by shouldering it yourself. But until then, please oblige me by letting me help… please?"

Summer gave him a cute, pleading smile. That sold it for Lyric.

He opened his mouth, and then closed it, and then opened it again, and then closed it again. He stood there for a moment in silence, and then finally said, "Oh… oh, alright. I'll let you carry it. Come on… let's go."

Summer actually gave a little skip for joy. Then she held out a hoof and said, "Wonderful! Let's go!"

Lyric couldn't help but smile himself, seeing her so happy. He gently took her hoof. The two then began to work their way through the frozen pine forest.

As they trotted, Lyric described the forest to her. "It has not changed much overnight," he said, "There is, however, a fresh layer of snow on the branches of the pines. White is everywhere, and it covers the heads of the green and brown spies like frosting. Sadly, the sky is overcast, so there is not sparkling, just dull snow. The trunks of the pines are as frozen as ever. There is no life, everything is just dead. Hopeless and dead."

Lyric bit his bottom lip and looked down. He felt hopeless just by describing the drab surroundings.

Suddenly Summer let go of Lyric's hand and gently groped around until she lay a hoof on a nearby trunk. She gently ran a hoof over it, and then she gently pressed an ear to the trunk. Her face brightened.

Lyric cocked his head to one side. "What is it?"

Summer turned her unseeing eyes to the sky. "There are ice squirrels living in this tree. It's cold outside, but inside a little furry family is living cozy and happy. See? Not everything in the Stallion Empire is cold… Only the exterior. Inside, there is warmth and happiness. I believe strongly that this is the case with the ponies who live here as well. Everyone has a little good in them."

Lyric's voice died in his throat as he thought about what she had said. He had never heard truer words. As he fell into a sea of memories, all triggered by Summer's wise words, he smiled slightly. He felt happy.

"Lyric? Where are you?"

Lyric immediately pulled himself back to reality. He had gone so quiet, that he had actually stopped breathing, the one thing that Summer used to pinpoint him. He took in a sharp breath. Summer smiled and held out a hoof again, "There you are!"

Lyric smiled again and took her hoof gently.

"You are one wise mare, Summer," said Lyric happily, "I thank you for your insight. It just gave me a greatly-needed ray of hope."

Summer chuckled. "Please, use the term mare for parents. I'm a filly still! Don't make me feel old."

Lyric laughed and gently shoved her. "Okay, fine. You are one wise filly."

Summer grinned happily. "There we go! Now I sound like a prodigy! Right! Lead on!"

Lyric nodded and the two continued to work their way through the vast forest, to the town far away. As they trotted, the two laughed and talked, and Lyric did his best to push the thoughts of his "musical performance" that would be coming soon.

He was stealing to survive. Summer couldn't blame him for trying to survive… could she?

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Okay everyone! Now that you have seen a lot of the new characters, I must ask you, out of the entirety of "A Mending Soul" who is your favorite character? Is it Sunset Shadow? Is it Miranda? Is it Doxia? I am really interested, so please let me know! Thanks! If you let me know, I will give you an incredibly life-like (yet invisible) figurine of said favorite character! Thanks!<strong>


	103. Chapter 103 - A Performance

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Frozen North, the Stallion Empire_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

"Are… we… almost… there…?" panted Summer.

Lyric glanced over at Summer and raised an eyebrow. "We are, actually. I am really impressed, though. You've gotten along wonderfully."

Summer collapsed face-first into the snow. She waved a hoof in the air as she mumbled, "Yay. Now stop raising your eyebrows at me and get this off of me. It's your turn."

Lyric grinned as he helped unstrap the saddle back from off of her. "How did you know I was raising my eyebrows?"

Summer, with her face still in the snow, said, "Oh, it just seemed like something you would do in this situation. A well educated guess, if you will. How much longer do we have?"

Lyric glanced up at the horizon and realized that he could see smoke from smokestacks in the distance. He cursed himself silently. How could have not seen that before? He had excellent eyesight, so why had he not seen that smoke before? Then he remembered he had spent the entire time staring at Summer worriedly as she struggled under the heavy weight of the saddle backpack.

"Lyric? Come on, buddy, give me something to work with here! Pretty please?"

Lyric started slightly as Summer's voice pulled him back into reality. "W-what? Oh yeah! I can see smoke on the horizon now. We are probably about an hour away. Follow me!"

He shouldered the saddle bag, galloped forward a dozen meters or so, stopped, turned around, and galloped back, grinning sheepishly to take Summer's hoof to lead her on.

Summer held out a hoof with a coy smile. "That's more like it, Lyric! Can't just leave your companion behind, now, can you?"

Lyric's grin widened. "I wouldn't dream of it! Now let's go!"

Holding Summer's hoof tightly, Lyric led her on as they worked their way through the snow.

As Lyric had calculated, they made it to the outskirts of the little village in almost exactly one hour. The town was small, and the buildings were constructed almost exclusively out of rough wood and hewn stone. There was no electricity for any buildings at all, and instead there were small campfires set in certain areas on the small trodden paths between the buildings. There was an especially large bonfire in what looked like town square, and the entirety of the sparse population of that little village seemed to be gathered around it.

A sly smile crept onto Lyric's face as he looked over the situation. Despite the wrongness of what he was aspiring to do, and despite the presence of Summer, he could not help but mentally thank his lucky stars. The environment was perfect. The poor lighting would give him cover, and by virtue of the fact that this town was secluded, he would have a good chance of easily robbing them all.

"W-what's going on?" said Summer, who could not help but press in close behind Lyric, "I can feel heat, are those bonfires?"

Lyric nodded his head absent-mindedly. "Yeah… There is one massive bonfire in the center of the town. Come on, let's go."

Summer pressed her side close to his. "A-are you sure? I mean, we weren't invited or anything. What if they don't welcome us?"

Lyric smiled. Now it was her turn to feel uncomfortable. "Oh, you'll be fine, Summer. We'll be fine. This is a secluded town, so they will be in awe more than anything. It is farther south where we will find the unwelcoming types. Let's go!"

He took one of her hoofs and dragged her forward. Her ears pressed flatly against her skull, Summer went along, her unseeing eyes full of nervousness and fear. She felt exposed.

Lyric, however, was in his element. He trotted up to the bonfire and immediately started up a conversation with the nearest pony.

"Hello, fellow pony," said Lyric jovially, a fake smile plastered on his face, "What is going on here?"

The pony he was addressing turned his head to look at Lyric. Initially he looked annoyed, but the moment he realized Lyric was a stranger, his face brightened. "Oh!" he exclaimed, "A stranger! I am pleased to meet you. My name is Snow Fall. What, this here? Oh, this is our monthly meeting. We get together to discuss allocation of food, firewood, and the likes! What's your name, friend?"

Lyric bowed his head low in a flourishing gesture of friendship. "My name is Lyric, kind sir. This pony here is my fiancée, Summer."

Summer immediately opened her mouth to vehemently protest, but Lyric quickly covered her mouth and oriented himself to stand between her and Snow Fall's prying vision. He continued to grin without missing a beat.

"Well, pleased to meet you, Lyric and Summer," said Snow Fall, "Tell me, if it is not too much trouble, what brings you here?"

Lyric, giving Summer a meaningful squeeze, let go of her muzzle and unshouldered his saddle bag. He searched through it and produced a strange stringed instrument known in the Stallion Empire as a lyrpsicord. He strummed it lightly and winked at Snow Fall. "I am here for music."

Snow Fall's face lit up like a foal during Christmas. "Oho! Wonderful! We love music. HEY EVERYPONY!"

Lyric blinked in surprise. These unwitting buffoons were more innocent than he had imagined. Summer, however, blanched at the sound of Snow Fall calling attention to them, and literally burrowed herself into Lyric's side. Though Lyric guiltily enjoyed the feeling of Summer's coat brushing his, this was just annoying and cumbersome, so he immediately tried to shake her off without being too discreet. With his actor's smile still set firmly on his face, Lyric waved a hoof as everypony in the assembly turned their attention to him and Summer.

"You're a musician?" called one pony from the crowds, "How good are you?"

Lyric strummed his lyrpsicord again as he replied, "I am fairly good if I do say so myself. However, I will let you all be the judge."

"What does that mean?" called another pony, "Do you want to play something for us? We would love that!"

Lyric winked. "I was hoping you would say that!"

Lyric began to trot up to the bonfire. However, before he got far, Snow Fall placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Wait a second," the pony said, "How much will this cost us?"

Lyric continued to grin his fake grin. "For you, good sir? Free of charge!"

He said the last phrase loudly to dispel any doubts. As cheers of approval rose from the small group, Lyric said to Snow Fall, "Keep an eye on my fiancée, will you? She's blind, sadly, so I would appreciate it if you kept her safe."

As he continued to trot up to the bonfire, he could hear Summer and Snow Fall conversing.

"Come stand beside me, Summer, you'll be safe here. I must say, your fiancé is quite a stunner!"

"He's NOT my fiancé!"

"Haha! The mares ALL say that. I gotcha!"

Lyric chuckled as he clearly heard Summer's grumbling above the clamor of the assembly. He approached the bonfire until he was about a meter or so from the ring of stone surrounding the open flames. He then turned his back on the fire and stood on his hind legs. He then began to play. The music was eerie, slow, and hypnotic (suggestion: listen to "E.S. Posthumous – Nara" for an idea). The whole assembly went quiet as the music weaved its way through the air like magic. Even Summer (who had initially been livid with anger) stiffened and stopped complaining as the music reached her ears. He sightless eyes swept the audience as if she was looking for Lyric. As the music built to an uncanny intensity, Lyric began to spin and side-step his way through the star-struck audience. As he brushed past the ponies, he would quickly search them for goods and valuables. To his horror, he slowly began to realize that very few of the ponies assembled even had anything on them, and if they did, it was usually a pocket knife or some kind of winter flower.

Though he continued to keep the smile plastered on his face, Lyric began to mentally curse the situation. He was in a den of beggars. They had nothing. Just as he was about to give up hope and call it a night to see if he could alternatively break into the nearest homes, he felt his hoof grasp a small bag of money. Face lighting up with hope, he seized the bag and put it into a small money purse he had slung by his side. He grinned at the stallion he had just stolen from and winked. The pony winked back. He had detected nothing. With that, Lyric continued to play for a couple more minutes until he realized that no other pony had brought any form of money with them. Then he called it a night. He danced up to the position he had started in initially and finished the song. The whole group of ponies before him erupted into applause. Lyric bowed low and put away his instrument.

Grinning and waving, Lyric returned to Summer and Snow Fall as the assembly slowly began to thin out as everypony went home.

"That was incredible, young'un!" exclaimed Snow Fall, "Do you need a place to stay for a bit?"

Lyric shook his head, "I think I got what I came for. Thank you for your kind offer, though."

Snow Fall nodded and left.

"Well?" said Lyric expectantly to Summer, "What do you think of my music skills?"

Summer was staring quietly at Lyric for a moment. Even though she was blind, and it was obvious she was looking straight through him, her unseeing stare was making him incredibly nervous. Lyric was on the verge of asking if she was still unreasonably mad about the whole "fiancée" thing, when Summer held out her hoofs and said, "What I thought? I loved it! Here, come give me a warm hug!"

Hardly believing his ears, Lyric reached forward and seized her in a hug. They held it for a moment before letting go. Lyric then turned his back and began to clean up his saddle bag.

"So, Lyric, you did that all for free?" said Summer quietly.

Though it actually hurt him inside to lie so blatantly, Lyric thrust his conscious aside and said, "That's right! It was just a taste of what I can do. A FREE taste, that is."

"Free... Hmmm… So what's this?"

Lyric whirled around and clamped a hoof to the money purse at his side. The bag that he had stolen was gone. He looked at Summer and his jaw dropped open at the sight that met his eyes: she was holding the very bag he had just lost. She had pickpocketed him.

"H-hey! Give that back!" he exclaimed, reaching for it. Summer leaned back and held the bag out of his reach.

"Not until you tell me where you got the bag, Lyric," said Summer sternly.

Lyric rolled his eyes angrily. "You sound like my mother," he snapped, "Look, it was a last-minute donation some random pony made to me. I was lucky, okay? Now give it back!"

"An honest donation, hmmmm?" said Summer, her voice as cold as the snow falling around them, "If it was an honest donation, why didn't you tell me about it immediately?"

"It's not like you're a business partner," hissed Lyric, now getting very angry, "I don't have to tell you everything! I wanted to keep it… for a surprise!"

"Really," said Summer flatly. She then pressed the bag to her nose and inhaled deeply. She then said, "This is bag smells of another pony. However, their hoof never touched it. I smell your hoof though. It was on their body before you took it from them. If this had been a donation, I would have detected both your and their hooves on it. I sense only yours. Lyric… you stole it! Why?!"

"THAT'S WHAT I DO, OKAY?" yelled Lyric harshly, hoping to scare Summer into submission. This just made Summer huffy. She straightened up and Lyric's eyes widened a little bit. Did he smell ozone crackling around her hoofs?

"This is no way to make a living, Lyric," snapped Summer, "This is not life, this is a lie."

"SO WHAT?" shouted Lyric again, though he was starting to doubt himself.

Summer stoutly handed him the bag of stolen money. He snatched it from her as she said, "You're going to return it. NOW."

Lyric stuffed the bag into his money purse greedily as he replied sharply, "I don't need to do anything for you."

Summer stamped a front hoof into the ground. There was a small spark of energy, and snow exploded into steam in a one-meter radius. However, Lyric was too angry to notice anymore.

"Lyric," said Summer angrily, "If you don't return the money this instant, you're going to have to deal with me."

Lytic rolled his eyes. "That's terrifying. I don't have to deal with you, I can just leave."

Summer blinked. Her sightless eyes suddenly filled with pain. "You would leave me… just because of this?"

Lyric nodded his head vigorously, "I need the money to survive, and if you can't see that, then there is no use in keeping you around."

"Lyric… please!" exclaimed Summer, her voice abruptly changing from stern to pleading, "What you're doing is wrong! There has to be another way! I am sure we can survive without having to resort to crime! Just trust me on this. Do this… for me… please."

Lyric shook his head, but his eyes began to tear-up, and his voice caught in his throat. "Save… save your breath."

He shouldered his pack and began to trot away. However, even though it went against every nerve in his body, at the last moment he looked behind him.

He saw Summer standing there in the snow, disheveled, scared, and alone. Her eyes were full of tears. A single droplet of water spilled from her eyes and fell to earth. As it fell, it froze into a crystal and hit the rough ground, burrowing itself into the earth. Lyric began to choke-up even more. He trotted away a couple more meters, and then trotted back. He then paced up and down for a couple more seconds before he took a deep breath and thought about Summer.

She was blind, granted, and did not appear to be of too much use; but despite that, the two days they had spent together had meant more to him than anything. Perhaps… perhaps she could be the conscious he never had. In truth, he desperately needed her.

Taking a deep breath, Lyric trotted back to Summer. Eyes on his hoofs, he mumbled, "I'm sorry. Let's go take this back."

Summer let out a long breath and roughly seized Lyric in a hug. She burrowed her muzzle into the side of his neck as she mumbled, "Thank you…"

Lyric nodded. "You're welcome. You're right, this is wrong. For the first time ever, I think I clearly see that. But now how are we supposed to feed ourselves?"

"We'll find a way," said Summer as she let go of him, "Now, do you know who you took that money from?"

"Yeah, I got a good look at his face, so I know who he is. Come, let's go look for him."

The two began to trot further into town, Lyric looking and Summer listening.

"I can't see anyone," said Lyric. Though he had agreed to look for the pony he had stolen from, he was guiltily hoping that they never found him.

Summer quickly raised a hoof for silence. As Lyric stopped talking, Summer's ears flicked this way and that as she listened to something.

"There are some ponies to the left that are searching for something," she whispered, "A stallion, a mare, and their two foals. I think we've found them!"

If it was possible to feel relieved and disappointed at the exact same time, it most certainly happened to Lyric. As the mixed-up emotion shot through his stomach like lightning, he said, "G-great! Right… Here we go…"

He pulled out the bag of money and trotted in the direction of Summer's pointing hoof. As he approached an alley, he could clearly hear voices.

"Are you SURE you dropped it?"

"I am. I'm so sorry, dear."

"I pray we find it. This is the worst thing that could have happened!"

Taking a deep breath, Lyric turned the corner and confronted the ponies. It was the stallion he had stolen from, a pony that looked to be his wife, a colt, and a filly.

"Um, er… Hey!" he stuttered as they turned to stare at him, "D-d-did you drop something?"

The stallion's eyes lit up with hope. "Yes! That's right! It was a bag of money that I've been saving for seasons untold now. Please, you have to help us!"

Lyric held out the bag of money. "I found this on the ground. I-is it yours?"

The stallion drew out a long sigh of relief. "Thank the Emperor… that's it."

He took the bag from Lyric with a shaking hoof and carefully put in a small pouch.

Lyric slowly turned to leave when the stallion put a hoof on his shoulder. Lyric stiffened and his heart turned to ice. Did they suspect something?

"Lyric… that was your name, right? Please, there has to be something we can do to thank you."

Lyric blew out a cloud of mist as she sighed in relief as well. "Yes… yes, there is something you can do. Do you have a place that we might stay the night? My friend and I are looking for shelter."

The stallion smiled. "We don't have much, but we do have that. Call your friend, and we will be on our way."

Lyric bowed his head deeply in thanks and then called, "Summer? Can you find my voice?"

"Give me a sec!" Summer's voice echoed back.

A minute later, Summer appeared around the corner, a hoof groping against the wood and stone walls of the alley.

Lyric trotted up to her and took on of her hoofs. He then led her back to the group.

The stallion's smile grew wider. "She's blind, and yet you take care of her? You are more noble than your appearance foretells, my friend."

Lyric smiled. "It is more like she takes care of me. I would be lost without her. Tell me, what is your name?"

"I am Frozen Pond, this is my wife, Snowflake, my daughter Snow Drizzle, and my son Ice Storm. Come, follow me to my abode."

Frozen Pond then led Summer and Lyric off to the edge of the town, where a cozy cottage lay amidst the snow and frozen pine trees. As the ponies walked into the little house, Snowflake said, "We have three rooms. Your friend Summer can sleep with my daughter, and you can share the room with Ice Storm. Is that fine?"

Summer, who had not said anything since she had met the little family, then said, meekly, "Um… ma'am? W-would it be too much trouble if… if I stayed with Lyric? I would prefer to be with him."

Though this was said directly to Snowflake, Lyric nearly choked on air as his heart warmed. Despite their fight, she trusted him, so much so that she would prefer to keep by him. This meant more to him than anypony could probably comprehend.

Snowflake smiled a sweet smile as she said, "Of course you can, dearie. Ice Storm can share his sister's room, and you two can use his. Now, would you like some dinner?"

Lyric squeezed Summer's hoof and said, "Yes I am sure we would love some dinner."

A moment later, Lyric, Summer, and the little family shared a modest meal of bread and broth. Then, a couple minutes later, everypony present went to their rooms to settle down.

Lyric insisted that Summer use the bed, but, after a short argument, they both agreed to sleep on the ground. Funnily enough, this was agreeable to Lyric, who had never known anything else but sleeping on cold earth.

As they two lay down together, coat brushing coat, Lyric murmured, "Summer… I'm sorry for going astray earlier today. Do you forgive me?"

Summer sighed as she buried her muzzle into the nape of his neck, "I'm lying down with you, aren't I? If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be doing this. But, yes, I forgive you with all of my heart. Now go to sleep before I fall asleep mid-sentence."

Lyric chuckled softly and closed his eyes. Just like last night, he let the rhythmic breathing of Summer to rock him to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Now, if you give me reviews (A.K.A. FEEDBACK) I will give you an invisible model of Summer and Lyric sleeping together by a campfire! A collectible! Everyone wants those!<strong>


	104. Chapter 104 - Top Hat

_Dimension: BIONICLE_

_Planet: Aqua Magna, Mata Nui Robot_

_Specific Location: Island of Mata Nui_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox, seven months after the awakening of the Toa Mata_

"We're lost, aren't we?" said Gene loudly as he and August worked their way through a dense jungle, "This is the north Le-Koro, near Lake Pala. We were supposed to be in the far east of Ta-Kini by now."

"I know," said August slowly, choosing his words carefully as he pushed his way through the rain forest, "I just… FEEL that this is the right way. We are working our way to Magnai Volcano, but I don't think Blue took the direct path."

"From what I heard, Blue was supposed to be a genius… so why DIDN'T he take the shortest route?" snorted Gene, still disgruntled.

"I don't know," replied August, "But from the memories I have of him, he did not look too well when he was here. His thinking could have been impaired, or he might have had a different set of ideas on mind."

"Yeah, you might be right," mused Gene, "There might be a couple other places that might be better to hide his armor other than the volcano. He might have known of a better place… or he could have just been insane."

Suddenly August stopped and held up a fist. Gene froze. Silence fell over the duo, and nothing but the buzzing of insects and the squawking of exotic birds echoed through the hot and humid air of the jungle landscape.

After a minute of silence, Gene leaned close to August and whispered, "What is going on?"

August's eyes raked their surroundings. Finally he let out a long breath and replied, "I thought I heard something. Not an animal, but another bipedal being. I thought we were being followed. I suppose not."

Gene looked around for a moment as well. Then he shrugged. "According to the holopad, the Toa and Matoran of this place, the island of Mata Nui, left for the city Metru Nui a couple months ago."

August nodded his head. "Yeah, you're right. We should be alone. I guess I let my imagination run away with me. Let's keep moving."

August and Gene continued to work their way through the jungle, stopping every now and then for August to get his bearings. As the day wore on, the rain forest thinned out, and the slope of the great volcano stretched out before them.

"Do you still know what you're doing, August?" asked Gene as they began to climb the rocks that lay interchangeably between the jungle trees as they drew closer to the smoking mountain.

"I… I think so," murmured August, "I see snippets of visions here and there, and once and a while a landmark will trigger something."

At that very moment, August glanced up. A ledge or stone lay far ahead of them, up and to the left. The moment he laid eyes on it, he had a flashback. Blue, looking as tired, disheveled, and depressed as ever, was standing on the ledge. He slowly lowered his right shoulder pad to the ground. Then he pulled out a thin tubular device with several sharp spikes. He rammed the spiked end of the tube into the ground and pressed a button. He then got up and left. As he left, he glanced behind him. The tube flickered to life and began to glow a light blue color. A hexagonal-surfaced bubble blossomed out of the tube and surrounded the shoulder pad and everything around it in a ten-meter radius. The bubble then shimmered and vanished. The shoulder pad melted from view. Whatever device Blue had planted had cloaked the piece of armor from view. But August had seen it all, he knew where it was.

August felt himself being pulled back into reality like a person rushing to the surface from the depths of a deep lake. He started as his eyes snapped open and he gave a small gasp.

Gene leaned in close and looked August in the eyes. "Did you see something? What triggered you?"

August pointed to the ledge far above them. "There. Blue left the shoulder pad there. Let's go."

Wordlessly, the two began to scale the surface until they reached a sheer wall. Far above their heads was the ledge. Gene glanced at August, "I see at least thirty different ways we could overcome this obstacle. Your choice?"

August shrugged. "I'll start climbing. I'm not going to use my powers just yet. I am not comfortable with them."

"Well, that's all the more reason to use them right now, then," insisted Gene, "Come on. Let's try this out."

August sighed and rolled his eyes, but he did not protest verbally. He extended his hands over the sheer rock face. Sweat began to trickle from his forehead as he struggled with his inherited Dimensional Traveler powers. There was a minute-long stretch of silence as he grappled with his abilities… and then the rock face began to change. The stone wall before them began to bubble and writhe like water in a kettle. Then a colossal blob of rock pulled itself away from the stone face. The blob swirled and stretched skywards, shimmering and shape-shifting. As the rock stopped swirling and shifting, it solidified into a rough-hewn staircase that led up to the ledge above.

It was Gene's turn to roll his eyes. "That was inefficient. I am betting you did that to show off."

August flashed Gene a smile. "It was fun, and I needed the practice."

The two began to run up the staircase. In a minute, they reached the top. It looked exactly like what August had seen.

"You saw this place in a vision, right?" said Gene after a moment of observing the stone ledge before them, "Where exactly is the armor piece?"

August got onto his knees as he began to pat down the rocks before him. As he worked, he said, "I don't know. The bubble looked just like a cloaking device, yet there is no distortion ripples around where my appendages have pierced the field. I also don't feel anything."

Gene shrugged. "The technology you saw Blue employing must have been designed to phase whatever it surrounds to sub-dimension. That means it is there, but it is also not there at the same time. What we need to do is distort the sub-space fabric enough that we create a sub-rip. Then we can pull the armor back into our current reality."

August straightened up with a rueful grin. "I have almost no idea what you just said; however, I trust you, so do you think you can do what you said?"

Gene stroked his chin nonchalantly. "Hmmmm… I don't know. Probably. If I can create a mini black hole here, and then feed it enough dark energy… maybe…"

Suddenly a voice drawled out from behind them, "Um, I don't think that would be a good idea. You were talking about inefficiency after all."

August pulled out the Inquisition Blaster, and Gene conjured up balls of plasma as they whirled around to face the voice. Standing behind them, leaning against the central pillar of the staircase that August had created, was a man.

He was tall and fair, his hair was brown and short, and his bangs curled upwards. He wore dark, flourishing, Victorian-age clothing, with a large overcoat with long sweeping coattails. On his head (listing at a jaunty angle) was a large, black, top hat. Beneath his overcoat (strapped to his elaborate red velvet waistcoat) was a line of thin throwing daggers on the right side and two elaborate daggers on the left side.

August's and Gene's jaws dropped. The man grinned at their obvious shock and discomfort and tipped his hat to them.

"Hello," he said amiably, "I suppose I have yet to introduce myself. I am Jefferson Madigan Hatterus. Pleased to meet you."

August snapped out of his stupor long enough to stutter, "Oh… Um, yeah! My name is August Dellor, and this is my best friend, Gene Grayson."

Jefferson smiled coyly as he swaggered off the staircase and strolled up to them. "Best friend, eh? Friends are rare, and friends that you can trust are ever rarer. You have a luxury, I am sure."

"Okay, that's great," interjected Gene sharply, "But what was this about my plan being inefficient?"

Jefferson took off his hat and spun it around a finger as he replied, nonchalantly, "Oh, yes, about that. You were talking about creating a black hole, and then causing a sub-space feedback loop by clogging the superdense center with dark matter. When the feedback loop reached critical, it would implode and explode simultaneously, creating a rip in sub-dimensional fabric. Through that rip you hoped to be able to pull… a piece of armor is it? I am correct, am I not?"

Gene eyed Jefferson suspiciously as he nodded his head. "Yes… That's correct."

Jefferson tossed the top hat in the air and caught it with his other hand. "Of course! Now, I was stating that that was an awful lot of work. You see, I am thinking, from what I overheard, that you guys are dealing with a sub-dimensional phaser. There is nothing here, but yet there is. Usually you would have to do what you proposed to break through the invisibility barrier, but I know a way around that. There is always a weak spot in those kind of devices, a molecular hole where all that sub-dimensional phasing power is coming from. We find that spot, and then destroy it to drop the shield."

August nodded his head. "I think I get it! That just might work!"

Jefferson winked. "Of COURSE it will work! Now let's look for that weak spot!"

The three of them began to wave their hands through the air around the ledge.

As they did so, Gene glanced at Jefferson and said, "Why are you here?"

Jefferson gave Gene his signature sly smile as he replied, "Oh, I was here looking for something else. While I was doing that, I stumbled on you two! I decided to be a Good Samaritan and help out. Nothing wrong with that, right?"

Gene was about to respond when Jefferson's hat stopped in midair. Jefferson pulled on the hat, but the fabric simply stretched around an invisible point in the air. He glanced meaningfully at Gene and August before declaring, loudly, "I think I might have located the point."

Jefferson removed the hat and gently combed his fingers through the space the hat had been naught a second ago. His fingers struck the invisible point, and a small vision-distorting ripple blossomed from the contact point.

Jefferson motioned for Gene to come closer and pointed at where his finger was touching the invisible point. "Hit this spot with a focused Dark Matter blast. That ought to do it. Oh, and please don't miss."

Gene glared at Jefferson, but did as he bade. Rearing back a fist, Gene charged it with the chaotic power of Dark Matter. He fired the writhing mass of dark purple power at the target spot. The beam struck the invisible point and blossomed into a miniature explosion. Suddenly the clear hexagonal-pattern of shield bubble became visible again with the right shoulder plate of Blue inside. A second later the bubble popped, but left the piece of armor behind.

August reached for the armor, but Jefferson was faster. He snatched it off the ground and inspected it as he purposefully placed the top hat back on his head.

"Well… I'll be… This is a unique artifact if I ever saw one!" exclaimed Jefferson. August pointedly reached to take the shoulder plate back, but Jefferson held it out of his reach. "Wait a minute," he said, "Sub-dimensional shield phasers are impossible to detect. You can only tell where they are if you knew where they were located beforehand. Who told you about this?"

"August has a special strain of information hardwired into his DNA that actually messes with his memories," snapped Gene, "A vision he had earlier allowed him to locate the device and that armor. Now you have three seconds to give us back that armor piece before I blow a hole in your head the size of Montana."

Jefferson rolled his eyes scathingly as he slowly handed August the armor piece. "Fine… fine… Here you go. I was just curious, after all. I mean, look at the metal that this is made of! I haven't seen anything like it before in my time-"

Jefferson's sentence was shut off by a loud sizzling sound. The moment August touched the shoulder pad, a sizzling explosion of light erupted from the contact point. The piece of armor then flew through the air to attach itself firmly to August's right shoulder. August frantically tried to get the armor off, but the metal shoulder plate stuck fast. It was part of his armor set now.

Jefferson blinking, then strolled nonchalantly up to August. He began to tap the piece of Blue's armor that was now permanently attached to August's shoulder as he said, "Well… That was intriguing. It seems to like you very much. How odd."

Jefferson then swaggered a several meters away where he stood, considering August's stunned face and stroking his chin. After at least a minute of silence, he snapped a finger and said, "I have a brilliant idea. Since you two – especially August – seem so inexperienced with this kind of stuff, I believe I will tag along."

Gene gave up trying to pry the metal shoulder plate off of August's right shoulder and glared at Jefferson with his arms crossed. "You don't say? And what makes you think we will go along with your 'brilliant' idea?"

Jefferson took of his hat and tossed it in the air. "Oh, because I think I can be of value to you in locating the rest of the armor. There IS more armor, after this… right?"

August sighed as he resigned himself to his face. He then said, "Yeah. There should be quite a bit more. But tell me, Jefferson, what were you doing here in the first place? What business do you have in the BIONICLE dimension?"

"Here? Ah, yes," sighed Jefferson dramatically, "I was on a mission to find a giant sundial. It is supposed to point straight to the BIONICLE Codrex, a device made of one of the toughest metals known in the multiverse."

"A… mission…?" repeated Gene slowly, "For who? You? Someone else?"

Jefferson pursed his lips together as he thought about his response. Finally he spoke, slowly. He said, "Wellll… It was for a… 'Friend' of mine. I am what you call a mercenary… of sorts. Not the kind to kill people, just the kind for looking for artifacts of importance… for a price."

Gene threw up his hands in disgust. "I knew it! I knew it! You're part of the problem!"

"Wait a second! Calm down there!" exclaimed Jefferson with a coy smile, "I'm not 'part of the problem.' I am just someone trying to make an honest living by portal-jumping and artifact-hunting! I am like Indiana Jones! Everyone loves that man… right?"

"I GUESS one could look at it like that," conceded August quietly, "But why did you give up searching for the sundial, and how do you get around? I cannot tell if you're a Dimensional Traveler, your energy signature is all messed up."

"So many questions! Listen up my fine friend," said Jefferson, "I didn't give up, I just deemed the payment and the risks to be of unbalanced proportions in the negative way, so I called it off on my own accord. As for how I get around… it's by this."

As he spoke the last phrase, Jefferson tapped the rim of his giant top hat. "This is a portal. I use it to get to all sorts of places."

August nodded his head. "Oh… okay."

Jefferson winked as he straightened the hat on his head. "Yes. Now, may I come with you or not? I am sure you two could use the extra company."

August beckoned for Gene to come closer, and the two began a whispering conference. Jefferson raised his eyebrows and then rolled his eyes. He turned his back to them and began to stroll complacently in small circles, now twirling his top hat around the tip of one of his fingers.

"I think we should bring him along," said August to Gene, "We could use the extra experience!"

"Are you kidding? I have thirteen years of experience under my belt! We should be fine!"

"I know, but he seems to know a lot about the stuff we are dealing with here, so it would not hurt for him to tag along."

"Actually, it is by virtue of the fact that he even possesses knowledge about this stuff that makes me even more suspicious."

"Come on, Gene! Let's give him a chance!"

Gene glared at August, who had just spoken, and finally said, "Okay… Fine. We will let him tag along for a bit."

Jefferson sidled up to them and winked. "I am so glad you two have reached an agreement. I am sure you two will not regret it. Now let's go find some more armor!"

August nodded his head decisively. "Right."

He then pulled out the holopad and checked it. It flashed and then projected something: another location.

Gene's mouth dropped. "That location…"

Jefferson leaned over August's shoulder to take a peek. He puffed out his cheeks and widened his eyes in mock exasperation. "Oooohhh… That is intriguing. I assume this was a joke… right? Or was the man in charge of hiding the armor intent on getting himself and everyone following him killed?"

August looked at them in confusion. "I don't get it… This says that part of the right arm armor is somewhere in 'the Deep Coal Cellar'?"

Jefferson took a step back and stretched. "That place is very cheery. From what I have gathered over the past twenty years, that place was designed to hold rogue Dimensional Lords."

Gene nodded, agreeing with Jefferson for once, "Yes. The Deep Coal Cellar was once used to imprison Dimensional Lords who had gone rogue. It even held Orion the Traitor for a bit. It is long abandoned now, but I assume that it is still in working condition. Thus… we are fairly much dead now."

Jefferson took his hat off and dusted it. "We might as well get a move-on then!"

August glanced at Jefferson in surprise. "What? You're still interested in coming with us?"

Jefferson winked. "Profit/Risk ration is still above one, my friend. I am fairly confident that your little 'visions' can pull us through it… and I'm still bored, so I might as well do something life-threatening for once."

Gene sighed. "I might as well open a portal now."

Jefferson held up a hand. "Wait a second. I have a little business transaction I need to complete first."

At that very moment, Toa Nuva Lewa arrived. His protosteel katanas outstretched, the BIONICLE character landed next to the group.

"Of all the weird-strange things I've seen today," said the Toa, "This is the weird-strangest!"

August glanced at Jefferson and saw him staring almost mournfully at Lewa's right hand. August glanced at the Toa, and saw that in that clenched fist was a small sundial.

"You shrunk the sundial?!" exclaimed Jefferson, throwing up his hands in disgust, "Of ALL the things you could have done with it... you SHRUNK it."

The Toa looked at him in surprise, "Huh? You know-recognize this?"

August then realized what Jefferson had meant when he had talked about "unbalanced Profit/Risk ratio." Most Dimensional Travelers would never dream of crossing swords with Toa from the BIONICLE dimension.

"Of course I do!" snorted Jefferson, "I was the one who tipped you off."

Lewa blinked. "Oh. So you were the one to tell-alert me to come here then."

Jefferson got over being momentarily indignant and bowed low with a flourishing gesture, hat in hand. "Of course. I am Jefferson Madigan Hatterus."

Lewa slowly crossed his powerful arms. "I appreciate the tip. It sliced-cut my search time by half. However, what do I need to pay-give you for this tip?"

Jefferson winked, "What, I'm not allowed to simply be nice?"

Lewa, who had now warmed up to the situation, returned the wink and swung around, calling back, "Right then! I thank you for your tip-help! Have a nice-wonderful day!"

"Wait!" exclaimed Jefferson, "I was just joking! There is something you can do for me!"

Lewa turned around. "Okay, pray-tell what is it?"

Jefferson glanced around almost as if he was wary of eavsdroppers. Then he said, in a low voice, "Tell Toa Helryx that she owes me. And tell her to put the sundial in the epicenter of Keetongu's Island when she is finished with it. Got that?"

Lewa nodded. "I will quick-tell her that when I can. Ummmm… Who is Toa Helryx?"

Jefferson threw his hat in the air and caught it again as he replied, airily, "Ask Axonn. He knows. In fact, ask him to courier the message."

Lewa nodded again wordlessly. Stretching out his katanas, he leapt from the ledge and glided off.

Gene turned to glare at Jefferson. "So, what was this about you giving up the sundial? You never actually was trying to retrieve it in the first place? Why lie to us?"

Jefferson, with a fake grin plastered to his face, just waved to Lewa as the Toa drifted away. "I didn't really lie, I omitted certain truths," he said out the side of his mouth, "I actually WAS trying to get the sundial originally, but then I got a new buyer: Toa Helryx. Her credit was much better than my previous employer… so I switched sides."

August bit his lip. The qualities Jefferson had shown were not the qualities he really wanted to see in a companion. But… he liked Jefferson. He wanted to trust him… but could he?

Jefferson broke the deathly silence by loudly clearing his throat. "Right! Off to the Deep Coal Cellar!"

August cocked his head to one side. "Wait, there is no Phantom Device around it?"

Jefferson snapped a finger. "But of course! Sooooo… do you have some sort of vision or something that can get us around this little obstacle?"

August meekly shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I can try first."

He closed his eyes and held up his Kanohi Olmak. His lips barely moved as he whispered, "Deep Coal Cellar."

The mask flared with light, and a portal opened up. As the tear in dimensional fabric grew, a metallic, female voice rang out: "Welcome to the Deep Coal Cellar, Inquisitor Blue."

August stiffened. "Did she just say Blue? But I'm not Blue."

Gene grinned and tapped the shoulder plate. "But you're wearing his armor. I think we might have just beat the system. I am guessing the Phantom Device recognized your armor and it confirmed Blue to be on the list of allowed beings. Nice!"

Both August and Gene strolled through the portal. Jefferson, however, stood at the threshold of the portal, his arms crossed. He was staring intently at the portal. Then he muttered to himself, "The outer-edge ripples confirm it… This is a Mark VII Phantom Device. It doesn't scan armor… it scans DNA."

Jefferson shrugged and then stepped through the portal. The portal closed behind him with a little "pop."

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><p><strong>Note: The plot thickens like tomato soup! Anyway, please leave me a review! If you do, I will give you a large, velvety, invisible, top hat, like the one Jefferson has. Top hats are ALWAYS in style.<strong>


	105. Chapter 105 - Young Love

**Note: I have been getting multiple requests from people for me to write more on Doxia and Meadolax, so I decided to have a little fun with that before I went back to Summer and Lyric in the Stallion Empire. Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Flashbacks: Young Love<span>

_Dimension: The Castle in the Attic_

_Planet: Space_

_Specific Location: A parsec into the Pinwheel Galaxy_

_Time: Over 500 Billion years before the death of the Paradox, a year before William receives the model castle_

It was the multiverse date 500601256041.891. The Dukarse Empire had declared war on the Sapphire Empire, and had been using its vast armies of suicidal robots and slaves to wreak havoc in the multiverse. Until a couple of years ago, the Amethyst Empire had stayed neutral, simply watching from the sidelines. However, when word got out that the Dukarse Empire could possibly be arming itself with secret technology for a whole new level of warfare, the Special One of the Amethyst Empire finally dispatched a specialized team of agents to assist the Sapphire Empire with the takedown of the radical nation. This team consisted of Mattimeo, the leader; Meadolax, the pilot; Doxia, the agent; and Allison, the rookie.

"This is Fox Tango Alpha One, reaching optimal orbit, over?" crackled a voice over the coms.

Mattimeo activated his personal interface to the coms telepathically and replied, "This is Lord Mattimeo. We will HSPF-drop directly to the ATS Scorpion the moment we receive our reinforcements."

Allison snorted loudly in the background. "I don't see why we even NEED Sapphire to send us people," she said, "All we need is you, me, and Doxia."

"I understand your confusion," said Mattimeo calmly, "But this is standard procedure. The Dukarse Empire is mainly a threat against the Sapphire Empire, and this mission we are carrying out is supposed to be a joint effort between the Amethyst and the Sapphire Empire. Thus, in order to make it seem even remotely like that, we need to use a couple Sapphire Lords in our mission."

"They will only slow us down," snapped Allison.

"Perhaps, or perhaps not," said Mattimeo, "Magnacron, Vaporis, Vaporix, Wilbur, and Ronald are all more than capable of holding their own. I would even argue that some of them are far better than you."

Allison rolled her eyes inside her helmet. "Maybe some of them. But something is telling me we don't get Sapphire's cream-of-the-crop for this one."

Mattimeo regarded Allison with interest. She was a head shorter than him. She was also slim and shaped almost like an hourglass like most females. Her armor was jet black, and her shoulder plates, breastplate, and shin guards were close-cut and tight-fitting. Her helmet resembled a something of a Halo's Mark VI helmet, except the visor was a lot thinner, with a sharp dip in the middle that made it look more like a T-visor. She had been recruited by the Special One of Amethyst just after Irinus, one of the greatest of the female dimensional lords, got filled with holes and blown to smithereens during the final Amethyst-Emerald Multiverse-Wide war. At first most of the other dimensional lords had steered clear of her because of her feisty attitude and know-it-all disposition, but not Doxia. Doxia had made it his life's work to break her in… and annoy the heck out of her while he was doing it.

Mattimeo realized there had been a lull in the conversation while he was staring, and quickly pulled himself out of it. He then said, "You are wrong. We are getting Sapphire's Dimensional Lord Libra."

Allison cocked her head to one side, "Libra? I thought she was in reserve."

"She was," said Mattimeo, "But I suppose the Sapphire Empire's Special One has deemed the alert level high enough to activate the Cobalt-Class and the Lithium-Class Dimensional Lord reserves."

Allison nodded her head slowly. "Oh… okay."

Suddenly Doxia leapt on Allison from behind and wrapped his arms around her neck in a tight hug.

"Alli!" he exclaimed, "How is my favorite Grumpy-Cat-Impressionist today?"

"Doxia… get… off of me!" she exclaimed, struggling to break loose of Doxia's vice-like grip.

Doxia let go and strolled over to where Mattimeo was standing. "Grumpy Alli is grumpy," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

"Grumpy Alli is going to start hurling fireballs as well," said Allison in a voice tight with anger, "How many times have I told you to stop doing that?!"

Doxia slowly turned around and strolled up to Allison. He leaned in close… and then gently bopped the place on her masked helmet where her nose would have been.

Allison went rigid. And then she began to chuckle a bit. That was all she really could do in this situation anyway.

At this point Meadolax strolled into the room. Seeing Doxia and Allison chuckling, he began to laugh.

"Hahahahaha – I don't get it, why are we laughing? – hahahaha…" guffawed Meadolax.

Allison quickly tried to straighten up. "Nothing," she said in a gruff voice, "We were just talking."

"Rrrriiiggghhhtttt…" said Meadolax. He quickly sent a PM to Doxia via their telepathic helmet link that said: "Score Bro."

Mattimeo, who had been patiently waiting for the silliness to stop, saw the PM, shook his head, and loudly said, "The Sapphire DL Universe-to-Universe transport capsule should be exiting sub-Imagination slipstream soon. It will be docking in T-minus twenty seconds."

Twenty seconds later, a small, one-man sized capsule exited out of a portal in a flash and immediately docked on the cloaked Amethyst Vessel slowly hovering a couple of lightyears away from the targeted Dukarse solar system.

Doxia strolled to the docking bay and waited for the entrance to slid open. It a second, it did so with a loud hissing noise and Libra strolled out.

She was about the same size as Doxia, but was also slimmer, and her armor was colored gold and white. Her shoulder pads were very large and cumbersome, and resembled eagle wings, and her gauntlets had sweeping attachments like backward-facing scythes. Like Allison, the rest of her armor was close-cut and fitting to allow free movement. Her masked helmet had a visor that looked something like the Norse Assassin's Creed insignia. To top it all off, she had large glowing wings of energy sprouting from her back.

Nevertheless, Doxia was less than impressed by her appearance.

He strolled up to her and said, "Wowzers. Look at you Libra! The spittin' image of… something. Ummm… just a note, lose the wings. They are too shiny and bright, and you won't be needing them for what you are doing."

Libra gave Doxia a sharp glance, but then nodded. The energy wings dissolved and folded into her body.

"Very well, Doxia," said Libra in a no-nonsense tone of voice, "What am I doing on this mission?"

"I am assuming that since you were one of the few from the Cobalt-Class Reserve team, you are expecting some great death-defying mission," chortled Doxia, "But… sorry. You're not. Here… let me explain it all in a debriefing room."

Doxia motioned for Libra, Allison, Meadolax, and Mattimeo to follow him.

As he walked to the debriefing room, he glanced back at them and called, "I think we have it all good now, Mattimeo. You can go back to Coranstant and prepare for the next stages."

Mattimeo nodded. He shook hands with Meadolax and then opened a portal. Then he was gone.

While this was happening, Doxia activated a holographic projection. The next thing they knew, they were in super-realistic, immersive holographic representation of the Dukarse arms factory that they were about to disable.

"Here is our mission, if you choose to accept it," said Doxia dramatically, "But, of course, you're not Tom Cruise, so you are going to have to accept it whether you want to or not. Anyway, we are going to break into the Dukarse factory and hack their database. Recent intelligence reports state that Dukarse has gotten some unusual weapons from unknown benefactors. Sapphire is worried, so we have been put on this case to figure out what these weapons are, and how to neutralize them. They have Phantom projectors set up everywhere over the planet, so we will have to use a stealth ATS Scorpion for landing and extraction. We will perform a high-velocity, short-deceleration orbit-to-ground entry approach. Vaporis is already undercover there, so he will mark our approach. When we have all landed in our respective positions, we will execute the rest of the mission. What is that 'rest of the mission,' you say? Well, Libra, you are in charge of keeping the bad dudes off my back. Just run time-matter-energy infrared scans continuously and send them to my data feed. You will be armed with a high-powered sniper rifle to eliminate any needed targets. The Dukarse have energy spike scanner arrays everywhere, so we cannot risk triggering them with our powers."

"Well? What about me?" interrupted Allison impatiently.

"You? Well, my dearie… you get to watch," said Doxia almost apologetically, "You are a rookie. Like, literally, a rookie. In fact, it took a lot of string-pulling to convince the Coranstant Council to even let me bring you along."

Allison crossed her arms belligerently and turned her back on him pointedly. This almost caused Doxia to begin to chuckle. She was amazingly cute when she was angry.

Libra just shook her head. "I understand what I am doing. What will Lord Meadolax be achieving while we are away, though?"

"Oh… he will be doing many things," said Doxia mysteriously, "He will be scrambling the Dukarse scanners, forging false information to feed to their main database, and getting ready for our spectacular extraction. We will be meeting on the east docking bay. Thanks to some choice information that Meadolax will be preparing, everyone will think that that specific bay needs to be left unguarded because rampant unicorns have gone into a feeding frenzy in that zone. Now… for what I will be doing. I will be the one doing all the awesome stuff, since I am older, more experienced, and have a cooler helmet visor. I will be infiltrating the main base to hack into their database. Once we have the information we need, we leave."

Libra nodded her head. "I understand."

Doxia leaned over and gently tapped Allison's shoulder. "Ohhhhh Alli? You there? Earth to Alli? What are the magic words in this situation?"

Allison sighed and said, "I understand."

Doxia clapped his hands together loudly. "RIGHT! Now, Autobots, lets ROOOOOOLLLL OUT!"

Doxia strolled out of the debriefing room. As he walked, he went into full swing. "This is Lord Doxia contacting Fox Tango Alpha One, team sigma is ready for drop-off. We will be entering relocation pods now. ETA in fifty seconds."

Doxia motioned for Allison and Libra to enter the high-speed relocation space pod with him. As he did so, he said, "Meadolax is already on the Scorpion. Come on girls! Where is this 'flower-power' that is supposedly supposed to be totally-honey-badger-awesome? Step to it! Hup hup hup hup!"

Doxia got into the cockpit with Libra and activated the systems. The pod rocketed out the cloaked frigate and shot towards the Scorpion that was orbiting the targeted planet at high speeds.

As they shot through space, Doxia said, "You know… I think we should have code names. Like Project Freelancer! Oh! I know! I can be Agent California – but you can call me Cali for short – and Libra can be Agent Utah because no one knows who the heck they are, and Alli can be Agent Texas because she is super grumpy all the time!"

Meadolax's voice resonated from the coms as he said, "I can be Four Seven Niner! Oh… wait… she was a woman. Hey, if I raise the pitch of my voice a bit, do you think I could fool headquarters to think that I'm a girl?"

"Not a chance, old buddy," laughed Doxia, "Hey, tell you what, you can be Five Seven Niner."

Libra facepalmed. She then said to Allison, "Are they ALWAYS this way?"

Allison could not help but smile. "They are. Don't tell Doxia this, but I love them for it."

Fortunately for Allison, Doxia was too busy trying to figure out if "Five Seven Niner" was better than "Four Seven Tenner" to notice.

In a second or two more, they arrived on the Scorpion.

"We're reached the Pelican!" exclaimed Doxia, "The UNSC have given us a special mission to infiltrate the Covenant forces. Agent Utah… on me!"

"Doxia… stop it," said Allison with a sigh of resignation.

Doxia threw an arm around Allison. "Oh… Okie Dokie Lokie."

Meadolax motioned for the group to exit the pod and sit down in the drop-ship bay. "Right-o folk! Please keep your arms, hands, and feet inside at all times. Photography is prohibited. Now, please hold on tight, and enjoy the rest of the flight. We will be descending at three times the terminal velocity, so if you feel an irresistible urge to vomit… don't. Just… don't. Now… HERE WE GO!"

The Scorpion gunned its engines and cloaked with energy-reflecting shielding. It silently sliced through the atmosphere without even a single spark of fire, and silently hurtled towards the large oil-rig-looking Dukarse base. In a second the Scorpion sharply veered over the base and launched Doxia, Allison, and Libra out of the ship.

As they flew through the air, Varpois's voice crackled over the coms. "This is Vaporis to sigma team. I have marked your approach and have rigged the power systems. Lights out in T-minus sixty seconds. Get into position. Remember: these soldiers are armed with Anti-Dimensional-Lord weapons, so be careful."

"Please, careful is my third middle name… if I had a third middle name… or second middle name for that matter," chortled Doxia over the speakers.

In twelve seconds Doxia landed silently just outside the entrance of the enemy HQ, while Allison and Libra landed on the fringes of two enormous scanner arrays. Vaporis was there waiting for them.

"Ladies," he said calmly, "So nice to see you both."

"Likewise, Vaporis," replied Libra briskly. She whipped out a sniper rifle and scoped out the HQ. With that, Vaporis shut down the power.

"Okay Doxia… you are a go," he said over the coms, "The 'accidental' black-out will only distract them for a bit."

Doxia nodded at the sound of Vaporis's voice and strolled right into the HQ. Then… Doxia went into a dive. Leaping over groups of guards, diving under cloaked energy-scanners, and flipping over giant cargo bay canyons, Doxia flipped, jumped, and dove his way through the base, managing to avoid every single scanner and trap with ease.

As he did so, he talked, just like he was prone to do. "This is boring. Hey… Alli, do you want to go out on a date with me later? We could hang out in the Chronus Nebulae! I hear it is beautiful! Then we could go and play some tennis or something!"

"No," said Allison flatly.

There was a pause. "Welp… couldn't blame me for trying. Right… I know! We could sing a song! Here we go: R-E-S-C-U-E! Rescue Aid Society! Hat's Held High! Touch the sky! You mean everything to me! In a fix, in a bind! Call on us, anytime! We'll appear – Meadolax you're not singing! – from nowhere! Mighty are we! R-E-S-C-U-E! Rescue Aid Society…!"

Meadolax joined in, and the two began to belt out the Rescuer's anthem loudly over the coms. Vaporis glanced apologetically towards Allison and Libra and shrugged. "They are two of the greatest Dimensional Lords of all time… ever. They can afford to do whatever they want."

Libra pointedly muted her coms. Allison, on the other hand, was so pissed off that she turned off her coms AND her HUD.

Vaporis simply sat there, listening to Meadolax and Doxia singing away like they hadn't a care in the world.

As he and Meadolax finished the song, Doxia had made it to the central computer core without detection, which was a miracle since Dukarse had some of the greatest security systems of the empires. Doxia chuckled and placed a hand gently over the main computer's terminal. He immediately began to download anything and everything pertaining to weapons.

Back outside on the overlooking scanner arrays, Allison sat on a ledge, overlooking the HQ's courtyard. She still had her HUD and coms turned off, and she was fuming. However, her grumblings stopped when she saw a massive group of Dukarse troopers marching through the courtyard on their way to a giant glass-covered complex.

Curious, she began to stealthily work her way over the rooftops towards that complex. Activating her adapting cameo device, she gently pressed her face to the glass dome of the giant building and peered through to see what was transpiring below. Her eyes widened. Down below it looked like a nightmare come true: the Dukarse had Amethyst and Sapphire Soldiers cornered in the field below, and laser blasts were flying everywhere. The Dukarse somehow had gotten these soldiers into the building, and now they were slaughtering them. Allison quickly contacted Libra with a PM.

Back at the array, Libra received the PM. She blinked in surprise as she read it. At first she thought of ignoring it and sticking to the plan… but she could not ignore it. She was a slave to justice, and she could not let such blatant evil pass by. She needed to help her allies.

She glanced at Vaporis and shook her head. Vaporis was too cool-headed. He would let a friend die in the worst way possible if it meant achieving his mission's goals. But she would not let people who could be saved die like this. She handed Vaporis the sniper rifle and said, quietly, "I will be back in a moment. I need to check something out."

Vaporis unquestioningly took the sniper rifle and began to scope out the surroundings once more.

Libra quickly leapt across the many rooftops until she was with Allison.

Allison quickly motioned Libra to join her. Libra cloaked herself in invisibility as well, and went to her.

"What is this all about, Allison?" said Libra quietly.

Allison motioned Libra to look down. Libra saw the slaughter that was going on as well. Her eyes widened and she drew in a sharp breath. "Those… monsters. No prisoners… no mercy… We have to stop them!"

Allison nodded. "My thoughts exactly. You willing to do this?"

Libra slowly reached for her back and detached a small object that looked like scales. She quickly toyed with the base, and the scales transformed into a massive sword. She then nodded to Allison. Allison too detached a pair of gun/sword hybrids from her hips. Then… she smashed the glass dome in. The two dimensional lords fell upon the Dukarse enemies with ease, taking them out as if they were chaff before the scythe. However, the moment they began to kill the enemies, the alarm was raised. Troops began pour in from every entrance, and automated turrets unfolded and activated from many different vantage-points in the wall. Red lights flashed, and alarms blared.

Back inside the main HQ building, Doxia was eavesdropping on a couple of soldiers as they discussed their girl problems.

"I mean, like, seriously," sighed one of the soldiers, "I thought we really had something. But then I saw that one facebook post, and that one dude called her 'dynamite.' What the hell is 'dynamite' supposed to mean, anyway? Then she LIKED the post. She literally LIKED it. That is the last straw for me, I tell you."

"I think you're overreacting, dude," said the other soldier, "I mean, look at how… wait… what's this?"

He quickly tapped the side of his helmet as he brought up his HUD. Then he stood up quickly, accidentally knocking the table over and spilling coffee onto the ground.

"We're under attack!" he exclaimed in a high-pitched voice, "Quick! Grab the weapons! Go!"

The other solider tripped over his own feet as he reached for his shotgun. Scrambling to his feet, he primed his weapon and motioned for the other guy to follow them. Then, like two frightened mice, they scampered from the room.

The invisible Doxia blinked. Then he facepalmed. "Allison screwed up, didn't she?" he said over the coms to Meadolax.

There was a pause. Then Meadolax said, "Weeelllllll… It depends on what you mean by 'screwed up.' Do we get paid for overtime? Oh, yeah, I forgot, we don't get paid."

Doxia glanced at the main computer's terminal. The download was now complete. He removed his hand from the surface and extended a fist. His powerful Dimensional Lord sword materialized and he readied it.

"Well… whatever it is… the plan has changed. Meadolax, I need you to land right now. Forget about being inconspicuous. Vaporis? Ah, glad YOU are at least still on the coms. I need you to cover Meadolax's ATS Scorpion. I will go find Allison and Libra."

Doxia uncloaked and dashed through the base, causing quite an uproar, which was exactly what he wanted. Troops and proximity mechs rushed out to obstruct his path, but ended up dead as doornails.

Inside the glass complex, Libra and Allison were fighting with great skill, despite being outnumbered five hundred to one, not counting the turrets. They were Dimensional Lords, they were power… nothing could stop them. Libra extended her energy wings once more and she rose above the heads of her enemies. She conjured up an energy-spewing quad-Gatling-gun, and began to turn all of the hostile turrets into trash as Allison continued to hold her ground against the enemy soldiers. However, the two had already sustained minor wounds, and there seemed no end to the onrush of enemies.

Allison bit her bottom lip as a lucky laser bolt cut a small gash on her thigh. She glanced up to see Libra faring no better. There seemed to be no end to the attackers.

Then… Doxia arrived. The whole east wall of the complex turned to dust as Doxia smashed through, his sword raised high.

"I've got the data!" he yelled over the sound of battle, "You two! Get the orange juice out of here! This planet is going bye-bye!"

Allison glanced at Libra sheepishly, and then motioned her to follow. The two quickly dashed out to meet Vaporis at the extraction point. A couple hundred troopers tried to stop them, but were immediately turned to ash by Doxia.

Giant hovering discus with manned Gatling guns suddenly rose up from docking bays around Allison and Libra as they ran and began to accost them.

Allison sharply changed direction. Using her momentum, she leapt at a building and rebounded off the wall, flying high into the air. She seized the platform of the hovering Gatling gun's base and flipped up, kneeing the soldier manning the Gatling gun in the face and sending him spiraling to the ground below. She then quickly opened up on two other guard turrets as Libra gutted a couple other Gatling gun troops. Libra then flew off to the extraction point as Allison attacked several drones that had now risen up to kill her. As she took out the last one, Allison leapt down (spearing four soldiers in the throat as she landed) and dashed off to follow Libra again just as yet another cloud of drones rose up.

Back inside the complex, Doxia was trying to figure out if he should simply blow up the planet, or if he should take out the galaxy for good measure. However, before he could make up his mind, Meadolax contacted him. "Yo! Buddy! Time to hit the road!"

Doxia quickly ducked under a hail of shots, flipped over a missile with perfect timing (causing it to inadvertently smash into a cloud of drones and explode), and then slid under a tank causing it to flip over and detonate as its ammo rack went off, crippling a couple of adjacent tanks nicely. Doxia then snapped a finger (causing that whole section of the base to spontaneously combust and sink into the sea) as he raced off at supersonic speeds towards the extraction point. He reached it in no time and dove into the ship. As he did so, he conjured up a grenade with a super-dense quadlithium bomb inside and tossed it behind him.

"GO GO GO GO GO GO!" he yelled.

Meadolax gunned the silent engines of the Scorpion, and the whole thing blasted off. They were less than a dozen kilometers away when the primed grenade went off… blowing the whole oil-rig-like base (and the entire planet) sky-high. Meadolax gunned the engines again and put them on full capacity. The Scorpion screamed through the air at incredible speeds and barely avoided the shockwave.

Doxia sighed and sat down next to Vaporis. There was a moment of silence. Mission accomplished.

Allison looked at her feet.

"I screwed up… didn't I?" she asked quietly.

Doxia nodded sadly. "Yeah, kid… you did."

In less than an hour, Doxia, Mattimeo, Meadolax, and Allison were before the Amethyst Empire's Special One for the post-mission meeting.

The Special One finished watching the video recordings of the mission before slowly turning to the team.

"Tell me… what went wrong in this mission?" he said quietly.

"Ummmm… I forgot to bring my shades?" offered Meadolax helpfully, "It was really bright, being overcast and all."

The Special One shook his head. He knew Meadolax well (Meadolax had a 99.9999% chance of completing every mission with flying colors) and so he did not get angry with the blatantly silly answer.

"No. It was Allison. Allison… what did you do wrong?" said the Special One quietly.

Allison straightened up like a solider at attention and said, "Sir! I ignored orders and attempted to save the Amethyst Soldiers inside that one glass complex, sir!"

The Special One blinked. "What soldiers…? Oh no. Doxia… did you not tell her?"

Doxia shook his head. "Sorry kiddo… I didn't. I didn't expect Miss Grumpy-Cat-Reincarnation to run off like that after Meadolax and I started singing."

Allison shook her head. "I-I-I don't understand. Tell me what?"

The Special One sighed. "The glass complex was a training facility. Those Amethyst and Sapphire soldiers were life-like holograms. The glass was made of protosteel fibers with nano-scramblers smeared over it like a film. Thus, you and Agent Libra's HUDs were fooled into thinking what you were seeing was actually real."

Allison groaned audibly, but continued to stand straight to attention (like everyone should have been doing, but Doxia had decided that leaning against the nearest touch-panel terminal like Cool Joe was the best thing to do in the current situation).

"Not too much damage was done… right?" she asked quietly, "This was a hit and run, and the Dukarse Empire cannot fight back easily."

The Special One shook his head. "There might have been more damage than you know. The Dukarse Empire has innocents that it is willing to corrupt using its mind-virus. The more soldiers we kill, the more innocents become forced to follow those others to their deaths. We must approach this delicate situation with tact, something you have shown that you are incapable of doing."

The Special One then straightened up and said, "Allison, I hereby demote you. You are going back into training until another cycle is complete. You will no longer be required for action."

Allison let out a little gasp, but continued to stand at attention. The Special One then turned around and began to walk away. However, as he did so, Doxia, too, straightened up and said, "Joseph! I have a request!"

At the sound of his real named being called, the Special One, Joseph, slowly turned around again. He looked at Doxia curiously.

Doxia then said, "I would like to initiate Program Dual Blade, please. I'm begging you."

The Special One cocked his head to one side. "You were the one to disband Program Dual Blade… why do you want it back?"

Allison looked at Meadolax as Doxia and the Special on conversed. "What is Program Dual Blade?"

"Oh, that thing? It is a program that closely pairs Dimensional Lords with trainees. It's pretty deep. You two will work together, eat together, sleep together, and fight together. You two will also be bound by a semi-molecular telepathic unit that binds you together mentally, allowing the most streamlined and flawless collaboration between two beings ever know to the multiverse. It was disbanded because most trainees were deemed unsuitable for the time of a veteran Dimensional Lord. I guess Doxia has seen otherwise."

"B-but... Lords don't sleep," stuttered Allison, still unable to really comprehend what was going on, "W-we don't eat either..."

Meadolax shook his head. "Okay, I took a little creative licence. You really cannot understand how closely you two will be tied together. This is really deep physiological intimacy we are talking about here... You better hope you know yourself, because if you go through this, both of you will know the other more than you know yourself. But this is probably the only way you will ever see action again as a Dimensional Lord."

Allison's throat caught. Doxia was willing to be stuck with her self-absorbed and arrogant self… just because he cared for her dreams as an Amethyst Agent?

At this point, the Special One sighed. "Very well, Doxia. I will let you initiate Program Dual Blade for this one instance. I doubt we would ever find two well-suited candidates ever again, anyway."

Doxia chuckled. "Hey, I think you should pair Lynx and Mattimeo together. It would be HILARIOUS."

Mattimeo rolled his eyes. "Yeah? For Who? Last time I checked, Lynx was never into my brilliant knock-knock jokes. Anyway, we should be getting a move-on then, yes?"

Doxia clapped his hands. "And there you have it folks! Mattimeo FINALLY admits that he was ONCE good at knock-knock jokes! On the same note, who are you and what have you done with the REAL Mattimeo?"

Mattimeo shook his head and teleported out of the room to attend other business. With that, the rest of the DLs began to leave. As the room began to clear, Allison approached Doxia. She grasped one of his hands.

"I've always dreamt of being a Dimensional Lord," she said quietly, "And I almost had that dream stripped away forever… almost. How can I ever thank you?"

"You can start by going out on a date with me!" said Doxia, chuckling, "I mean, seriously, you are going to be doing EVERYTHING with me soon. I hope you don't have any sensitive secrets either, because in two days' time, I will know everything about everything about you."

Allison blinked. A couple of hours ago, she would have been repulsed by the idea… but now… she saw something in Doxia that touched her heart. Love, maybe? She couldn't tell.

Doxia slapped her heartily on the back and said, "Well, enough of this chit-chat! I say we unicycle out of this turkey-joint and go scan those Dukarse databases! I am sure there is something useful there that we can find for Joseph!"

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><p><strong>Note: If anyone is curious, no, my first (or middle, or last) name is not Joseph. However, I have been writing a long-term story-arc surrounding the multiple Joseph Torrus beings in the multiverse. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I most certainly enjoyed writing it. I would appreciate it if you would leave me a review, and perhaps let me know if you want more of these Flashbacks, or if you want something different. If you give me a review, I will give you an incredibly life-like (yet invisible) figurine of Doxia in combat-mode.<strong>


	106. Chapter 106 - A Council Meeting

**Note: I decided to put this chapter in at the last second. I wanted to elaborate on Harold's personality as well as show a little bit of the fabled Rerenhaw Council. I suggest you read the Rerenhaw Council section in my guide to reduce the chance of being confused, but I am sure you guys recognize everyone anyway. And if you are not into this kind of thing, then just skip ahead. You are not missing anything terribly important.**

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><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: Rerenhaw Council Room_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

"... And that is how Doxia started going out with Allison in the first place," stated Firestar the cat calmly as he sat in his council room chair, his tail wrapped around his front paws.

Rosalina, another councilmember, nodded her head slowly, her eyes filled with wonder as she contemplated the tale of Doxia and Allison that had just been told to her by Firestar. "That sounded amazing."

Firestar closed his eyes and nodded his head slightly. "I've heard that story untold times. But yes, each time I hear or tell the story, it never ceases to amaze me."

There was a long pause as he and Rosalina looked around the council room. Firestar gazed about with a content air, as if he was coming home after a long vacation, and Rosalina looked about in pure wonder, as if she was a child stepping into a mansion.

The Rerenhaw council room was enormous. The ceiling stretched high above everyone's heads, and it was constructed of pure white metal. Light blue lights illuminated every corner of the room, despite the fact that there were no light fixtures. The room was sparse, other than a small door that led to a balcony, and the giant table.

The council room's table was massive. It was white and light blue, and was shaped like a massive archaic "A," though it resembled a triangle more than that letter. Two seats lined each flat side, with the largest seat positioned at the tip of the triangular table. There were seven seats in all. That is where the head chairman sat, and in this case, it was Mattimeo.

A meeting had just been called, and the representatives of the Rerenhaw Council were arriving from all over. Like always, the cat Firestar was there first. However, for the first time ever, he was almost immediately followed by one of the newest members: Rosalina. The two had arrived extra early, hence Firestar taking the time to do a little storytelling about one of his best friends.

The long moment of silence stretched on. Finally, Firestar decided to talk again.

"This is highly irregular," stated the flame-colored tabby calmly as he settled deeper into his raised chair, his tail flicking back and forth, "Of all of the Four Rerenhaw Ages, we have only called a couple emergency meetings."

Rosalina nodded, her eyes wide. "I was surprised. I had no idea we would have such a meeting so soon…"

Then the doors banged open and Doxia, followed by Martin the Warrior, strolled in.

"Well, I understand that this is irregular," said Doxia as he swaggered into the council room and threw himself onto the head council seat (which happened to be Mattimeo's, not Doxia's), "But there are some things we need to discuss."

At this moment, Mattimeo arrived. He strolled in as well, but stopped when he noticed that Doxia was in his seat.

"Doxia… you're in my seat," said Mattimeo quietly.

Doxia sighed and rolled out of the seat onto the floor. He lay there on the ground for a moment. Then he held up a hand and waved it. "Hey everybody… look… I turned into a slug…"

Firestar facepawed, "Doxia, for old time's sake, please don't."

Doxia suddenly leapt up and dusted himself off as Derpy entered the room. She glanced at Doxia and smiled. "Were you lying on the ground again?"

Doxia looked about nonchalantly. "Me? Lying on the ground? Who? What? I honestly have no idea what you're talking about…"

Derpy giggled a little. Then she flapped up to head-level and planet a kiss on his cheek before settling down in her respective seat. Mattimeo settled down in his seat and spoke.

"I am here. Are we all assembled?"

"Almost, kiddo," said Doxia, looking about, "Where's Jiminy? Yo! Cricket! Let's jump to it! Get it? Jump? Cricket? I crack myself up sometimes…"

"I am sure you do, Doxia," said Jiminy quietly as he hopped in from the hallway into the council room, "I believe we are all here now. What is it that you wanted to see us about?"

"Let us all sit down, first," said Mattimeo, motioning for them all to take a seat. They did so, and Mattimeo began.

"Orion has been very busy," he said, "There have been several acts of sabotage within the ranks of the interdimensional empire, U.F.C. They are not happy. We will be having Grand Captain Langley of the Reset Dimension, and Embassy Member Meadolax here today to describe the situation. From their accounts, we can determine the proper course of action. Has anyone developed an operation yet based off the information we have gathered thus far?"

Doxia raised a hand, and Firestar raised a paw.

Mattimeo nodded. "We will consider what both of you have to say with respects to operations when we have heard Langley and Meadolax out. They are here."

The massive double-doors that lead into the council room opened, and Meadoalx and Grand Captain Langley of the interdimensional empire U.F.C. strolled in.

"Yo! Meadolax! How are you doing today?" said Doxia loudly.

Meadolax waved cheerfully. "I'm just doing dandy. Hey, tell you what, we can catch up later. Kind of a big meeting going on right now… remember? We don't want to have an incident like that one 'Let it Go' song problem we had a couple hundred billion years ago, right?"

Doxia threw up his hands dramatically, but subsided into silence. Mattimeo motioned for Langley and Meadolax to approach the council.

"Langley, what do you have to say on the acts of terrorism that are, even now, occurring within your borders?" said Mattimeo quietly.

Langley crossed his arms and sighed. "The U.F.C. will not tolerate these… fiendish acts by this so called 'Orion the Traitor.' Unfortunately, as out situation suggests, there is not much we can do to stop him. There have been multiple attacks by him, and each time we are nowhere near being able to detect or stop him, before or after the act. The High Governmental Seats are beginning to grow restless, and are blaming the Amethyst army for their losses. Why has Amethyst not mobilized to assist us?"

"Orion has declared a one-man war against you," replied Mattimeo calmly, "We will assist you, but not in a total mobilization. He is too cunning for that. He strikes and then runs, leaving no trace. It is almost impossible to catch him in the act, and almost impossible to trace him afterwards."

Langley shook his head, almost mournfully, "Then what are we to do?"

"We need to get the Inquisition moving! That's what!" exclaimed Doxia.

"I am not sure of the wisdom of that action," interjected Jiminy, "The Inquisition is a brute force."

"What mean you by that?" said Rosalina, "The Inquisition has saved countless lives."

Jiminy nodded. "Granted, but do you know why the Inquisitors – namely Blue, Dark and Sunflower – were so effective?"

Rosalina cocked her head to one side and shook her head. This time, Firestar replied.

"It was because they were ruthless. They were always the first to pull the trigger, and they always were the first to strike. They never hesitated to attack their enemies, no matter how many innocent lives were at stake… and they never took prisoners."

Rosalina blinked. "That does sound terrifying. I cannot see why we would authorize such power, then. If those beings are prone to endanger innocent lives to accomplish goals when we are trying to save innocent lives, then their usefulness is negated."

"The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few, sometimes," said Langley, quoting a wise old Vulcan.

"True," said Mattimeo, "We will have to consider our options then. Doxia, what is the progress of August?"

"They have found the first piece of armor," reported Doxia, "They are moving on now. I am working on contacting Sunflower and Dark."

Mattimeo blinked sagely. "That is good. Unfortunately, August and Gene's pace is not great enough. Langley, report to your superiors that we will begin considering dispatching multiple Dimensional Lords to their dimension. Perhaps we can reduce the damage done by Orion until we have gotten a lock on his movements. You must give us time."

Langley dipped his head. "I thank you."

As he and Meadolax left, everyone could hear Meadolax saying, "Don't sweat it, bro! We've gotten Orion before, we can do it again! However, I will admit his attack pattern has been really weird this time… Dude, let's go grab your kid an Playstation Twelve-hundred-and-seventy-two on the way out."

The door closed and silence resided over the council room momentarily.

Doxia turned to Mattimeo and said, "You scanned the info I've gathered?"

Mattimeo nodded. He telepathically opened up several holographic projections and projected them in the center of the council room table. Everyone seated began to flip through the information.

"It looks like Orion IS working for someone," said Mattimeo after a moment, "And it appears that Pictor is also allied with him. However, it is doubtful that Pictor is Orion's employer, so the major question is: who has enough power to control both Orion AND Pictor?"

"I shudder to think of the power one would need to wield in order to hold sway over both of them," said Jiminy quietly.

Firestar gently pawed at his desk, bringing up several more holographic projections for him to look over. "And I believe it is not possible. I remember Orion the Traitor from the old days. He is too ruthless, cunning, and powerful to be held down by a being. As for Pictor, I know of him as well. They cannot be under some being's paw. They must be working together."

"It is actually the point that you bring up of them working together that suggests that they are being controlled," stated Martin the Warrior calmly, "I have seen the information provided. They would never work together willingly. They are being threatened, and they are playing along."

"Gosh, I would hate to think of what Pictor would have to be threatened with," snorted Doxia, "Puppies? Flowers? Cat posters? Speaking of cat posters, did I ever tell any of you about that one time I dated Princess Unikitty from the LEGO universe-"

"I am sure that would be an interesting tale for another time, Doxia," interrupted Mattimeo, "But right now we have other things to discuss. For example, does anyone have an idea about what Pictor and Orion would both either fear or want very much to be forced to work together?"

"Well," said Derpy, speaking for the first time ever in a meeting, "Is there any weapon that they could fear? It would obviously have to be as old as them, and just as terrifying. Bullies don't get bullied by the little things, they have to feel exposed by whatever is being pointed at them."

Doxia jumped up. "That's it! Derpy my darling, you've done it! I know what it is."

With that, Doxia telepathically brought up another holographic projection for everyone attending to consider. It was the vial of Maelstrom that the Paradox had taken from the Grand Devil.

"Of course," breathed Firestar, "This is the only thing possible that would give the combined power of Pictor and Orion pause. The holder of this would have absolute power."

At this point, Rosalina cleared her throat softly. Everyone stopped conversing and turned to look at her. She smiled shyly and said, "It seems that the vial of Maelstrom is the only possible weapon that could force Orion and Pictor to collaborate. However, now we must consider an even more perilous question: Who wields it, and what are they like?"

Immediately the room fell into silence. Finally, Doxia spoke, his voice sounding serious for once, "They will be arrogant, but incredibly brilliant. They know they have the power, and that will make them sure of themselves, but they are cunning enough to know that now is not the right time to unleash the ultimate weapon. And if they know that now is not the right time, they most probably know when it is… if at all."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Once Upon a Time<em>

_Planet: Fairy Tale Earth_

_Specific Location: Snow White and Charming's Castle_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox, twelve years after the Curse_

"Why are you having us do this, anyway?" insisted Orion, "I mean, these acts of terrorism. They are of no use. The U.F.C. will continue to expand, and the Rerenhaw Council will fix any political damage I do. The link is too strong. I mean, hell, it was as easy as pie to screw up the relations of E.D.D. and Amethyst, but this is completely different. Why are we doing it this way?"

"What do you mean, why?" chuckled Harold, "Isn't it obvious? Oh, of course it isn't. I forgot you two were idiots for a moment there. That is both a compliment and an insult, just in case you were wondering."

Pictor leaned over to Orion and whispered, "Why do we even put up with him?"

"What was that?" said Harold loudly, though it was obvious he already knew what Pictor had said.

"I was just wondering why you are asking us to approach the downfall of our enemies in such a manner," stated Pictor, taking advantage of asking a completely relevant question to cover up the fact that he was blatantly avoiding answering Harold's question.

"Why I have everything planned out this way?" mused Harold, "Oh, it's simple really. This is what I do."

"Do… what?" said Orion slowly, though he slowly began to realize the answer for himself.

"This is what I do. I destroy lives. However, it is not as trivial as a sniper bullet to the head, or as mindlessly violent as a serrated dagger to the stomach. I… I BURN people. And by that I don't mean with fire. I torture the targets. I defile their reputation and self-worth. I murder their family, and I alienate their friends. Then I let them kill themselves. I eliminate my targets without having to lift a finger."

Orion crossed his arms slowly. He was not pleased with what he was hearing. Even he had at least a shred of honor. Pictor, however, snorted scathingly and said, "That takes too long. I would just blow off their face with a Dark Matter discharge. Why don't you just send me after August Dellor and Gene Grayson? We know where they are. I can kill them in seconds."

"Big fat ape say what? Of course you would say that. However, it will never makes as much as an impression as what I do. Your method will only kill them. However, history and heaven will exonerate them, and they will be a beloved and glorious martyr for all of eternity. For me… well… let's just say I kill my targets in flesh, in reputation, and in soul."

"I still don't understand," sighed Pictor, feeling like he had just found himself in the company of yet another Paradox.

"And you don't need to. Trust me, I've done this for a long time now. In fact, you may have heard of one of my previous identities… Jim Moriarity, Teridax, or the King Witch of Angmar. I've done many things and been many places, all to achieve one singular purpose…"

"Which would be?" pressed Orion, suddenly hoping to seize sensitive information about this Harold being that could eventually provide leverage in the case of an emergency.

Harold drew in a breath as if he was about to say something, but then he instead said, "… But that would be telling, now, wouldn't it?"

"Okay, since you won't have any of our games," snapped Pictor, a little disappointed and annoyed, "We won't have any of yours. Hurry up and explain the next steps."

There was a pause. Then Harold suddenly began to trail off again, making it obvious he couldn't care less about whatever came out of Pictor's mouth. "Did you know that there are 23000 alternative ways that the My Little Pony dimension could end in hell?"

He then began to chuckle. "This multiverse is a perfect little hive of possibilities. It is bright, diverse, and colorful, just like the My Little Pony dimension. But it was not that that the Paradox saw. Oh no, he saw what was underlying, the rot, the deceit, the violence, the sexual immorality, and the death that permeated everything. However, the Paradox simply reacted with the moronic, trigger-happy response of 'oh my god, let's blow everything up!' However, he was not looking in the right place. The Imagination Flow has become corrupted, not the multiverse itself."

Pictor simply tuned Harold out after he heard the word "bright," but Orion was listening very carefully, hoping for Harold to somehow slip up somewhere in his ramble, giving him an edge. In the end, though, Orion ended just as interested in Harold's speech as Pictor was in killing little children.

"Wait… So the problem that the Paradox saw was not the multiverse, but the outflow of Imagination?" said Orion slowly, the speech actually going completely over his head, "I don't understand… what?"

Harold once again drew in a breath as if he was about to say something more, but then once again stopped himself and instead said, "Oh… it's nothing. Just a point that would give you incredible leverage not only over myself, but over the whole Earth Multiverse. Nothing that important. Now… where were we? Ahhhhh… yes… Well done, Orion! You have completed step 2! Now, Orion and Pictor, onto step 3… It is time to put little August to the test."

Orion cocked his head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"Does this mean we get to kill him?" interjected Pictor, barely able to conceal his hope for violence.

"Orion, I will explain. Pictor, shut the hell up and go euthanize yourself. Now, Orion, what I mean by 'put little August to the test' is that I want to see how his bleeding effect is going on."

Orion was still a little confused. The bleeding effect was a mental process that taught beings incredible skills at an accelerated rate by superimposing foreign memories and mental processes. He knew of the process, but he was a little confused as to what this had to do with August.

"I will continue to explain, since you still are gloriously confused," snorted Harold, his disembodied voice echoing from every corner of the room, "August will soon be feeling a little like an Inquisitor himself. He is getting memories of Blue and his travels, so he will also be inheiriting Blue's skills. Possibly. I am actually unsure myself. Thus, we must test my theories. So, as I said, it is time to go onto step 3, Pictor."

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><p><strong>Note: Well? What did you all think? I think I am starting to like Harold almost as much as I like Summer. He is a really interesting character. Anyway, please leave me a review! If you do so, I will give you a photo of the current Rerenhaw Council! It is invisible, of course, but I might try my hand at actually making it a reality. Please stand by.<strong>


	107. Chapter 107 - Raze

**Note: Soooo... where did all of my reviews go? What, no one wanted that picture? I wanted that picture. Anyways, we are moving on now! Here is the latest chapter!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria_

_Specific Location: The Frozen North, Stallion Empire_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox_

Lyric sighed as he shifted on the ground. He inadvertently scooted closer to Summer and breathed another sigh of contentment. He felt quite cozy. He felt so cozy, in fact that he wanted to never wake up. Unfortunately, that wish went unanswered, for a moment later, Summer began to whimper. Lyric mumbled something and tried to cover his ears, but Summer's whimpers grew in intensity. Finally Lyric could ignore it no longer.

"This happened last night too," he muttered to himself as he sat up slowly. Gently he began to rock Summer back and forth, quietly saying, "Summer. Hey, Summer. Wake up."

Wish a strangled gasp, Summer sat up. Rubbing her sightless eyes with her hooves, she mumbled, "I've been awake for hours! Where have you been?"

Lyric rolled his eyes. "Right. Of course. Tell me, why were you crying out like that?"

"Crying out? What are you talking about? I never do anything like that!" exclaimed Summer indignantly. However, it was all too obvious that she was lying.

Lyric was not deterred. "You were too. I heard you crying out in your sleep."

Summer blinked. She turned her face to look in the direction of his voice. "Was… was I really that loud?"

Generally Lyric would have complacently declared that he HAD been right, and that she truly had been crying out in her sleep, but one look at Summer's dejected face made him think otherwise. Instead, he said, "Hey, it's okay. Look, what did you dream about?"

It looked like Summer was about to tell him, but at the last moment she said, "It's not important."

Lyric was not taking "no" for an answer. Thus, he persisted. "Come on, you can tell me. Was it bad?"

Summer shook her head. "It was nothing like that. But I really don't want to talk about it."

"Come on. Please. For me."

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"No."

Lyric sighed. He gently reached up and brushed a strand of mane away from Summer's face. Gently, he said, "You can trust me. Go ahead."

Summer suddenly jerked away, crossed her front hooves, and scooted around on her rump to face the opposite direction to his voice. A moment later she said, "Just because we lay together to conserve body heat does not mean you need to go all creepy on me."

Lyric blanched. But then he got up, trotted in front of her, and sat down again. "I'm not being creepy," he insisted, "I am genuinely concerned for your wellbeing. Look, this night and last night you spent a good portion crying out. Neither of us will ever be able to get sleep if you don't get some closure on this. And what better pony to help you than me? After all, I am literally the only friend you have in the world."

Summer pulled a face. "If you put it that way… I… I guess. But you have to promise not to laugh."

Lyric solemnly placed a hoof over his chest where his heart was located. "I swear not to laugh or tell another soul. Good?"

Summer blushed. "Well… Every night I have these normal dreams… but that is not the bad part. As my average dream develops, I get recurring 'visions' of where I would find myself standing inside a terrifying room. The intervals between these flash visions become less and less until I find myself truly trapped inside of that room."

Lyric cocked his head to one side. Of all the dreams he ever remembered over the course of his entire life, he had never experienced something like that. "Okay. Unusual. What does the dream look like? Oh, I'm sorry, that was stupid. What did you sense the room to be like?"

Summer sighed. "Well, it may seem strange, but I could kinda 'feel' the room to the point where I could 'see' it. The room was large and empty and blank. I felt like I was in a box. A windowless, doorless, box. All surfaces were smooth and hard. As I was trapped inside this room, I would get more 'visions,' but this time they would be of me fighting creatures. Hideous, monstrous beings of pure evil. These new visions would then increase in intensity as well while I was trapped. It would get to the point where I feel like my head is going to explode."

Lyric cocked his head to one side. "That sounds horrible. Was there anything else?"

Summer nodded. "While I was trapped inside the room… I felt… I felt like somepony was watching me. I felt a pair of eyes always watching… always. As I struggled beneath those visions of violence, I could feel those eyes burning into me until I thought I was going to catch fire as well as spontaneously combust!"

At this point Summer inadvertently reached out her front hooves to be hugged. Lyric obliged. As he hugged her, he said, "That sounds absolutely terrible. Next time I wake up from your crying, I will immediately come for you and wake you up as well. No dream is going to terrorize you on my watch."

Summer sighed once more as she buried her muzzle into the side of his neck. As she did so, she breathed, "Thank you Lyric."

At that point, Lyric wanted more than anything to kiss her. Unfortunately for him, Summer immediately mumbled, "If you are thinking about kissing me… please don't."

Now blushing profusely, he let go of her and vehemently exclaimed, "What? Me? No. I would never dream of that! Who was thinking that? I sure wasn't. Ummmm… Who we talkin' about?"

Now recovered, Summer smiled coyly in the direction of Lyric's voice and said, "Of course. Come, I believe we should get up before Frozen Pond comes to wake us up himself."

The two got up and ensured that the spare furniture in the room that they were in were in good condition. With that, cold light began to stream through the frozen peaks of the west mountain range, and the new day began, dark and cold.

Summer groped with a hoof until she located the door knob to the door. She pulled it open, and almost ran into Frozen Pond, who was about to knock on the door himself.

Frozen Pond chuckled as he said, "Well, hello! Nice to see that you two are early-risers. The sun has yet to even fully show itself."

Summer smiled as she reached forward and located Frozen Pond in front of her. "Yes. I have something of an early alarm clock. I named it Lyric."

Lyric snorted. "Hilarious. Now, Frozen Pond, we really must be on our way. We appreciate your hospitality, though."

"You cannot leave yet!" exclaimed Frozen Pond, "Please, at least stay for breakfast."

"Oh, we couldn't impose..." said Lyric.

"But I insist!" interjected Frozen Pond.

Summer smiled at the genuine hope that radiated from Frozen Pond as he spoke and said, "We would love to stay for a bit longer. However, there must be something we can do. Please, anything."

Lyric's jaw dropped. He immediately tried to indignantly interrupt the two, but it was too late.

Frozen Pond smiled a large smile as he said, "My, I have never seen someone as young as you so eager to work! Very well, we need some firewood. However, Lyric can do that. You, Summer, can help Snowflake with a couple of house chores. You can work until we have breakfast, which is in an hour. Is that fine?"

Summer looked down at her hooves. "Well… I was hoping I could work with Lyric… if that is okay with you…"

This gave Lyric (who had originally been silently fuming over the fact that he had just been drafted into doing work for a stranger) pause. Lyric then cocked his head to one side. Summer still managed to confuse him. Why was it that she wanted to be close by him in person, but never too close in heart?

Frozen Pond gave Lyric a significant wink. "But of course. I will let you two gather firewood then, if it suits you."

Summer nodded her head gratefully, "That would suit me just fine. I appreciate you giving us this chance to work."

Frozen Pond left. Lyric whirled on Summer. "What was that all about? Did you just enlist us to do unnecessary work?"

Summer turned her blind eyes to face the source of Lyric's voice. "There is nothing wrong with that?"

Lyric rolled his eyes. "One of the laws of survival is that you don't do any unnecessary work. They were going to feed us whether we did work or not. We should have chosen the 'or not' part. But did you? You didn't!"

Summer snorted and lightly patted his cheek. "Stop being such a big baby. Come on, let's go get some firewood."

If Lyric's jaw could have dropped further, it would have. Instead he just shook his head disbelievingly. "Wha… Who… Huh… YOU'RE BLIND."

Usually Summer would have been deeply hurt by that comment, but all she did this time was smile complacently. "I know. But I still bet I can find more firewood than your lazy behind."

Lyric gasped. However, after a moment of holding his breath (and his face turning beet red with anger), he began to chuckle. That was all he could do in the situation anyway. "You, Summer, never cease to amaze and befuddle me. Lead on."

Summer blinked. "I'm blind. Please rethink your last statement."

Lyric blanched, but then immediately recovered and began to chuckle again. "Oh, that's right. Silly me. Follow me, young miss."

Summer could not help but to follow along. Batting her eyelashes, she held out a hoof. "Lead on."

Lyric took the proffered hoof and the two exited the small house. They trotted into the neighboring forest. For the next half hour, they scavenged for dry wood that was in good enough condition to be firewood. It was difficult work, but they were looking for the wood at the right time. There had been a snowfall during the night, so everything was covered with a fresh blanket of white, but the sun had yet to come out, so all the wood buried beneath that mantel of icy cotton had yet to be soaked by melting snow. Thus, though they had to dig around, most of the wood they found was still dry (if not frozen as well).

Lyric straightened up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm a musician, not a wood-scavenger," he grumbled, "Remind me why I'm doing this again?"

"Because it is the right thing to do," said Summer without looking up from feeling the base of an ice-cold pine tree.

Lyric snorted as he continued to work out the knots in his muscles with a hoof. "Wrong answer. Try again."

Summer looked up and batted her eyelashes again as she joked, "Because I will give you a kiss on the cheek if you do."

Lyric grinned. "Nope. Not on the cheek. It's going to be on the lips or nothin'."

Summer pulled a face. "Gross. I would rather kiss a wolf."

Lyric continued to grin without missing a beat. "Would you? I bet not. There is a particularly nasty strain of ice wolves here."

Summer continued to pull the face. "Aha. Try me."

The two would have continued the banter, but something stopped them. That something… was an explosion.

For Summer, the most sensitive of the two, it was absolutely terrifying. She pressed her ears flat against her skull as she whispered, "What was that?"

Lyric immediately went into combat-mode. He crouched down and protectively placed himself in front of Summer. "I don't know, but I saw no forms of highly combustible material within the limits of the town. Someone has brought explosives."

Lyric strained his eyes as he peered through the many tree trunks at the town in the distance. His heart skipped the beat as he saw smoke. But this was not chimney smoke. The smoke cloud he saw rising from the distance was colossal, thick, and pure black. It was from a fire consuming one, if not many, village houses. They town was under attack. Another explosion ripped through the early-morning air.

"The town is in trouble!" cried Summer, "We must go to help them!"

She tried to gallop forward, but Lyric stopped her. "We cannot just run out to help them. In fact, we should be running the other way!"

Summer turned her sightless eyes aside to look at him. They were full of fear. "We can't! We have to help them!"

Lyric bit his cold and stiff bottom lip until it bled. He had never been one for confrontations, and he generally avoided putting himself into life-endangering scenarios, even when sentient lives were at risk. However, Summer was willingly throwing herself into the fray to protect those who had been kind to her. Should he do the same?

Finally, Lyric sighed and shook his head. "No. We can't."

"What?!" exclaimed Summer, he ears pressing tightly against the sides of her skull, "We have to! It is the right thing to do!"

"No!" said Lyric harshly, roughly grabbing Summer's left shoulder, "Do you know what the definition of a hero is? It is someone who gets other people killed. Or, in this case, me, you, and anyone else you try to help."

Summer's sightless eyes continued to dart around in a frenzy as the intervals between explosions shortened. Finally she snapped, "Okay! Okay! We'll go!"

Lyric nodded decisively. "Good. Follow my voice." He let go of her shoulder and turned around. He began to gallop, but then stopped, deciding that it would be best to guide Summer by hoof. He turned around to ask her if he could take one of her hoofs when he realized she was gone. She had somehow run off in the direction of the town.

Initially Lyric considered flat-out leaving her behind. Her running into danger was technically suicide, and out of his jurisdiction. He was totally justified in letting her seal her own end… right? However, after a moment more consideration, he decided that he simply could not. Just as he had thought about it the night before, he know that he could not live without her. He needed her now, just as he needed food, water, and sleep.

Steeling himself, Lyric pushed past the treacherous part of his mind screaming for him to abandon her to her death and let him save himself and went into rescue-mode. Crouching low, he crept forward, his sharp eyesight raking his surroundings for hostiles.

Smoke now blocked out what little sunlight had been streaming through eastern mountain range of the early day and the skyline was blood red. Under the cover of the newly cast darkness, Lyric continued to work his way forward through the forest back to the little cottage that they had stayed in. As he continued to move forward, he caught a glimpse of Summer. She was simply standing at the fringe of the forest. She had stopped running.

Now knowing that she had not charged head-long into the town, Lyric let out a long sigh of relief and rushed forward. However, what he saw in front of her as he approached gave him pause: the little cottage that they had called home for a day was in flames, and the family that had taken them in was strewn out in front, gutted, maimed, and dismembered.

Lyric felt bile rising in his throat as he laid eyes on the gruesome sight, but he pushed it down. He picked up the pace once more and reached Summer's side in a heartbeat.

Her eyes were watering and her straggly mane was sweeping around her face in the icy wind. Long strands covered her face partially as she stood there… looking off into space.

Lyric looked at her in concern. She could not see the scene before her, but it seemed that she was able to sense that death had visited before her.

"They're gone," she whispered, more to herself than to Lyric, "They're gone, everypony is gone. The whole village…"

Lyric looked behind the cottage and saw the rest of the village. It too was in flames. Heavily armed ponies were running down the villagers, gutting them with machetes and obliterating them with machine guns and pistols. For a moment Lyric felt an uncontrollable rage towards the attacks as he recognized the terrorists. He knew of them. He knew of their atrocious acts. However, the anger was immediately quenched and replaced with fear as a single terrorist turned his head… and spotted him. Pointing a hoof, the enemy shouted something, and began to hobble towards him.

Throat catching in fear, Lyric stumbled backwards as he gasped, "Summer! We need to run!"

Summer was now in too much shock to protest. Her face still frozen in pure horror and fear, she meekly held out a hoof. Lyric seized it and began to tug her along. They vanished into the level-field pine forest in an instant. They were well into it when the terrorist group arrived at the fringes.

"I saw them," hissed one, "They disappeared into the forest. We should chase after them."

The one that looked to be the leader shook his head lazily as he drawled, "No need. Snow Dozer? Grab the Gatling gun. Remember how Crate Frost was complaining about all the extra ammo he was having to carry around for that weapon? It is time we used up the surplus in a creative way. This is a level-field forest. We simply sweep forty-five degrees in both directions twice, and those refugees will be as dead as doornails."

The terrorists began to set to work immediately. Summer and Lyric may have outrun them, but they could not outrun the high-caliber Gatling gun.

Back in the forest, both Lyric and Summer were hard pressed to keep from falling over in the deep snow that covered the ground. As they continued to run, Summer gasped out, "Lyric… who… were… they…?"

Lyric gasped for breath for a moment before answering. "They are called Trixie's Hoof. They are a high-tech terrorist group. They have it all, wealth, weapons, and supplies. They are highly-equipped and highly-dangerous."

"Trixie's… Hoof…?" said Summer between breaths, "If… they are so… wealthy… than why… are they doing this…?"

Lyric shook his head, and took another moment to gasp in a few more breaths before replying. "Because they can! Trixie and her gang of lunatics do it because it is fun. Even the Stallion Empire cannot stand up to them. I once heard that Trixie and one of her trusted friends managed to steal a jetfighter right out of a Stallion Empire army base some years ago! They are unstoppable, and they know it. So they kill 'cause it's fun."

Summer suddenly stiffened and stopped running. Lyric almost tripped as he came to a sudden stop as well. He turned to her with worry and panic radiating from his eyes. "What is it?"

Summer's eyes darted around, and her breathing became heavy. "I… I don't know. I hear a clicking. Now a rattling. Now it sounds like an engine is being gunned up… but it is kind of muffled. Now I hear something that sounds like a chain being rattled on the ground. Now I hear more clicking. Now I hear gruff voices. They are talking... Who is Miss Peashooter?"

Lyric's heart sank to the pits of his stomach. He had heard stories about Miss Peashooter. It was a long-range, high-caliber, vehicle-mounted Gatling gun that was capable of mowing down an entire forest. Now some cruel twist of fate had landed them on the receiving end of such a terrible weapon of destruction. Probably because someone in the Trixie's Hoof gang had been bored enough.

For a moment, Lyric simply stood there. That was all he could do. After all, they were technically walking dead ponies now. However, Summer's voice brought him jolting back into reality.

"Lyric?" she said meekly and softly, "What are we going to do?"

Lyric opened his mouth, and shouted the only thing he could think of: "Summer! Get down!"

He shoved her to the ground and leapt upon her, covering her with his form, hoping to protect her. Then Miss Peashooter activated.

A throbbing, rattling roar filled the sky and echoed for kilometers out as the Gatling gun began to fire. Massive steel spikes choked the air as the gun blasted away. Splinters, twigs, branches, and even trees exploded forth as the gun shattered the forest. Soon massive pines were listing at awkward angles and falling to the earth with crackling explosions as Miss Peashooter unleashed a relentless flow of death. Summer screamed at the top of her lungs as the cacophony grew to unbearable levers. Cracks, snaps, blasts, and explosions, accompanied by the endless rattle of the Gatling gun drowned out anything else.

Lyric could think of nothing else but to hug the screaming Summer tighter to his body, trying to not scream out in pain as well as the cacophony grew to beyond intense levels. Then… something very heavy smashed into the back of his skull and everything went black.

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><p><strong>Note: As Austin pointed out in a review earlier, it had appeared that Summer and Lyric had little to do with my current story line. I must admit that I was a little unsure how I was going to connect the two in the first place, but now I am sure I have it all set out! Now give me reviews! Lots and lots of reviews! If you give me a review... Um... Huh... I think I've run out of things to trade. I guess I will have to look around for something...<strong>


	108. Chapter 108 - Shocking Surprise

**Note: I made it to 300 reviews! Yes! I would like to thank all of you for your awesome support! I have really appreciated it all. To Lankore, I would like to say that I am glad you really enjoy my parts with Lyric and Summer. I personally enjoy writing about them far more that anything else. And thank you too, PBJNachos, 1st Dragon King, FocusedStream, Austin, TFJ, Elly, kp, falloutman33, Order of the Bronies, and everyone who reads this story. Thank you all! Alright, moving on...**

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><p><em>Dimension: The Deep Coal Cellar<em>

_Planet: The Black Expanse_

_Specific Location: A dozen kilometers out from the main jail fortress_

_Time: Twenty-two years after the death of the Paradox, three days since the beginning of the new adventure_

August looked around. He was in a small room with no windows or doors. The walls were obsidian black, and were completely smooth. August slowly reached down for his Inquisition Blaster. No matter the obstacle, he knew the blaster could shoot through it. It wasn't there. Panic now rising in his chest, August quickly slapped a hand to his right shoulder. The shoulder pad of Blue was no longer there either.

August was on the edge of hysterics now, but he managed to pull himself away from the precipice, telling himself that this was nothing but a vision. Slowly he became aware of a pair of eyes looking at him. Tensing himself, August turned himself around to look at whatever was gazing at him. It was a pony, a female Pegasus.

August rubbed his eyes in surprise. Whatever was a Pegasus doing here? He most certainly did not recognize her. This Pegasus was in suspended animation, her eyes tightly shut. August opened his mouth to call out to her.

Suddenly an image flashed before him. It had only flashed before him for a second, but it had felt very real, as if he had been teleported to another time and land in an instant. August blinked again. The image and the sensation had passed too fast for him to register what had happened. He turned his attention to the trapped Pegasus once more when another image flashed before him… then another… then another. As the intervals between the images came closer together, he began to realize what was going on in those flashes of alternate reality.

He was Blue. Standing tall beside him was Sunflower on his left and Dark on his right. The three of them had their hand-to-hand weapons out (Blue's longsword, Sunflower's elbow blade, and Dark's hatchet) and they were smashing down a sea of Maelstrom-corrupted humans. The shrieking of the monstrosities before them was tremendous, and the bodies of the fallen piled high above their heads around them. But they could not stop fighting. Not now… not ever… never…

"AUGUST!"

August was sharply dragged from his horrific, uncanny vision by a shout from Gene. He was back in the void dimension where the Deep Coal Center was positioned. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a sea of black liquid. The sky was also pitch black, and the only light seemed to be an eerie orange that emanated from everywhere. Sharp (and black-colored) rocks jutted out once and a while, breaking the smooth, rippling surface of the endless ocean of darkness. It was one of those jutting rocks that they were standing on as Gene pulled August out of his vision.

August slowly lay a hand on his hip, feeling the Inquisition Blaster by his side. He was back in reality. As he slowly wiped some sweat from his brow, he said, "I'm sorry. What happened?"

Jefferson rolled his eyes. "You entered the portal and then froze like you were in a trance. Obviously. So, tell us, what did you see? Did it have something pertaining to breaking into THAT?"

With that, Jefferson swept off his hat and flourished it off to his right. August turned his head to look in the same direction, and he saw the Deep Coal Cellar.

It was a massive building, about the ninety times larger than the Pentagon, and the ten times the height of the One World Trade Center. It was a sheer mass of pitch-black metal, with turrets, missile launchers, pitfalls, and robot guards everywhere. However, that was not the most unnerving part.

The most unnerving part was the lack of light and sound. The building just sat in black sea. There were no searchlights, no high-powered flashlights, nothing. Additionally, the silence was absolute.

Since it was so quiet, August felt somehow obligated to whisper as he said, "Why is it so quiet?"

Jefferson shrugged, then whispered back, "Probably because the whole thing is automated. The mechs guarding this place have little need of visual stimulation, since they simply shoot whatever has a life-signature."

"But… but how will they know if it is a high-level official visiting the prison?" asked August in hushed tones.

"From what Doxia told me… NO ONE visits the Deep Coal Cellar. You send a prisoner here, and they are gone forever. Orion is the only one to have ever escaped," replied Gene.

"So basically you cannot visit here, then," repeated August.

"That's pretty much right," said Gene, "Doxia actually said he had to break IN once to set up some additional security devices."

August facepalmed. After a moment of doing that, he slowly dragged his palm down his face. Then he muttered, "Great. So, does anyone know of the defenses here?"

Jefferson slowly stroked his chin. "Actually, I have some useful information."

August and Gene turned to look at him. Jefferson grinned, "A couple of years ago I talked to the Dimensional Lord who was warden of the outer-ring of this place. His name was Robert. Weird name for a Dimensional Lord, right? Well, anyway, he told me that there is a single place that in under-guarded. Follow me."

Jefferson reached into his waistcoat pocket and pulled out a strange device. It looked like a detached bicycle handle. Jefferson held it in front of him and squeezed it. Beams of blue solid-looking light lanced out of both ends. The beams intertwined into a chassis of light and then solidified into energy hang glider that was glowing blue. When August looked at Jefferson in interest, he simply said, "I got for some work I did in the Tron dimension. It suits me."

August nodded wordlessly. He then turned to Gene and whispered, "I can't fly! I don't know how!"

Gene rolled his eyes, "Just jump. As you are falling, 'will' yourself to fly. It works every time. It is kind of like riding a bicycle. You will get the hang of it in an instant."

August shook his head and took a step back. "I can't. I will get dashed against the rocks."

Gene snorted. "No. This jutting rock we are standing on now has a flat face. It is smooth all the way down. Come and see."

August barely managed to suppress a "gulp" of fear as he timidly approached Gene. He then looked over the edge. There were sharp stones sticking out every which way on the rock face (like a thorn bush), nothing at all like what Gene had just described to him. In a moment August realized it had been nothing but a ploy to get him to stand near the edge. He tried to jerk back, but Gene shoved him over the edge.

It took every bit of his willpower to keep himself from screaming, but he managed to suppress his cries of horror as he toppled over the edge, narrowly missing the sharp stones sticking out of the rock face. He shut his eyes tight as he tumbled towards the smooth surface of the black lake.

However, despite the fact that he had braced himself for impact, the said impact never came. August opened his eyes a crack, and then realized he was floating just above the ocean of darkness. He was hovering.

Taking a deep breath, he got a hold of his senses and began to slowly maneuver himself through the air. It was like he was a puppet, but he could operate the strings to make him fly as opposed to the strings operating him. And, as Gene said, it was slightly like riding a bicycle where he got the hang of it in a moment.

Gene floated down beside him as Jefferson continued to watch from the top of the jutting rock, Tron Hang Glider in hand.

"See?" said Gene, trying to sound soothing and apologetic, "Nothing too it."

August snorted. "I am not going to talk to you for at least another thirty minutes."

Gene rolled his eyes again. "Fine, August, be that way. Hey! Jefferson! Let's go!"

Jefferson nodded wordlessly and leapt from the top of the rock structure. He skimmed lightly over the black ocean before he gained altitude once more and drifted towards the Fortress Jail of the Deep Coal Cellar at high speeds.

Gene motioned for August to follow him, and the two began to trail Jefferson.

As they flew through the air, August turned his head slightly to give Gene a side-long glance. As he did that, he said, "Gene? Could I tell you something?"

Gene chuckled. "What? I thought you were not going to talk to me for at least another thirty minutes. Twenty-five now."

"I changed my mind. I need to tell you about my vision."

"I am listening."

"Well, I was in this small room. It had no doors and no windows. It was simply blank. As I dwelled there, I noticed a pony. She was a purple Pegasus from the My Little Pony Dimension. She seemed to be stuck in some kind of suspended animation. Anyway, as I looked at her, I suddenly became immersed in another dream. It was like a dream of a dream. Anyway, in this new reality I was Blue, and I was with Sunflower and Dark. We were fighting what looked like the Maelstrom from 500 Billion Years ago. The fighting got really intense. Then… I woke up."

"That is unusual."

"I know. I have a question: Why do I keep having visions of just Blue? I mean, I am a Detector, right? My DNA is attached to all the Inquisitors. Sure, I am tracking Blue down, but I don't think it is natural that I feel connected to him. It doesn't feel right. And now his armor is beginning to attach to me. What is going on?"

"I cannot tell you anything about why you are having visions about Blue, because I don't know; however, remember that you are a Detector. I believe that means you form some mental bond or something with your target to ensure ease in finding them. Since you are after Blue, I am guessing that it is normal that you feel a connection. After all, it is making it easier to follow his footsteps. I guess."

"You guess?"

"Yeah, I am just making a well educated guess."

Just ahead of August and Gene, Jefferson was eavesdropping on their conversation. As they talked, he formed his own idea of what was going on, and it intrigued him. He began to wonder if he should go ahead and tell them his theory, but then he opted not to. Information was power, and he did not trust either of them. Thus, it only made sense if he gathered as much power as he could.

At this time, the three began to draw near the fortress. Jefferson bit his bottom lip as he pulled a sharp turn and began to skim to the right. Robert the Warden had told him that there were several hundred layers of invisible anti-existence energy shields surrounding the place. One touch and he (and everything in a kilometer radius) would be reduced to less than ashes. Signaling for August and Gene to stay right on his tail, Jefferson gained more altitude as he began to scope out the locating Robert had told him had a hole in the shielding. It was a little smaller than a manhole, so he was going to have to time his entrance just right.

After raking his surroundings with a seasoned eye, he finally located the area. It looked like blank space to the average eye, but his correspondent Robert the Warden had made it very clear that that was the spot he was to enter in by. Taking a deep breath, Jefferson glided by it, swung around, and dove straight through, deactivating his Tron Hang Glider a second before he flew through. The hang glider deactivated and folded in on itself (narrowly missing the edges of the invisible shielding breach) and Jefferson shot through the air on momentum only. As he fell, he violently signaled Gene and August to catch him. Gene and August then shot through the invisible breach themselves and dove towards him. They grabbed him (with Gene seizing his right arm and August grabbing his left) in the nick of time, his feet not even skimming the surface of the black ocean. Up above, a lone mech stood, looking off to its left. It had yet to see them.

They flew up to the sheer wall of the fortress and hovered in front of it.

Jefferson then opened a telepathic link with August and Gene.

"Don't talk," he said over the link, "The mechs are sensitive to sound. In fact, do as little thinking as you can as well. There are clusters of arrays set up everywhere that can detect brainwaves. Now, listen carefully. Exactly two meters and a half meters to my left is a hidden hatch made by Doxia to allow Dimensional Lords access to the inner workings without having to fight their way through the first line of defense. DO NOT touch the walls. If you do, you will be vaporized by the super-energy-charged masonry."

August nodded to Gene, and they eased Jefferson to the left. Jefferson held up a hand, signaling for them to stop, and then pointed. As he did so, he said telepathically, "Right ahead is the hatch. Now we need August to place his palm on the wall."

"ME?!" exclaimed August over the link, "Why me?!"

"The device is designed to recognize… um… armor. You touch it, it will see that you are wearing Blue's armor, and it will let us all in," replied Jefferson, doing his best to sound convincing.

Gene was not convinced. "Why would it scan armor and not DNA? Surely it is safer to do DNA."

Jefferson rolled his eyes as he replied telepathically, "Maybe, but who knows what went through the head of Doxia as he made this hatch. And, anyway, the armor of a Dimensional Lord is pretty much like his DNA. The armor is a part of him. Blue is the highest-ranking Inquisition soldier there is, so surely this hatch will also accept him. Now do it. Gene, could you please readjust my hat?"

August suppressed yet another "gulp" of apprehension as the three drifted closer to the wall and he extended his hand. "I guess we're going to find out," he said through the link.

He laid a hand on the wall. Sparks of dull blue and green energy exploded from the wall and danced around his fingertips. The sparks were gone as abruptly as they came, and there was a pause.

Then, without the slightest noise, the hatch opened.

August and Gene, still carrying Jefferson, drifted inside. They then gently set Jefferson down as they landed in the hallway. It was pitch black inside, and the passage seemed to drift deep inside the fortress.

At that very moment, August was struck with another vision. It was Blue once more. He was slowly walking through the hallway. He walked to the end and then turned right. At that very moment, a security mech leapt out at him with a robotic hiss. The metallic monstrosity looked like a cross between a grasshopper and a praying mantis. It turned its metallic praying mantis head towards Blue and shot towards him with blinding speed. Not even a Dimensional Lord could block the speed with which it attacked. But Blue was not a Dimensional Lord, he was an Inquisitor.

Blue ducked under the serrated limbs of the security mech and flipped over it on the other side. As he was airborne, he pulled out his Inquisition Blaster. He landed on the mech's back and he seized the head. He then viciously forced the gun down the robots throat and fired twice. The whole machine twitched and shook as the gun shredded it. All that was left was half of the robot's face, which Blue hurled against the wall, hard. The hunk of metal struck the surface and sizzled and exploded. Blue then slowly turned and strolled down the hallway once more.

With that, August was pulled back into reality. He almost cried out in surprise from the jolt, but Jefferson had covered his mouth as a precaution.

"What did you see?" said Gene over a telepathic link.

"I saw where we go next. I do not know where Blue hid the armor yet, but I know the first step. Follow me," replied August, still a little shaken.

The three stealthily crept down the hall until they reach a fork in the road. Jefferson quickly picked it up and put it in his pocket as they strolled by. When August gave him a curious look, Jefferson shrugged.

"It was probably left here by Doxia as a joke. A souvenir, if you will. Let's keep moving," he said.

August nodded and they kept moving. A couple minutes later, they arrived at a real fork in the road.

"Left or right?" asked Gene.

August pointed to the right passageway. The three turned the corner and strolled off. Almost a moment after they set foot in the passage, they were assaulted by a mech, just like what had happened to Blue. Apparently the passageway intersected a local patrol route.

Hissing, the machine immediately turned on them and attack with blurring speed. Under normal circumstances, all three of them would have been dead in a nanosecond, but something happened to stop their immediate deaths.

As the machine lunged at the trio, August stiffened. Then he suddenly turned his right shoulder to the attacking grasshopper/praying mantis hybrid robot and slammed it into its face. The mech skidded backwards, recovered, and attacked again. August dove under the machine, leapt up, flipped in the air and landed on the back of the machine in a mirror move to what he had seen Blue do not minutes before.

Whipping out his Inquisition Blaster, August pressed it to the robot throat and fired, decapitating it. He then kicked away the body and shot it four times. The mass of metal disintegrating into pure nothing, leaving only its head behind in August's hand.

August then abruptly threw the decapitated head to the ground and viciously ground it to dust beneath his heal.

Gene gaped. "August…? Are you okay?"

August whirled at the sound of Gene's hushed voice and pointed the gun straight at Gene's face. There was a long pause, then, suddenly, August stiffened once more and then relaxed. Slowly falling to his knees, he dropped his weapon and rubbed his eyes.

After a moment of doing that, he slowly got up again and said, out loud, "Ugh… What happened? I mean, what did I do? I could see what was happening, but I could do nothing. It was like watching my own body through a TV screen. That was horrible…"

Jefferson snorted. "It depends on your definition of horrible. A little unorthodox, yes; a little violent, yes; but most importantly it was effective to the extreme. Now we should resume communicating over the link and get a move-on, the alarm will be raised any minute now.

Jefferson then proceeded to stroll down the hallway. August turned to follow him, but Gene placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What is it Gene?" asked August over a telepathic link.

"What you did a moment ago… you had no control?"

"No. I would never have been able to do that myself. The moment that mech appeared, my mind fell into a haze and I got this disembodied feeling. Then the rest was a blur."

"That is good. What you did after the defeat of that mech was rather… frightening. Was Blue really that brutal?"

"I… I don't know. I just don't know. Please, let's keep moving." August turned off the link and looked away. Then he began to follow Jefferson.

Gene eyed August worriedly, but did not attempt to press his friend any further. It was obvious that August was shaken up, but there was not much he could do to help at this time.

Jefferson slowed his pace to allow August to catch up, then he said, over a link, "That was fairly amazing, I must say. Could you shave off a little time in your schedule to teach me to fight like that?"

August shook his head. "Even if I knew how to, I wouldn't. From what I have felt, that was one of Blue's signature moves… that means… that means he did that on humans too. I…"

August's mental train trailed off and went silent. Something ahead triggered yet another memory encoded in his brain.

August found himself following Blue once more. Blue was strolling down the hallway that they were now standing in. As he walked, he slowly detached his arm armor, his metallic gauntlet folding back and compressing itself into the metal. Blue then held it up to his face, and then tossed it down. Just like that, he discarded it. Then he opened a portal and left.

In a moment August snapped out of the vision. He blinked. Why had Blue just thrown the armor down like that? Had he not been interesting in fighting past any more security precautions in order to hide his armor more thoroughly? Had he been on some sort of timetable? No matter, the hiding place of the armor had been located, and it was just ahead.

Heart beating fast in excitement, August motioned vehemently for Jefferson and Gene to follow them. He quickly rushed ahead. And there it was: another piece of Blue's armor, lying on the ground as if it had been dropped not the day before.

Jefferson was grinning greedily, but refrained from attempting to touch the armor as August crouched down to inspect it. After a moment of hesitation, he touched it.

A small spark fizzled from the contact point, and the armor leapt to life. It jumped in the air and firmly snapped onto August's right arm. The metal gauntlet unfolded and detached itself from the arm armor and slithered around August's fist. His whole right arm (from shoulder to fingertip) was surrounded by Blue's armor.

"Well now, are you SURE you're not related to Blue?" snorted Jefferson over another link, "Because his armor sure as hell likes you."

August shook his head as he inadvertently scrabbled to rip the metal off of his flesh. "No! I don't know who Blue is or why this is happening to me. Maybe Doxia can explain. Yeah… We have to find Doxia!"

"Good idea," interjected Gene, "But first let's get out of here, posthaste."

Jefferson rolled his eyes and took off his top hat. He tossed it into the air. "Please. What's the rush? We have only run into one guard. I am really unimpressed by this place as a whole. Why are there not more guards?"

In response, a disembodied voice echoed out from behind them. "That is simple: I kept them from you until the right moment."

The trio whirled to face the source of the voice, which resonated from behind them. It was Orion. Behind him was ten of the anti-Dimensional-Lord security mechs.

August whipped out his gun, but his hand began to shake in fear. His voice also reflected his terror as he said, out loud, "B-but… you're Orion the Traitor! You were an inmate here! How is it that these things work for you?!"

Orion polished his right fist on his chest as he said, "Oh, I have friends in high places. So high, in fact, that they could show me how to reprogram this whole facility. Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. I am just going to ask my new friends to give you a hug and then skip out of here. Eh... Just kidding."

With that, Orion snapped a finger and then pointed it at the trio. "Security mechs… kill them."

The ten robots shrieked in response and rushed the three. August, Gene, and Jefferson just stood there, watching as the wall of death swept around Orion and barreled toward them. Then, August snapped.

Just as he had lost control when the first robot had attacked, the haze surrounded his mind once more and he lost himself.

Pulling out his Inquisition Blaster, August rushed headlong into the ten robots as Gene and Jefferson looked on in awe.

August collided with the first robot, smashing his right shoulder pad into its face. Seizing its neck, he swung over it, ripping its throat open and emptying a shell into the breach, causing it to explode. He landed on the head of the second oncoming enemy. Twisting over it, he slid across its back without even looked. He dove off of it (shooting it in the stomach as he moved) and slid under the third. He fired two shells into its abdomen as he passed by. The whole thing went up in flames as August leapt up, smoke and flames streaming from his armor. The fourth robot screamed as it lunged with superspeed. August deftly side-stepped it and used its own momentum to shove it into the passageway wall. The robot disintegrated as the deadly wall fired off lances of power into the contact point. The fifth robot and the sixth robot leapt over the dead body of the fourth and attempted to perform a pincer movement to out maneuver him, but August could not be stopped. As the two arrived at opposite sides to crush him between them, he jumped and slammed a foot against a wall. The wall immediately responded by firing an energy bolt at him. Time seemed to slow down as the lancing bolt of power seared through the air. Moving faster than even that bolt of power, August grabbed the nearest enemy (the fifth robot) and shoved it in front of him. The bolt struck the robot and blasted it straight back, directly into the sixth robot. This sent them both into the opposite wall. They were both disintegrated immediately. As this was going on, the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth robot was charging a massive blast of power from their shoulder-mounted cannons. As August straightened up, the monstrous machines fired. August had no time to dodge, but he did have time to turn his shoulder. The massive wave of energy beams collided with the shoulder pad and arm armor of Blue and exploded. The shockwave caused the walls to crack and crumble, and the floor to explode upwards in a tidal wave of steel splinters. August, feet firmly planted on the ground, slid at least a dozen meters backwards from the shockwave, but he was completely fine. August straightened up and then checked his Inquisition blaster. Then he deftly pointed it and fired four shots, each striking the last four enemies in their chests, killing them all.

There was a long pause as Orion, Gene, and Jefferson looked over August's handiwork: ten dead security mechs designed to specifically kill Dimensional Lords, the most powerful beings in the multiverse.

Orion cleared his throat. "That was interesting. I must commend you on your skill, Blue. Oh, I'm sorry, your name is August, right?"

August whirled and fired two shots at Orion. He acted so fast that the corrupted Dimensional Lord could do nothing to dodge the attacks. Two deadly Inquisition Blaster shells blew holes in his left arm and right leg, dropping him in a second.

"August!" yelled Gene, "What the hell are you doing?"

August simply fired a shot off at Gene's feet. The explosion knocked him backwards, keeping him from interfering.

August then strolled up to Orion and pointed his gun at his face.

Orion simply grinned. "I've been here before. You know, with Blue pointing a gun in my face and all. I must tell you, I am quite surprised. You have shown the brutality and viciousness signature of the John 3 Chapter. You do realize that is why they were so effective, right? Come on, pull the trigger. Kill me. Finally you will be like Blue. That is who you are aspiring to be, right? Blue, the leader of the most powerful Inquisition Chapter. The most brutal, violent, murderous good guy of them all."

There was a pause, then August contorted and twisted, as if his body was fighting against itself. Then August dropped his gun.

Breathing hard, August then hissed, "I… am not… Blue. I… am… a… hero."

Orion looked curiously at August. "A hero, eh? Huh. Unusual. Well, I have what I came for. Goodbye."

With that, Orion opened a portal. Still on his knees, the traitorous Dimensional Lord hobbled through and vanished.

Still shaking with shock, August picked up his gun and attached it to his hip. He then turned to Jefferson and Gene.

Jefferson was grinning ear to ear, but Gene's face was the picture of concern.

"Gene… are… are you okay?" breathed August, "I saw what Blue… I mean… I saw what I did."

Gene nodded. "I am fine. The greater question is are YOU okay?"

August nodded. "I am fine. But, please, you both have to be honest with me. Have I… have I become Blue?"

Jefferson twirled his hat at the end of his finger. "I can wholeheartedly say yes! Like usual, I have been withholding information from you. Both the entrance to this secret passageway and the Phantom Device that cloaked this dimension were designed to scan DNA, not armor. It is confirmed. You ARE Inquisitor Blue."

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><p><strong>Note: I am sure some of you saw this coming. It only made sense. However, the question to ponder now is whether or not Blue was actually a good guy, and how August can possibly be Blue. Your thoughts? Anyway, give me reviews please! You give me reviews, and I will give you a cupcake of your choosing. Why cupcakes? Because I ran out of other stuff for the moment. Please stand by. But do not stand too close. It makes me nervous. Several kilometers should do it.<strong>


	109. Chapter 109 - Love Revealed

**Note: Happy Canada Day! Great things involving maple syrup will happen today, eh? Anyway, I threw together this chapter at the last minute when I realized that I needed a Flashback chapter today. However, I believe it still meets my standards of writing. Enjoy!**

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><p><span>Flashbacks: Love Revealed<span>

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: A couple of months after the death of the Paradox_

Twilight stormed through Ponyville in high dudgeon. It was unusual to see the purple alicorn in such a mood, but it did happen, and when it did, everypony knew that is was best to steer clear of her. And thus, the randomly picked path of stomping and snorting that Twilight had chosen was conveniently clear as she aimlessly tried to walk off her anger. After a bit more of storming, she finally sat down on a brightly painted bench next to a small rose bush.

She leaned against the back of the bench, much like Lyra did, and blew out a long breath. She began to try and calm herself down when she stiffened and glanced at the rose bush. Had it just… moved?

She shrugged off her suspicion and tried to calm herself again. And once again, the corner of her eye caught movement inside the rose bush. Eying it angrily, thinking it was one or two of the Cutie Mark Crusaders lying in wait, Twilight leaned forward to yell at them, but then she was stopped by someone.

This someone was Doxia. Unlike mostly everyone else, he was not even closed to being scared of her (which was a first, since even Flaming Star steered clear of her when she was mad), and he walked straight up to her and flopped down on the bench, covering most of it with his massive size.

Twilight blinked and looked at Doxia with an air of interest. He was covered in gooey candied cherry mush and pie crusts. In fact, it looked like he had been in a pie fight.

"Er… what have you been doing?" said Twilight, forgetting her anger for a moment.

Doxia chuckled. "Oh, I was having a pie-eating contest with the Cutie Mark Crusaders at the apple family farm."

Twilight cocked her head to one side. So, the CMC had an alibi. But then who had been moving the rose bush? It didn't matter now, she supposed. "Oh," she said, "But… you never eat, so how did you expect to even come close to winning?"

"I didn't!" Doxia laughed, "But Apple Bloom asked, and I couldn't say know. Geez, I love those fillies. They bring light to a sometimes dark and gloomy multiverse."

At the word "love," Twilight blew out another drawn-out breath. Doxia glanced over at her and said, "Something ales you, mate?"

Twilight nodded her head. "I suppose so."

"Well, as Finnian Jones always says," stated Doxia, "If you have troubles, it always helps to tell your troubles to someone who cares."

Twilight looked up at Doxia, her eyes sparkling with a couple tears. "Do you… do you care for me?"

Doxia put a hand on his chest in mock surprise. "What?! I'm Doxia! The one who saved you from Pictor and the Paradox. Granted I could never care for you as much as Flaming Star does, but I still love you like a sister. Hit me up with your troubles, pal, I can take it."

Twilight drew in a breath, held it for a moment, and then exhaled. Then she said, "It's about Flaming Star."

Immediately Doxia's tone of voice filled with tense concern. "What is it? Is everything okay between you two? Can I help?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, nothing is bad between us. It's just that we've been married for over two months now, and he still is terrified to even talk about having a foal."

Doxia nodded his head sagely. "Ahhh… The children problem. Well, Twilight, there is not much you can really do about that. Having a child is a huge commitment. It's not just one steamy night of pleasure, this is long-term commitment, patience, and sacrifice you are going for. Judging from Flaming Star's consistent reactions, I believe he understands that commitment to such an extent that he is terrified. I am guessing he does not think he's ready to be a father. Tell me… are you ready to be a mother?"

Twilight looked down at her hooves. "I-I-I guess…"

Doxia chuckled. "You cannot be guessing. You have to KNOW. If you want to enjoy sacred pleasures that come with marriage, then sure, go ahead, I am sure Flaming Star would not be averse to that. But having a foal is a whole new level, and that is why there cannot be guessing."

Twilight looked at Doxia with wondering eyes. "I really appreciate your insight, Doxia… but, no offense, how do you know anything about love?"

Doxia sighed. "I was married… once. Her name was Allison. She died a while ago. Nevertheless, she taught me more about commitment than anyone, even though our relationship never reached the level you are not at."

Twilight immediately regretted pressing that far. She looked down at her hooves again and said, "I'm so sorry."

Doxia attempted to brighten the mood again. "Ah, don't worry about it, kid. You worry about your own life. Back to the matter at hand… or hoof… or whatever. Anyway, I think you should really have a deep conversation with your husband about the commitment first, before you talk about the acts. When you can show him that you are fully able to shoulder your side of the responsibilities as a mother, mayhap Flaming Star will see that you are fully ready. Seeing someone else without fear will most certainly help him dispel his own doubts and fears."

Twilight brightened, and her eyes filled with determination. "Okay. I understand. Thank you, Doxia!"

Doxia patted one of her hoofs gently. "Anytime, kid. Now I suggest you go over to Sunset and Fluttershy's house. Sunset is making his famous lemonade, and if you get there first, you might be able to have two servings before the rest of Equestria comes and drains his lemonade reserves dry."

Twilight wiped away a tear and smiled. "Okay. Thank you again."

She got up and trotted away from the bench in a much better mood than when she had first arrived.

Doxia stretched and settled down on the bench as she rounded a corner. As soon as he was sure she was out of earshot, Doxia said out loud, "You know, Flaming Star, rose bushes don't generally breathe. Did you seriously make a mouth for your bush?"

The rose bush shimmered and transformed back into Flaming Star. His face was bright red from embarrassment.

"Hey… look… I'm sorry for getting you into that," he mumbled.

Doxia shook his head. "Look, Abimael, don't apologize to me. Apologize to your wife. I mean, seriously, can you NOT see how devoted she is? She is a beautiful mare with an understanding of responsibility to those she loves and cares for. Of course she is young and inexperienced, but that is part of the adventure of being a young couple. If you can't see the joy that is waiting for you over the horizon, than I suggest you pray to God that I don't turn you into a gerbil, because you are hurting Twilight deeply by your cowardice, and it is really starting to tick me off."

"I… I can't!" burst out Flaming Star, "I don't know what to think! And the problem is on so many levels! My heart already speeds up tenfold when she insists that I touch her belly or leg! If I went any more intimate than that… I would have a heart attack! And what if I'm a terrible father? What if I screw up my child's life with my past mistakes? There are way too many things that could go wrong that could potentially destroy my, Twilight, and our child's life!"

"Woah… Slow down there Speed Racer," said Doxia, now trying to sound soothing, "I see now that you really have a lot of doubt stocked up in that head of yours… but you really need to understand that you might end up destroying you, Twilight's, and your unborn child's life if you DON'T get a grip on yourself. Look, I understand that you might not want a child, and I am sure there are couples out there that don't have kids, but I am sure that there has never been a whole family when one parent want the ultimate gift that can be given to oneself, and one parent doesn't. Anyway, I've learned from experience that when your wife wants one thing, and you want something else, you both compromise and do what she wants anyway. Unless its beer and American Football. In that case you need to draw up your manliness reserves and make a stand."

Flaming Star sighed. "I just can't force myself to stop being scared. I can't get rid of the terrible thoughts of what could go wrong!"

"And that there is a fight you are going to have to fight, partner," replied Doxia, "But you're not going to have to fight it alone. It is a major commitment, and I am glad you see it, but now is the time to stand up to your fears. Are you going to march up to Twilight and tell her that you simply cannot have a foal, or are you going to tell her that you are ready to take the next step?! Are you ready? Let's do this! FOR NARNIA AND THE NORTH! REEEDDWWAALLLLL! FOR PONY! RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!"

Doxia leapt up, ran off a couple of meters, stopped, turned around, and looked at Flaming Star.

Flaming Star was looking off into space, thinking hard. "I don't know… I guess I need to think about it."

Doxia grabbed Flaming Star and hauled him to all fours. "Yeah, great. You can think about it after you get your sorry rump over to Susnet's house. Twilight is there. You go there, you apologize, you promise to not transform into a plant, couch, or Rubik's cube again, and then you have a long, intensive talk with your loving wife."

Flaming Star sighed, but then straightened up. "You're right," he said, "It is time I got a hold of myself."

Doxia nodded. "That's right! Come on! I haven't got all century!"

Doxia and Flaming Star strolled off to Sunset's house. Already a large group of ponies had gathered around on the porch, drinking Sunset's famous lemonade. Twilight was sitting with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.

Flaming Star trotted up to Twilight and said, "H-hey Twilight… Could I talk to you about something?"

Twilight stuck her muzzle in the air and turned pointedly around. Fluttershy winced.

"OOOOHHHH BUURRNNNNN!" exclaimed Doxia and Rainbow Dash simultaneously. However, after Doxia had gotten over geeking out over Earth's oldest form of rejection he said, "Hey, Twilight. It's fine. I had a chat with your wayward husband, and I think you two should REALLY talk. Like… really. Really as in being spelled with a capitol R. Like… really. Am I saying this right? How about yllaer? No? Maybe yllaer could be an adjective. Then I could say: yllaer really. Like… really."

Twilight sighed. She looked at Flaming Star, her eyes still full of hurt. Flaming Star plucked up some of his old Dimensional Traveler Warrior spirit and said, "Twilight, I'm sorry. I want to have that conversation again."

Twilight's eyes immediately brightened. Then she nodded. Unfortunately, it looked like the whole area was never going to be quiet. Doxia gave Sunset (who was standing by) a significant wink. Sunset understood. He then cleared his throat and said, "Anypony that clears this area in less than three seconds automatically is guaranteed a second serving!"

In a second and a half the entire vicinity was cleared save for Doxia, Twilight, and Flaming Star.

"Hey, thanks Doxia," said Flaming Star. Twilight nodded.

Doxia bowed. "Stuff me in a barrel and call be cupid. Wait… that is not at all how Applejack said it. Well… whatever. You are welcome. I care about you two deeply, so I hope you guys can sort things out."

Doxia then entered Sunset's house. It was crowded, but many ponies inherently got out of the way, yielding him a straight path to the lemonade barrels.

"Thank you my friends!" he said, "And, yes, if I could get drunk on lemonade… I would. But since I would really just end up pouring it on my head, I will spare you all the disparaging misuse of this liquid gold and simply help Sunset make more!"

The whole crowd erupted into cheers, though no one cheered louder than Pinkie Pie who loved Sunset's lemonade as much as she loved Applejack's apple cider.

Sunset went to the kitchen and began to help Sunset make the lemonade with Fluttershy.

"How did it go?" asked Fluttershy timidly, "It looked really bad."

"Oh, they are going to fix things up," said Doxia, "I am sure we won't be receiving empty cardboard boxes from Zerbrabwe that really turn out to be Flaming Star in disguise."

"I will have to admit," said Sunset with a chuckle, "That was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life."

"I still have photos of it," said Doxia.

"You took photos of it?" squeaked Fluttershy, "I hope I wasn't in it! My mane was all messed up from that one night at the petting zoo!"

Sunset smiled and stroked her mane gently. "I'm sure he didn't. RIGHT DOXIA?"

"Oh, perish the thought!" said Doxia dramatically, "Now, are we going to continue squawking like a group of mousewives on a trip around the bay, or are we going to make lemonade like REAL MEN?!"

"Um… yay?" whispered Fluttershy.

The rest of the day consisted of lemonade making, lemonade drinking, and Doxia joke listening. However, as the sun finally set behind the western hills, Doxia decided to call it a day.

"Well, I am going to have to pogostick out of this burger-joint now," he said almost apologetically, "But I will be back eventually. Duty calls, and I have a meeting with my good old buddy Firestar from the Warriors Dimension, Mattimeo, Scottalius, and Libra."

Doxia left the room and exited the house. He found Twilight and Flaming Star still sitting on the porch, staring at the blood red sky. They were holding hooves, which was a good sign.

Doxia surreptitiously sidled up to them and said, "Sooooo… watcha doin'?"

Twilight turned to Doxia. Her eyes were bright. "Flaming Star said yes."

Doxia slapped his hands to the armor that covered his cheeks. "Oh my great orange juice lords! That is absaballyloutly awesome! Flaming Star?"

Flaming Star turned and smiled. "I thought about what you had said… and you were right. This is one of the greatest gifts we can give to ourselves. I think we both understand the commitment. We are ready for the next step."

Doxia bowed low. "Then my work here is done. Remember… this was all a dream…"

Doxia slowly faded away.

Both Flaming Star and Twilight blinked. Wait… had that actually been a dream?

Doxia suddenly rematerialized. "Just kidding. How lame would that be, this being a dream? Okay. But I really have to go now. I'll see you two lovebirds laaattteeerrrr!"

With that, Doxia opened a portal and dove headfirst through it for no reason whatsoever.

The portal closed with a "pop."

Twilight leaned against Flaming Star's shoulder and sighed.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you too," he replied.

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><p><strong>Note: I would like to point out, once again, that I wrote this at the last minute. Literally. Anyway, leave me a review, please! If you leave me a review, I think a UNSC Battle Rifle could be yours. I just need you sign your name here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here...<strong>


	110. Chapter 110 - More Travelers

**Note: Despite the fact that I have been overloaded with real-life things, I have been receiving an abundance of inspiration for countless good stories! Finally I decided to pitch it to you guys in a poll. Of the four ideas I have posted on my profile, which do you think is the best? Please vote! To those who do not have an account, no problem. Just let me know what you think in a review. Now, on to address some reviews. To PBJNachos, those names are brilliant. Gosh, I wish I had thought of them a while ago. And to Order of the Bronies, "I'm not against what other people think! I mean, it's not my fault that they're wrong!" ~Bernard Walton. Anyway, we're moving on...**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Outskirts of Ponyville_

_Time: Three days after August left and Lyric found Summer_

"Oh, I remember that time!" exclaimed Sunset Shadow, chuckling, "Doxia always had a knack for that kind of stuff. If he was a pony, I am sure he would have some sort of cupid cutie mark."

"That would certainly look interesting," sighed Fluttershy, pressing her muzzle into Sunset's cheek.

Twilight, Flaming Star, Fluttershy, and Sunset Shadow sat together on a picnic blanket, enjoying the day.

"You know what? I think I'm bored," decaled Flaming Star after a bit.

Sunset rolled his eyes. He then settled down and closed his eyes. Fluttershy joined him, snuggling in close.

"You know what? I think you say that every time we do this," said Sunset, "It has been over twenty years, and you still think 'adventure is out there' or something."

Flaming Star groaned and flopped down. "But adventure IS out there! And here we sit, doing nothing!"

"And having fun while doing it," added Twilight, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Flaming Star just pulled a face. "Maybe. But just you wait, one day we will be called upon again, and we will be able to strike against evil once more!"

"And that is what you get for reading to many thrillers, ponies," said Sunset without opening his eyes. Fluttershy nuzzled him and plopped her head down on top of his. The two began to fall asleep.

Flaming Star snorted and got up. "The cuteness levels have hit over 9000. I think I may be ill."

Twilight shoved him lightly. "Come on! Don't be so hard on them. After all, they DO look cute."

Flaming Star shook his head. "Too cute for me. Let's go do something."

Twilight's eyes brightened. "Oooh! We can do a read-a-thon again!"

"Well, okay," sighed Flaming Star, "But if you win one more time, I will go back to playing Risk exclusively with Spike."

"In which you always beat him," added Twilight dryly, "Come on! It will be fun!"

The two began to trot, side-by-side, coats brushing, back to Ponyville in the distance.

They never made it. Half way there, a massive portal opened up, and Doxia and Derpy stepped through. They were conversing.

"The Great Eagle persisted about being on the Rerenhaw Council, so I finally told him, 'I cannot. I'm sorry. After all, you're fowl!'" exclaimed Doxia.

Derpy facehoofed. "Doxia! You didn't!"

"I did!" laughed Doxia, "You should have seen his face. Anyway, I have to skedaddle to look for some peeps. Adios!"

Derpy planted a kiss on Doxia's forehead and then flapped off. Doxia waved and then swung around. He immediately noticed Twilight and Flaming Star.

"Aha!" he exclaimed, "Just the space horses I needed to see! Flaming Star, are you up to an adventure?"

Flaming Star's eyes brightened. "Would I ever?! Doxia, I've been dying for an adventure! What is the mission?"

Doxia opened up a holographic projection and positioned it between himself, Flaming Star, and Twilight. It was a visual cacophony of circular bands of multi-colored points of light, all rotating and orbiting each other.

"Ummm… What are we looking at?" piped up Twilight.

"This is a map of the multiverse," said Flaming Star, looking it over with the eye of a trained expert, "I see you have highlighted several ring sectors, Doxia. Why?"

"That is the mission, Flaming Star," said Doxia, "I need you to search through these highlighted areas."

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side. "What?"

"Yeppers!" continued Doxia, "I need you to find Sunflower and Dark to see if they are still active. If not, then find their descendants."

"Wait, but how do you know they had children?" pressed Twilight.

Doxia shrugged. "Lolidunno. I know that Blue had direct descendants, but that is pretty much it. Nonetheless, you don't need to have descendants to continue pass on the genes of an Inquisitor. Sometimes, when an Inquisitor retires, the Inquisitor-specific DNA sequences's information dissolve into the Imagination Flow and then reattach randomly to the nearest being with a unique-enough Imagination Energy signature. It is like discarding a special stick and letting it flow downstream, until it is caught by a small dam and picked up by someone else."

Flaming Star nodded his head vigorously. "DNA, stick, stream. Got it. So, who is my team? Do I get Sherlock and the Ninth Doctor? How about Franklin and Daniel? Please say yes."

Doxia laughed. "Sorry kiddo! But I have another team already picked out."

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side. "Okay. Cool. Who?"

"Twilight Sparkle and Rarity."

Flaming Star's jaw dropped. Twilight gave a little bounce in the air.

"Yes! This is going to be soooo exciting! We get to go exploring the multiverse!" squealed Twilight, now hopping around the dumbstruck Flaming Star.

Doxia began to chuckle uncontrollably. "Oh Flaming Star, don't look that way! You couldn't leave your wife behind, and we all know Rarity has experience as a Dimensional Traveler. I will simply reactivate her abilities and you guys can be on your merry way!"

Flaming Star blinked, still in shock, as Twilight excitedly nuzzled his dumbfounded face. "Oh. Okay."

Doxia bowed low. "Awesome-possum. Now, let us go and tell Rarity!"

Flaming Star groaned, but followed the amused Doxia and ecstatic Twilight off to Ponyville.

At Rarity's house, Rarity was working hard on a new clothing release. She was hoping to do it before her sister Sweetie Belle returned home from Manehattan.

She was buried in sketches when a knock came at the door. Blowing a strand of mane dangling in front of her face back in frustration, Rarity grumbled to herself as she trotted downstairs to answer the door. She opened it and glared outside.

"Do you mind?" she snapped, she would have continued, but her voice caught in her throat when she noticed Doxia. Her eyes brightened and a smile spread across her face.

"Doxia, darling!" she exclaimed. She rushed forward and hugged him. The two had always shared a special connection since their adventures across the multiverse.

"Hello Rarity!" said Doxia in a jocund manner, his voice muffled by her curly mane, "How are you?"

Rarity released the hug and straightened her hair. "I am fine, dear. I've just been very, very busy with a new clothing line release. My to-do list has been lengthening with incredible speed."

Doxia chuckled nervously. "Oh. Um, yeah. About that to-do list… would you mind adding one more thing?"

Rarity sighed dramatically. "I don't know. As much as I love you, Doxia, I cannot really accept any more request at the moment. I have too many things to do. Sorry, darling."

"That's okay, I understand," sighed Doxia. If he could have given her the "Fluttershy Eyes," he would have. But since he was wearing a helmet with a one-way visor, it would not have mattered either way. As he turned around, he said, "I was just going to ask you if you wanted to go on one last multiverse-wide adventure."

Something changed in Rarity's eyes the moment she heard that phrase. He eyes widened and began to sparkle, and a funny little smile twitched at her lips.

"I'll write my letters of rejection to the clothing line department and postpone my other works," said Rarity quickly. She dashed inside and slammed the door.

The moment he knew she was out of ear-shot, Doxia fist-pumped. "Yes! That's my Rarity!"

Flaming Star now had more than one reason to look slack-jawed. "I've never seen her look like that. What exactly went on during those adventures?"

Doxia shrugged. "Not much. But I think Rarity enjoyed her powers, as well as the chance to connect with other beings that were not ponies. She made quite the connection with that old Transformer Jetfire."

Suddenly the door to Rarity's house was flung open again. She was wearing a dazzling hat that looked like she had a whole peacock on her head. To the regular onlooker, it just looked like fancy headwear, but Doxia knew better. He had given it to her for her thirtieth birthday. It had a set of throwing knives smeared with the multiverse's deadliest toxin tucked cleanly in the inner headband.

"You are the most ingenious pony of all time," chuckled Doxia, "Now, are you ready for the return of your powers?"

If Flaming Star's jaw had dropped any lower, it would have literally hit the floor. "You're giving her POWERS?"

Rarity struck a pose. "But of course dear! I was quite nifty with them back in the old days. Go ahead, Doxia, I am ready!"

Doxia bopped her on the muzzle. Rarity jerked and shook as if she was being electrocuted. She then leapt in the air with the most un-lady-like squeak and stood there, panting. Then she shook her head as if to clear it and struck yet another pose. "It… is… ON!"

Doxia bowed low as he chortled, "All hail the all-powerful Dimensional Traveler, Rarity!"

Rarity polished a hoof against her chest. "Oh why thank you. Now, Doxia, tell me, what is it that I will be doing?"

"Ah, that," said Doxia, "I will let Flaming Star debrief you, since he will be on your team."

Flaming Star gave Doxia a quick nod before stepping up to Rarity. "Okay, so we will be searching for two powerful beings by the names of Sunflower and Dark. We have a map of possible locations, so we will be searching around a lot. Hopefully there will be no hostile confrontations as we work. I have all the information stored on a holopad now."

Rarity tossed her head. "I can handle that with ease, my friend! Now, are we ready?"

"Wait a second. This team is missing something," interjected Doxia, tapping his chin in thought. Then he snapped a finger. "Aha! I got it!"

With the slightest gesture, Doxia opened a portal. He reached into it, searched about for a moment and then withdrew him hand. He had Discord in tow. He was dressed in striped pajamas, with a little night cap placed jauntily on his head. He was also hugging a small plush Twilight Sparkle toy.

Now it was Rarity's turn to have her jaw hit the floor. "You… wouldn't… DARE."

Discord rubbed his eyes. "Oh dearie me! What is going on here? Oho! Does my sixth sense deceive me? Little old Rarity has her powers back!"

Rarity straightened up. "I most certainly do, fiend! And need I remind you that my powers are on par with yours?"

Discord snorted and rolled his eyes. "Here I was, having a little beauty sleep, when I get roughly dragged to this drab old place by Doxia. Then, next thing I knew, I was being threatened by an infuriated Rarity! What is this world coming to?"

Doxia chuckled as he lightly patted Discord on the back. "Stop complaining, old lad. Now, may I inform you of the new developments to your life?"

Discord grinned mischievously and clapped his hand together gleefully. "Oh, yes please! What do you have for me today? Oh, I do hope it involved annoying Rarity, or tea with my dear old friend Shutterfly. You know, that rainbow-colored pony that took me in when I was reformed."

"That is wrong on so many levels, my friend," laughed Doxia, "But, yes. It MIGHT possibly have something to do with annoying Rarity. I have a mission for you, her, Flaming Star, and Twilight. I need you to find Sunflower and Dark."

"The Inquisitors?" yawned Discord, "I remember Dimensional Lord friend Mapaxa telling me about them. Whatever do you need with them?"

"I want to reassemble the John 3 Chapter so that I can hunt down Orion the Traitor."

"Oh my… I HAVE been behind the times. No matter. I am absolutely ready for whatever there is to do!"

"Um, excuse me!" interjected Rarity, "But don't I get a say in the endeavor?"

"Sure you do!" exclaimed Doxia, "You don't need to come along, though it would deeply hurt me if you refuse. Come on, Rarity. You can do this! You've been working with Discord since the Equus-Irrum-Equestria War twenty-three years ago! You've got this."

Rarity bit her lip. Then she looked at the confused face of Flaming Star, the excited face of Twilight, and the complacent face of Discord. Then her eyes twinkled with a little bit of mischief. "I'm ready. But remember Discord: I know where you live."

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Frozen North, the Stallion Empire_

_Time: Three days after August left and Lyric found Summer_

Lyric opened his eyes groggily. His ears were buzzing loudly, his stomach churned, and his vision was blurring. Slowly sitting on his haunches, he looked around and rubbed his eyes. He was still in the snow-laden forest, but half of the trees in sight had been shattered by the massive shells from Miss Peashooter. Lyric shook his head hard and massaged his ears. As the buzzing reduced, he could hear something else: wailing.

Off on to his left, with her back pressed firmly against a tree, was Summer. She was crying.

Groaning, Lyric wobbly got on all fours and staggered over to where she sat. Slowly he crouched down and patted her shoulder.

Summer started, her blank, tear-stained eyes wildly looking around. Then she let out a long sigh of relief.

"Lyric," she breathed, "You're okay."

Lyric rubbed his head ruefully. He had just noticed there was a large bump on the back of his head. "Yeah, well, it depends on your definition of 'okay.' I think I have a bump on the back of my head the size of a mountain hawk's egg. Ugh."

Summer, staring blankly off into the distance, gently lay her head on his shoulder. "But you're alive. You stopped breathing after the tree branch hit you. I thought you had died. Then I jumped up to try to drag you away, but the Gatling gun was too loud. Then I fainted as well. I'm so sorry. I tried so hard to protect you, but the noise was too deafening."

Lyric patted one of her hooves lightly. "That's okay. I know you tried, and I am eternally grateful for that."

There was a long pause, then Lyric suddenly stiffened. Why was everything so quiet? There were no shouts from terrorist gang, and there were no gunshots. Why were there no gunshots?

"Summer?" whispered Lyric, suddenly feeling compelled to lower his voice, "Why is everything so quiet?"

"I don't know," sighed Summer, unconsciously snuggling closer to him, "But it is really nice."

Lyric wanted to press the subject, since he was extremely confused by the fact that either of them were still alive, but he decided not to. Instead, he slowly put a hoof around Summer and sighed as well. He felt a little guilty of the affections he was giving and getting because he was technically taking advantage of Summer's extremely shaken state, but ignored the feeling. Finally, he decided to simply stay quiet and enjoy the silence.

After a dozen or so minutes of peace, Summer breathed, "Lyric? Describe things to me. What does the forest look like now?"

"Well, the forest is pretty devastated. The forest of brown and green has been leveled. Every other tree you see has been chopped down by the Gatling gun's power. The sea of white is now filled with splinters, pine-needles, and tree branches. It is like an ocean of flotsam. However, the sun is shining and the sky is a crisp, cold blue. The sun even now is playing through the branches of the trees that are left like a bright spiral of sparkling light."

"That sounds wonderful," murmured Summer, "I think… I might… fall asleep…"

The sound of Summer drifting into slumber jarred Lyric into wakefulness himself. He leapt up and exclaimed, "Oh no, you're not going to sleep right now! We can't! It is never a good idea to fall asleep in very low temperatures. Come on, Summer, time to get up!"

He gently took her by the shoulders and helped her up onto all fours. Summer allowed him to push her forward a few steps without resistance. Then she mumbled, "Okay, okay. I'm fine. Let's go back to the town to see if there is any pony still there. Hopefully we can help whoever is still alive."

Lyric bit his bottom lip. He had seen the commander of the terrorist gang, Frozen Heart. He was known to never leave prisoners. In fact, Lyric had once heard a tale of Frozen Heart personally tracking down a Stallion Empire commander that had gunned down his entire team across to Zebrabwe. Basically, no one in town would be alive, and they shouldn't have been alive either.

Of course, he was loath to worry or distress Summer, so he chose not to say anything at all. However, he also felt very compelled to say something. He stared off into the distance, a war of thoughts raging on within the confines of his mind.

This could have gone on for a while, but suddenly he felt the groping hoof of Summer reach one of his own. She grasped his hoof and squeezed it gently. Then she whispered, "Lyric. I know they're all dead."

This made Lyric feel both relieved for not having to be the bearer of bad news, and terrible for having to wholeheartedly agree with her statement. The citizens of the little town they had found would all be dead.

"Let's find out," he whispered back. Holding Summer's hoof tightly, he led her back through the now-decimated forest.

In a couple of minutes they exited the ruined forest and entered the equally ruined town. What met Lyric's eyes shocked him beyond words.

There was Miss Peashooter and the jeep, in flames with several dead terrorist ponies scattered around. Lyric trotted up to the fiery hunk of metal and inspected it. Through the smoke he could see a perfect little hole that had punched through a welding crack in the thick frontal armor of the vehicle. Through the hole he could see that whatever had punched through the hole had seared through and hit the gasoline tank, which was situated in the very middle of the truck, to protect it.

Had someone saved them? Who had attacked these terrorists with such precision and skill? Lyric was unsure, but he had an idea. He turned to Summer.

"Summer?" he said, "What did you do when I was knocked out, again? Tell me exactly."

Summer just shook her head. "I don't know. I was screaming, and the noise was so loud. I fainted. That is all I remember. I did have the dream of that one room with no windows and no doors, though."

Lyric sighed. "Okay. I won't ask you any more about that stuff. Come, let's go into the town."

Smoke was hanging low in the air, and fires were still crackling despite the moist, frigid air. As they continued to trot through town, Lyric had to force down his vomit as he laid eyes on the carnage everywhere. Ponies had been blown to pieces by bullets and dissected by swords. No one had been spared: male and female, young and old.

Even though it was sickening for Lyric, it was terrifying for Summer. Though she could not see what lay before them, the lifeless silence and the crackling of flames coupled with the sickly-sweet odor of death overloaded her senses. With her ears flattened against her skull and her sightless eyes wide, she huddled even closer to Lyric than when they had entered the town for the first time. She was practically clinging to him and it was very painful, but this time Lyric bore it stoically, knowing how terrified she was.

Suddenly Summer stopped and whispered, "What was that? I heard a voice!"

Initially Lyric felt prompted to disregard her claim. After all, she was scared witless, and the roaring flames downed out most things; however, he had learned to trust her and her senses, so after a moment he asked, "Really? Where?"

Summer stopped clinging to Lyric and began to instead tug him along towards the source of the so-called voice that she had heard.

After a bit of wandering, Summer ceased pulling Lyric around. She stood stock still, her blank eyes raking her surroundings as her ears flicked this way and that. Suddenly she groped around a sharp corner around a fire-gutted cottage and stumbled upon a terrible scene.

An old pony lay on the ground, bisected through the middle, his entrails spilling out onto the ground. It was an absolute miracle he had not died from blood loss, or totally passed out from complete shock.

Lyric immediately turned aside and vomited onto the ground as Summer trotted up to the pony and groped around until she found the dying pony's limp front hoofs. She then held one tightly as she breathed, "You're still alive."

To Lyric's surprise (and, frankly, horror) the pony forced out a chuckle. "Not for long, missy. I don't know how I've held on for this long, considering I have no will to keep on living."

Summer squeezed the pony's hoof. "Don't say that," she said soothingly, "We can help you."

"Nope," sighed the pony, "I'm as dead as dead can get. But… you two are still alive. Tell me, how is that possible?"

"The terrorists that attacked were killed. Their jeep exploded," replied Lyric, getting a hold of his bodily functions once more.

"Incredible," breathed the pony, "You two were very lucky. But I cannot tell you how long that luck will last. Do you know of this group's leaders?"

Lyric cocked his head to one side. "Frozen Heart. Do you know of him?"

The pony closed his eyes as he slightly bobbed his head. "I do. In fact, I was part of his group for a while, but I defected. He started to track me. I am responsible for the deaths of all the ponies here. At least I too will join them, to pay for my crimes."

Summer held the dying pony's hoof to her chest as she whispered, "Don't be too hard on yourself, your intentions were pure. You wanted to leave him, fate just sadly had other things in mind."

The pony coughed up some blood before chuckling, "I suppose. But you must listen: all those rumors about Frozen Heart never giving up the hunt is true. I was with him when he flew across the world to kill Ponviski the Stallion Empire Commander. If he knows you two are alive, you are walking dead ponies."

"Well, thanks for the confidence booster, old pony," snapped Lyric, who began to feel very nervous and exposed now that he knew Frozen Heart could be hunting them.

"Lyric!" snapped Summer, "Mind your manners!"

She then turned to the dying pony and cooed, "I understand. But, tell me, is there any way that we can fix this problem? Can we escape?"

The pony nodded. It was obvious the effort to speak was increasing exponentially, but he could not be stopped. "Yes. There is one place that could be a safe haven. Many years ago, an Equestria Pony made the Great and Powerful Trixie promise to protect all that entered a certain valley. Frozen Heart would be committing suicide if he went against Trixie's will and hunted down a pony in that place. The valley is situated to the far south-east. It is many, many, many kilometers through these high mountains and vast gorges. I myself was making my way to the valley, but I fell in love with a mare here, and chose to settle down. A mistake I am now paying in full."

Hope leapt within Lyric's chest. "So there is a place that we can hide! Do you have any definitive directions?"

The pony retched up more blood. The red liquid bubbled on his splayed chest as he began to drift into oblivion. "Yes," he gasped, "The morning star… Follow it until you reach the Pillar of God, the tallest mountain in the Stallion Empire. Then head straight south… And remember…"

The pony never got any farther. With one more body-racking gasp, the pony vomited up his last gout of lifeblood and died. Summer gave a little gasp of horror and let go of the pony's hoof. Though she had not seen the violence of the pony's death, she had sensed in more detail than Lyric could have imagined.

Lyric set his jaw in a grim line. "Well, you heard the pony. Now the question is, can we trust him?"

Summer straightened up. "He was dying. I do not think he wished to spend his last seconds in this life damning more ponies to a similar fate. It is not in our nature."

"Who's nature?" asked Lyric, still doubtful, "Unless you forgot, we still are in the Stallion Empire. Nation of thieves, murderers, terrorists, mercenaries, and liars."

"There is good in everyone," retorted Summer, not in the mood to argue, "You just have to know where to look. I found yours."

Lyric opened his mouth, but then shut it tight. He had no comeback for that.

Suddenly Summer stiffened. "I… I sense something."

Lyric's stomach plummeted. In all probability, it was Frozen Heart, coming to finish the job.

Summer then jerked forward, seized Lyric around the neck, and hit the ground, hard. The rough-hewn wall behind them exploded into dust as two very powerful bullet shells smashed into it at high speeds.

Lyric's mouth dropped. Those two silent bearers of death had been meant for them. How had Summer known that they were coming?

However, he decided to ask that question later, since they were still in danger. Belly pressed to the ground, he seized Summer's proffered hoof and led her through the ruined town to the forest that they had been in earlier. Thrice times the hidden snipers attempted to kill them, but they could not hit them now. Minutes crawled by as the duo dragged themselves through the blood-stained snow; however, finally, they made it. The snipers stopped shooting.

Lyric put his mouth close to Summer's ear and whispered, "How did you know there were snipers?"

Summer shrugged, "I just… felt it. I… I don't know. There is a lot about me that I don't know. That is why I have you. You are the one who can feel me through-and-through. I need that."

Lyric was about to add that he needed her too, but then decided against that. This was no time to get dramatic. Instead he said, "Alright. We have our destination. Let's get moving."

Two kilometers away, position high in the mountain range, Frozen Heart sat with two of his trained snipers, with heavy snowfall whirling around them.

"What do you mean they got away?" hissed Frozen Heart, foam frothing at the corners of his mouth, "That one Pegasus killed five of my followers and trashed a billion-bit piece of equipment. Their brains should have been decorating a wall like modern art by now!"

"I'm sorry sir," piped up one, still looking through his scope, "But that Pegsus one… They're good. They must have known we had our sights trained on them. They've gotten away."

With a gurgling snarl of fury, Frozen Heart gave the poor sniper who had just spoken a hearty shove. With a yelp, the victim tumbled head-over-hoofs over the ledge, breaking his spine as he fell to the depths below. The other snipers immediately straightened up and saluted stiffly, terrified for his life.

Frozen Heart decided it was not worth killing his other sniper. After all, they did good work most of the time.

"Those two cannot get away," he said, his voice deathly quiet, "That Pegasus and their companion obliterated my Alpha Team, and I am going to make them pay with their lives."

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><p><strong>Note: As I said, my real life has been pretty hectic lately. Thus, it does not seem likely that I will be able to post anything next week. I will let you all know for sure on Monday. Anyway, don't forget to vote on my poll on my profile! And, more importantly, don't forget to review! If you review, I will give you a tub of delicious (yet, sadly, invisible) maple syrup. I had surplus from yesterday. Thanks!<strong>


	111. Chapter 111 - Inquisitors Rising

**Note: Okay! Happy 3rd of July. It is almost as good as the 4th of July, but not. Well, anyway, who is ready for some more action with August?!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Deep Coal Cellar<em>

_Planet: The Black Expanse_

_Specific Location: Hidden Passageway 40B, Central Jail Quadrant_

_Time: Three days after Lyric found Summer_

August just stood there, in the middle of the wreckage of the mechs, hands shaking.

"I'm… I'm… I'm what?"

Jefferson rolled his eyes. "I don't think we have time to talk about that right now. The alarm has been raised now. We have about two minutes before we are dead where we stand. Get us out!"

Still shocked, August opened a portal to a small forest in the Warriors dimension. Jefferson jumped through, and Gene had to practically push August through it. The portal closed almost a second before a whole army of killer robots dashed around the corner.

August sat down in the grass and looked at his hands slowly. "How is it possible?"

Jefferson shrugged. "I am unsure. However, your DNA denoted that you are. That doesn't lie."

August slowly got up. "DNA doesn't… but I know someone who does. Doxia… Doxia lied to me!"

"Calm down," said Gene calmly, "We don't know that Doxia lied to you. He might have not known. He might have mistaken Blue's DNA for a Detectors."

Blue began to resurface within August as he snorted. "Unlikely. I am betting that Detectors don't even exist. He was lying, and I am going to find out why."

"What, are you going to march up to Doxia and demand that he tell you everything?" said Jefferson airily, "I haven't met him personally, but I am pretty sure no one likes being told what to do."

"I won't be asking," hissed August. He pulled out his Inquisition Blaster and primed it.

Gene stood firmly in front of August and said, quietly, "August. This is not you. Whatever is hardwired into you is surfacing in a nasty way, but if you could hold it down this long, you can hold it down now."

"Save your breath," snapped August. He shoved past Gene. He opened a portal straight to Rerenhaw and strolled through. Gene glanced in horror at Jefferson before the two scurried after August.

Doxia was standing in the empty Rerenhaw council room, looking at some holographic maps.

Without turning around, Doxia called out, "August! Buddy! How is your detecting going? I am sure you, Dellor the Detector, are doing just dandy. Heh. Dellor the Detector."

Doxia stiffened when he heard the click of a weapon being primed. Slowly, Doxia turned around. August was pointing his weapon at his chest.

"Doxia, you lied to me," hissed August, "Tell me why?"

"August! Don't!" shouted Gene as he burst in on the scene, "You don't know that he ever was lying!"

"Hey Gene. Oh, hey! Lookit! It's Jefferson!" chuckled Doxia, "Okay, you got me. I will admit it… I did bend the truth. You are not a detector, but you still have unique DNA. Thanks to the styling of Inquisitor DNA, the Imagination Flow took the information from the sequence and deposited it in you, making you, effectively, the next Blue. What you experiencing now is Blue resurfacing, attempting to push your personality out of the way."

August was breathing heavy. All that he managed to hiss was the word, "Liar."

Doxia shook his head. "No. What I just said was true. Now, look here, August, I did not tell you the truth because I believed that the morals and principles installed in you by your mother Luna and your father Samuel were strong enough to block out the brutality of Blue."

It was Gene's turn to interject. "Is this really what Blue was like? How could you even allow someone like him to be around you all?"

Doxia scratched the back of his head. "Well, he didn't talk and threaten as much as August did, but that is just August's specific personality being corrupted. But… yes. Blue was a murderer, and that is why we used him as much as we did. He was willing to do what we could not. He was not afraid of damnation, so we used him to kill the innocents that we were unable to. War is never glorious, and there were things we had to authorize in order to win that we are not proud of… but it had to be done. When things boil down, there are no heroes. Only killers."

August twitched and contorted. It looked like the personality of August was now combating the resurfaced personality of Blue. He began to shiver and shake. It was obvious that it was even more difficult to fight back Blue than last time.

"You can do this, August," said Doxia quietly, "Unlike most of us, you truly understand what it is to be good. There are precious few even in the ranks of the proclaimed 'good guys' that understand that. You can do this."

August doubled over, then, suddenly, he jerked up and hurled away his weapon. Breathing heavily, August gasped, "Doxia… I'm so sorry."

Doxia clapped. Then, suddenly, he vanished. They had been talking to a hologram. The real Doxia uncloaked bedside the trio. "Nicely done!"

August blinked. "You never were in any danger, were you?"

Doxia clapped August on the back. "No. Not really. However, I must commend you on your self-control. I was worried about you for a moment."

August sighed. "I am truly sorry. It's like my mind gets enveloped in a haze. Is this truly what Blue was like? Because I am certainly feeling unquenchable hostility."

"Afraid so, kiddo," sighed Doxia, "He was quite merciless. But he did what he did well. Remember, you are not him. You have the ability to restore the John 3 Chapter. But instead of proceeding with the foundations of brutality and mercilessness that it was built on, this is your chance to install a true heroes' virtues. It is time for you to reintroduce the light."

August massaged his temples with the tips of his index fingers. "I don't know how much I can take. What if I end up hurting my friends?"

Doxia shook his head. "You will not need to worry about that. Blue would never kill his friends. He would hurt them if they got in the way though. So, Gene and Jefferson, I suggest you guys stay clear of August as he fights."

August's face paled. "What… You… You can't get rid of this?"

Doxia shook his head again, this time more vigorously. "No! Blue is part of who you are! Look, Blue is dead. I'm sorry, but it is true. He died some time ago. But when he died, the Inquisition-specific DNA information dissolved and coalesced within another being, a descendant. You are his descendant."

August's (and Gene's) jaw hit the ground. "What…?"

Doxia chuckled. "Yep! Blue was your great-times-a-billion grandfather! Anyways, It seems he never told anyone. Odd, he seemed to imply that everyone close to him knew. Meh, I guess the only ones close to him were Sunflower and Dark."

"Sorry to interrupt," interjected Jefferson, "But if this is Blue, or, as we should say, the descendant of Blue, then where is Sunflower and Dark?"

"Lolidunno!" exclaimed Doxia, "But I have a trained team looking for them as we speak."

Gene cocked his head to one side. "Really? Who?"

Doxia coughed. Then he mumbled something about Rarity and Twilight both being somewhat trained. Then he switched the subject. "So! Now that you guys are done pointing guns at my life-like holograms, will you be on your way?"

August sighed. "I… I suppose. I was tasked with finding the armor… and I will. But... speaking on the subject of Blue... I've been having these... these nightmares."

Doxia cocked his head to one side. "Nightmares? Oh, pray tell."

"Well," muttered August, a little embarrassed, "I've had a few vision sequences where I've found myself trapped in a room. It has no doors and no windows. It is like I am in a black, smooth, box. However, to the opposite side of this box is... is a purple Pegasus! She is asleep, and trapped in animated suspension. But before I can ever talk to her or call out, I get sucked into a vision of a vision, where Blue, Sunflower, and Dark are combating an endless sea of Maelstrom Troopers. Does this mean anything to you?"

Doxia was quiet for a very long time (which was probably a first). He stroked his chin. After the long pause, he finally said, "That was the telepathic rebooting protocol for the Inquisitors. You see, Inquisitors never slept, but they could be knocked senseless. Thus, that room was designed to allow Inquisitors within a single chapter to communicate with ease with their partners, even when one was unconscious or in a coma, anywhere in the multiverse. However, since you yourself sleep at times, the protocol reactivates every time. Hmmm... You know what? This is actually hilarious, because this means... heh... this means one of Sunflower's, or Dark's, descendants... is a My Little Pony creature! Oh my gosh! This is ridiculous! The hilarity! The irony!"

Gene's, Jefferson's, and Blue's jaws dropped as Doxia suddenly doubled over laughing. After a whole minute, Doxia finally got a hold of himself. Straightening up, he then coughed lightly and said, "Well, thank you. Now that we know that a potential descendant of either Sunflower or Dark is in the My Little Pony dimension, my team of highly trained elites will be able to narrow down the search for Dark. However, that is not important. August, are you really ready?"

August nodded, for he had now gotten over his initial shock. In fact, now he was rather relieved. Though he was only half-My-Little-Pony-native, the inhabitants of the Harmony Tree dimension had always shown him (and everyone else for that matter) unconditional love. If one of the future John 3 Inquisitors resided in the same dimension, then there was a chance he would not be the only one struggling with a mysterious (and terrifying) set of alien memories. Perhaps, when he finished hunting down Blue's armor, they could all finally meet, and exchange insight on how to combat the unwelcome compulsions of the Inquisitors.

"I am ready. Truly," sighed August.

Doxia bobbed his head amiably. "Excellent. And, as luck would have it, I have another piece of armor for you guys to locate… It is in the Provistorian dimension?"

Gene blinked. "The Provistorian dimension? Isn't that place sanctioned?"

"Was," corrected Doxia, stretching, "But the main timeline is complete, so you guys are all set. Just try not to befuddle the timeline too much. The planet you will be landing on is Averthon Magnum. The armor should by tucked nicely somewhere near the Scriptorium, the tallest mountain on the planet. Enjoy!"

Gene glanced at August, August glanced at Jefferson.

Jefferson shrugged. "Why is everyone looking at me? I've just tagged along for the fun."

Doxia then looked hard and long at Jefferson after he had said that, but said nothing himself. Then he turned to August. "Soooo… Are you sure you're up to this, August? Personally, I am no longer truly comfortable with you taking point."

August nodded his head firmly. "Yes. I am sure I can do this. I was given a mission, and I am going to complete it. I can beat this, I can beat Blue. He's not going to control me."

Doxia sighed. "Okay. It really now boils down to your strength. Are you really stronger than Blue? Can you force down his personality?"

"I don't know, but I will try. If we want to stop Orion and Pictor, then we are going to need the weapons I, I mean, Blue has to offer," replied August stoutly, "I can do this."

Doxia bowed his head slightly. "Then be on your way. Good luck."

August holstered his Inquisition Blaster firmly and then looked at his Kanohi Olmak. With a nod to it, he commanded it to open a portal to the Provistorian dimension. A portal suddenly appeared, and August, Gene, and Jefferson walked through.

The group found themselves at the foot of what looked like the world's largest door. Literally. The structure stretched high into the clouds, and the top could not be seen. The door frame stretched far off into the mists to the left and right, and there appeared to be no way around the obstacle.

"I guess we have no choice other than to knock," said Jefferson, raising his eyebrows cynically as he scoped out the scene before him. "Unless you guys want to find out if this door really does stretch out to infinity."

"Well? I don't see a doorbell…" muttered August. There was a minute-long pause. "Or a door handle for that matter," he added.

"I guess there is only one way to find out!" exclaimed Jefferson with a sigh of resignation. Reaching into his overcoat, he detached one of his many weapons from his velvet waistcoat. He had what looked like a cross between a scythe, a bungee cord, and a strange clockwork device.

"This is called a hook-spring. I got it from the Dishonored dimension," Jefferson explained as he twirled it swiftly into a blurring disk. He let the weighted scythe loose, and let it hurtle into the air. It dug into the wood of the gigantic door.

Jefferson gave the cord he was holding a few, light, yet firm, experimental tugs. After he was satisfied, he gave the rope a sharp pull. The clickity-clack of the clockwork device attached to the scythe resonated from far above, and Jefferson began to get pulled up. With his feet planted firmly against the wood of the colossal door, he began to jog vertically up to where the scythe was embedded.

Gene motioned to August, and the two activated their levitation powers. They began to drift up to Jefferson. They reached him just as he reached the top of his hook-spring. Pulling out one of his long daggers, Jefferson slammed it into the wood. Hanging on with one hand, Jefferson yanked out the scythe-like tip of the hook-spring. He spun it around quickly and let it fly one more time. It slammed into the wood frame once more and held firm. Jefferson yanked it sharply, and let it drag him upwards again.

"There has got to be another way to do this, August!" commented Jefferson loudly as he let himself be dragged upwards as he stashed his dagger away, "Maybe we could just ask for entry nicely?"

"Please let us in, great door!" shouted August almost immediately, causing Gene to snort with exasperation. There was a pause... Nothing happened.

"You know, maybe you did not ask forcefully enough," said Gene, almost sarcastically.

"You're right!" cried Jefferson. Suddenly he swung in an arc, snatched August's Inquisition Blaster from him, and fired it off in the air, bellowing, "If you don't open this door! I will blast it down and burn it up! There will be nothing but ashes and flames before my wrath dies down!"

Jefferson twirled the gun, accidentally set it off (nearly shooting his face into oblivion), and quickly handed the gun back to a dumbfounded August. At this time, Jefferson reached the tip of his hook-spring. He quickly whipped out one of his long daggers once more and rammed it into the woodwork. Hanging from it, he sighed from exhaustion.

"I thought that that would most certainly work," said Jefferson, half-sincere, half-sarcastic, "I mean, I seriously thought-"

The entire door began to shake, knocking Jefferson loose. He fell through the air, twisted, and drove his dagger deep in the wood again without missing a beat. Quickly he wrapped the cord of the hook-spring around his neck and then whipped out his other dagger. As he dug that into the wood as well, the door began to swing slowly open. The air was rumbling in the wake of what resembled an earthquake of 8.1 magnitude as the colossal piece of wood swung out. Gene and August drifted backwards, still levitating, as the thing opened.

"You see?" exclaimed Jefferson, almost gleefully, "It worked!"

At that moment, a man, armed with a massive rapier, strolled out far below them, head sweeping side-to-side. It was obvious he had opened the door, and was no looking for whoever had caused the racket.

Jefferson rolled his eyes in the universal sign of "dang it." He then tucked in the dagger he had in his right hand, slammed the pointed blade of the spring-hook into the wood once more, and then swung down in a rapid descent. August and Gene, still controlling their levitating powers, drifted down with him.

They reached the bottom in a tenth of the time it took for them to climb, and they landed unabashedly in front of the man, tense but friendly.

"Greetings," said Gene, holding his hands out, palms up, "We are not here to harm you. We are looking for passage inside this place, Averthon Magnum. I am Gene, to my right is Jefferson Madigan Hatterus, and this is-"

"Blue!" interrupted the man, his voice gruff, "I thought I told you never to come back."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Once Upon a Time<em>

_Planet: Fairy Tale Earth_

_Specific Location: Snow White and Charming's Castle_

_Time: Three days after Lyric found Summer_

"I hope you know what you're doing," snarled Orion, "It took me a whole hour, with Pictor's help, to regenerate the damage wrought by the Inquisition Blaster."

"If it is true that Blue has resurfaced in that little brat," added Pictor, "Then we are all dead. That whelp August will be unable to push down the Inquisitor compulsions. He will proceed to hunt us down, and kill us, along with every single friend that tries to stop him."

There was a long pause. It was so long, in fact, that Pictor had the terrible feeling that Harold had just abandoned them. However, finally, he did speak. "Well, that is the interesting part," he said in an almost sing-song voice, "We don't know if August will be able to push the compulsions down or not. So this is the fun part: we get to watch August struggle with himself. Will he remember what Starlight Amber, his babysitter, and what Luna, his mother, told him and understand that heroes do not kill? Or will he let Blue's cold, brilliant, disregard for all life take control?"

"If he lets the latter take control, then we are all doomed," said Orion simply, "I cannot fight him. I may be powerful, but an Inquisitor's brutality is unmatched."

Harold began to chuckle. "Yes," he said dryly, "That's ironic isn't it? The Inquisitors are for the good guys, but they aren't good guys themselves. They are war machines, designed to murder, bludgeon, and maim their way through their targets. And that is where the game comes in."

Pictor sighed. "You're mad. This is not a game."

"Well, technically it is," snorted Harold, "The definition of a game is something people do for amusement, either for themselves or for an audience. Granted, perhaps it is not fun for August, but it will be fun for us."

"I'm sorry," snapped Orion, "But how is this a game?"

"It is all locked in August," said Harold, disregarding the questions of the two beings before him, "But my only hope is that he has enough locked within him to make this fun."

"GODDAMNIT!" roared Pictor, "I have had enough of this! I had to put up with eons of the Paradox talking like that! Tell me what you mean!"

"Okay, okay. Sheesh. Keep your pants on, moron," chuckled Harold, "It is his humanity. Humans are the most powerful sentient species in all of the multiverse. They hold the key to holding the multiverse together. That key is their humanity. However, just as it is their one redeeming quality, it is also their one major weakness. And it is that weakens that we are exploiting. I see it very unlikely that the conscious of good old August will stand by as the cold-hearted training of Blue from the bleeding effect permeates his brain. Now we just need to watch and wait as it destroys him and weakens the foundation of the whole multiverse… Oh, we may also have to lay false leads for Doxia and his team."

"Lay false leads for… Oh no, I am not getting close to Doxia," said Pictor, backing away.

"Don't worry, you big baby, you won't have to," replied Harold, "And neither will you, Orion. I will handle that. I can play circles around Doxia, Kytax, Mattimeo, and the rest with ease."

"You don't say?" It was Pictor's turn to chuckle. "I want to see that."

"Oh, you will, you just watch," said Harold, his sing-song voice returning, "It will be sooooo much fun."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I am starting to really get into the swing of things with the mysteries surrounding Blue, Dark, and Sunflower. Who do you guys think is Sunflower? Or Dark? Let me know in a review! If you give me a review, I will give you bacon. Mayhap a bacon wrapped cookie. I don't know. How about a kitten holding a bacon wrapped cookie?<strong>


	112. Chapter 112 - Icy Discoveries

**Note: Hello everyone! This will be my only chapter posted this week, so enjoy! To brony at war: You want William Wallace? I will look into it. I have sort of drifted away from Dimensional Travelers in general, but references and such are still in order. To all those speculating about Summer and the Inquisitors... keep it up! You guys are really close! Anyway, let's go!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Frozen North, Stallion Empire_

_Time: Four days after Lyric found Summer_

Summer gasped in horror. She was in that box of smooth stone. She had only closed her eyes for a moment to catch a wink of sleep. Had she really fallen asleep that fast? It seemed so, for now she was trapped once again in that hell of a dream.

It did not matter now, though, for she felt herself drift deeper into the dream. She truly was stuck again. Biting back a sob, Summer prepared to be bombarded with the horrible sensations of slaughter and death that would be upon her soon. She waited, and waited, and waited… but nothing came.

Then, suddenly, she felt a firm hand land on her solider. She gave a terrified squeak and leapt in the air.

"Woah there! Calm down little pony!" exclaimed a jovial and calm voice.

Summer swept her head side-to-side as if searching for the mysterious voice. "Who are you? What are you?"

"I am Doxia! And I am a Dimensional Lord, a good guy. Don't worry, you're safe for now," replied the voice, "Hey, seriously, don't worry! Just look at me and take a deep breath…"

"I… I can't…" mumbled Summer, now trying to back away. Sadly, her behind was already pressed firmly against the smooth wall of the box.

"What do you mean you… Oh… I see… You're blind."

The voice trailed off. Summer could hear the being pace around, tapping on the walls and muttering to himself. He was mumbling, "She's blind? But the Inquisition DNA information sequences root out disabilities… What does this pony hold that the sequences stopped and bonded with her? I don't even know who she is…"

"I… I'm Summer," said Summer, her voice no louder than a quiet squeak, "Why are you here?"

"I'll explain that in a moment, Summer," replied Doxia. His voice still was full of kindness and gentleness, but now it sounded as if he was rather distracted. He went back to muttering, "I cannot see anything past four days ago. Ah, she has amnesia. She doesn't recognize any of her surroundings, so I cannot locate her either. If I can't find her, I will be unable to find any DNA matches… I really do not know who she is now…"

"I just said I was Summer," interjected Summer in hushed tones, still quiet terrified for her life, "I think I'm in the Stallion Empire. At least… I think I am… I'm in the north. Why are you here, again?"

Doxia stopped mumbling. Then he sighed. "You're right. I should explain. I can sense that you have been through so much already, and that warrants you a full explanation of what is going on in the very least."

Summer cocked her head to one side. What did he mean by that? Then she felt him approach. She shrunk up against the wall, but there was nowhere to go. She stiffened when he gently touched her, but the moment he started stroking her mane, she melted like butter. She seized him in a hug and pressed her muzzle into his armored chest. Though she could not tell who he was or where she really was anymore in this landscape of the mind, his voice resonated a beautiful love that made her feel extraordinarily safe.

"Don't worry, in this dreamscape, you are safe," murmured Doxia, gently brushing her mane with his fingertips, "I am truly sorry for what you are experiencing even now, but there is nothing I can do for you in reality as of yet. However, as you have been asking, I am here to tell you something."

"What is it?" asked Summer, her voice muffled by Doxia's armor. She was like putty in his hands.

"Well… heh… It's the strangest thing, the reason you are having those dreams of fighting those horrendous monsters is that you are part of a special team of multidimensional warriors."

"What?" breathed Summer, "But I don't know anything about fighting…"

"I know you don't, but, buried deep down, you have memory sequences containing all the information pertaining to incredible skills that you could never dream of wielding. However, due to your amnesia from that plane crash, your mind has locked down those memories with amazing strength. I don't think you will ever be able to recover all of said memories without my help. Will you consent to me digging through your mind a bit to help you start the recovery process? Imagine, being able to take down whole groups of Trixie's Hoof terrorists with ease…"

Summer thought about the offer for a moment, then she asked, "What would happen if I recovered all of those memories? Would I then go to join this special team that you say I am a part of? What would happen to Lyric?"

"Yes, you would be joining the team, but it would be only for the good of the multiverse."

"And… and Lyric?"

"You're friend? He would be safe. We can take him out of that frozen hell you two are trapped in, and all will be well."

"B-but… w-w-we wouldn't be together anymore."

"Sadly, no."

Summer let go of Doxia and shook her head. "No. I can't leave Lyric."

Doxia sighed deep and long. Then he said, "But that appears to be a little selfish, don't you think? I will be offering him all the comforts this dimension can offer, only if you will come with me. There is a great evil that needs to be fought, and only this special team that you a part of can do that."

Summer shook her head again, this time more vigorously, "No. I'm sorry. Lyric needs me. And… and I need Lyric."

She thought that Doxia would now be angry, but, instead, he chuckled. "You know what? You're right. What is a life of luxury and fame if your special somepony is not with you?"

Summer felt her cheeks beginning to turn red slightly. "What? Special somepony? N-no! We're just friends."

Doxia chucked again, and he patted her lightly on the head. "Yeah. You keep thinking that. Okay. I will consider your response… for now. We desperately need what you have stored within your memories, but we have no right to force them from you. I will be back to ask you again, though. Until then, I will see what I can do about your nightmares."

Summer began to slowly drift into wakefulness. As she felt the cold rush of consciousness drowning out the dreamscape like rushing from the bottom of a lake to break the surface, she heard Doxia sigh, "Okay. Rerenhaw will not be happy. But now the real question is… where the heck is the third John 3 Inquisitor?"

Summer's eyes snapped open. She shot up to shout for Lyric, but suddenly she felt a hoof clamp firmly over her mouth.

Sightless eyes wide, she gasped, but then calmed down when she heard Lyric's voice.

"Not so loud… There is a Trixie's Hoof armored vehicle driving overhead…"

As Summer began to take deep breaths to calm herself down, she remember the events of the night before. They had run through the forest the entire day, not stopping to rest or eat. However, after running till sunset, Summer finally collapsed from exhaustion.

Lyric was originally very stressed out from her lack of stamina, but eventually he calmed down, stating that they had better rest anyway. After a bit of searching, Summer found a haven in the form of a small hollow in a rock ledge. She and Lyric simply crawled into it and fell into an uncomfortable sleep without lighting a fire. However, despite the fact that it was uncomfortable, and though she would never admit it, Summer actually felt safe and calm with Lyric so close by. He even let her use his back as a pillow as they slept.

But now the sun was rising once more, and it was a new day. A new day for dangers and close-calls, that is. Already there were in danger of being discovered as an armored vehicle rumbled past them on an overhead trail. Roots, small stones, and earth was knocked loose as the thing drove by above their heads.

Summer bit her bottom lip as the rumbling began to fade. Then she let out a long sigh.

"Hey, Summer, how was your sleep?" asked Lyric, his voice full of relief.

Summer rubbed a crick in her neck as she mumbled, "It was fine."

"I'll say it way," said Lyric, "You didn't cry out last night! I am so glad you got past that one nightmare."

Summer pulled a face. "I don't know. Something tells me this was a one-time thing."

Lyric snorted. "I sure hope not. It was like dealing with a newborn foal, having to consistently wake up at two in the morning, if you know what I mean,"

"I'm sure I don't," replied Summer, now a little annoyed, "Are you implying that I'm a newborn foal?"

"What? No!" exclaimed Lyric, now trying to take back what he said in his usual bumbling manner, "I was just saying… Wait, no, that's not it… What I meant to say is…"

Summer gently took one of his hoofs and squeezed it. "It's okay. I'll let that blow over. But look, I'm not useless! I can easily do anything you do!"

There was a pause. Finally Lyric said, "Yeah. Okay. Do you want to get out of this confined space now or what?"

Summer glanced sharply in the direction of Lyric's voice. Had she detected a hint of doubt in his voice? After a moment of contemplation, she supposed that that was really the last thing she should be worrying about right now. She gave him a small nod and then turned to squeeze through the narrow opening that led from the hollow in the rock to the cold, harsh outside world.

Unfortunately, despite not having eaten anything the previous day, Summer's hips got stuck in the jagged mouth of the opening.

Summer could not help but snort in frustration, flicking her tail back and forth in anger while her sightless eyes darted about. "Really? Is this really how it's going to go?" she snapped at the rock face. She was stuck with half of her inside, and half of her outside.

Even though he was now trapped inside the small rock cave, Lyric found the situation rather amusing. He grinned and joked, "Hey, for all you know, the rocks could be doing this in an attempt to compliment you on your hourglass body!"

Summer thwacked Lyric across the face with her tail. It was not hard enough to sting, but is was certainly enough to make him gasp, jerk backwards, and hit his head on the roof of the small cave. "You say that one more time and I'm coming back in there! And if I do that, you'll be sorry!" exclaimed Summer sourly.

Lyric still grinned as he rubbed the back of his head ruefully with a hoof. "Hey, I've got to keep the situation light somehow! Look, I'm sorry, I won't make any more inappropriate comments. Do I have permission to try to shove you out from this end?"

"No," replied Summer curtly, "I have this completely under control."

The next minute consisted of Summer scrabbling for a hoof-hold in the rocks before her. Unfortunately for her, the attempt was to no avail. Finally she gave up. There was a pause…

"Okay fine."

Lyric straightened up the best he could in the confined space that he was in and then put his back to Summer's rump. With a mighty shove, he pushed her out. There was a veritable "pop" as she shot out like a cork from a bottle. Summer slid a couple of meters forward before coming to a stop in the cold snow. She rolled onto her back. Belly up, she lay there, panting.

"That was such a wonderful experience. Now I can cross 'getting aimlessly stuck in a small hole' off my bucket list," she mumbled, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

While she said that, Lyric managed to twist his own body through without too much trouble. "That was most certainly a detour," he sighed, "But, then again, we probably would have been frozen solid by now if you had not found this place. How in the world could you hear echoing water droplets from a small, hidden cave in the middle of a forest?"

Summer slowly got on all fours as she said, "It's a gift. But I do believe we should be on our way. Do you know where to go now?"

Lyric rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with his fore hooves. Then he peered up at the sky. Though it was very faint, he could just pick out the pinprick of light in the early-morning sky that was the morning star. "Yep. I know where we are going."

Summer smiled. Then she held out a hoof. "Right. Lead on!"

And so the two began to descend down the rocky slopes back into the snow-laden forest below. As they continued to trot through the clean snow, Lyric cast a glance over his shoulder. His eyes deepened with sadness as he saw that the blood red sky still silhouetted the smoke from the small destroyed town in the distance. The thick billows continued to mark their starting point like an ominous, depressing, marker.

"Don't look back," Summer suddenly said, "It will only make it more difficult to go forward."

Lyric glanced over at Summer in surprise, but did not say anything. He turned to look ahead again. There was a dozen or so minutes of silence before he began to talk. Without any prompting, he began to describe their surroundings.

"This forest is a whole lot cleaner than the one after the town," commented Lyric, "White snow covers everything like a blanket, and the trees stretch off in all directions with the exception of the rocky slopes behind us. In front of us, there is nothing but green pines and small green shrubs. White, brown, and green are the only colors visible."

Summer's blank eyes shifted around as if she was drinking in the sights while he talked. "I don't hear anything… That is good. That means there is no one following us just yet. Um… Lyric? When will we be able to stop? I'm hungry."

Lyric bobbed his head. "Of course! I had almost forgot about that!" The moment he said that, sharp pangs of hunger ripped through his stomach. In the excitement of the chase and the apprehension signature of hiding, he had forgotten all about his hunger. However, now that they were free of the impending shadow of death for the moment, things like hunger came back painfully as the top priority.

Lyric sat down and Summer joined him. Quickly Lyric slung off his pack and checked inside of it. Despite the fact that the town and the surrounding areas had been decimated, he had managed to grab some unspoiled supplies. They had enough to last a couple of days, which was a good thing to say the least.

Pulling out a couple of celery stalks, he handed one to Summer and began to munch on the other. The two lapsed into silence as they enjoyed the only meal they probably would have for that day. In a couple of minutes they had finished with the stalks, and Lyric got up. "Do you feel better?"

Summer placed her back again a nearby tree and rubbed her stomach. "I don't know. I've gone numb everywhere, so I cannot really tell."

Lyric's face went dead-straight. He rushed over to where Summer sat and began to vigorously rub her back hoofs.

Summer tried to yank her appendages away, exclaiming, "What are you doing?"

Lyric firmly seized on of her hoofs again and said, "Start rubbing your hoofs. We need to get your blood circulation going."

Summer pulled a face. "Oh. Yeah, I forgot about the cold. I hope I'll be okay."

"You'll be fine if you stop squirming," snorted Lyric still rubbing her hoofs.

"I'm not a baby," snapped Summer, "I'll be fine. What about you? Aren't you in any danger of freezing or something?"

"I always ensure that I get my blood running every day," replied Lyric briskly, "That's a habit we need to get you into."

"I'll be fine, Lyric, I was not born yesterday," said Summer, squirming again. However, Lyric was fairly sure she was not facing any risk of frostbite anymore, so he straightened up.

"Very well, Summer," he said, "But you cannot blame me for worrying. I'm the experienced one here, you just got here four days ago."

"That still does not mean I was born yesterday," replied Summer crossly, "I can hold my own when it comes to mountain survival."

Though Lyric usually would have backed down by now, hunger and cold had made him short of temper, so instead of apologizing he snapped, "I very much doubt that."

Summer tossed her mane and she said, curtly, "Watch me."

Concentrating, Summer stood stalk still and listened to her surroundings, letting her other senses make up for her lack of vision. In a minute, she started talking.

"We've been heading south-east as opposed to south, and we might want to fix that. Additionally there is a north wind blowing, so we will want to steer clear of the southern slopes adjacent to this forest just in case of avalanches. There are wolves hunting a while away, but they are too far to be bothered about us, and… and…"

Summer suddenly cocked her head to one side. Then she turned to Lyric, her face showing signs of worry. "Um… Lyric? We're supposed to be following the morning star… right?"

Lyric, who had originally been thinking up a plethora of witty comebacks, dropped his attitude and looked worriedly at Summer, who was obviously showing signs of apprehension. "Yes, that is what that old pony told us. What? Is there an ambuscade or something awaiting us?"

Summer shook her head. "No, but this could be just as bad. In about a kilometer… we're going to run into a massive gorge. A very large one from the echoing I can hear. It is blocking our path."

Lyric's voice caught in his throat. A gorge? He didn't remember ever coming across a gorge in this area. It didn't matter now, Summer had detected one, and he trusted her. But now they were being faced with a very big obstacle that they would have to hurdle promptly. They could not simply go back, for Frozen Heart had already nearly killed them seven or eight times now, and they could not afford to give him another chance by trotting straight into his hoofs.

Lyric sighed deep and long. "Okay. Hey, look, I'm sorry for arguing with you."

Summer scratched the back of her mane. "It's okay. I… I forgive you. And I'm sorry for being so short with you. I guess I feel so helpless that I get angry when others notice."

Lyric gently patted her shoulder. "You're not helpless. You know our surroundings even better than I do sometimes! I mean, after all, you found this gorge. Now, let's go check it out."

Summer smiled a shy smile and held out a hoof. Lyric took it, and they trotted after the morning star. Just as Summer predicted, there was a massive gorge that split the forest in two. It was at least a score of meters apart, and at least a hundred meters deep, with nasty looking rocks at the bottom. Just like the colossal forest, this giant gorge stretched indefinitely in each direction.

Lyric sighed again. "Well, now we're going to have to find a way around this. Any ideas?"

Summer opened her mouth, and then shut it tight as her eyes widened in horror. Quickly she groped for Lyric's shoulder and leaned in close.

"I hear voices! Pony voices!" she whispered frantically, "We have to hide!"

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><p><strong>Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this! I really, really, really enjoy writing about Summer and Lyric. As I said earlier, this is the only chapter this week. Now, give me reviews! You give me reviews (A.K.A. FEEDBACK), I will give you a plethora of fireworks! Courtesy of broniesb4hoenies. It may be past the fourth of July, but it is NEVER too late to set off colorful explosives!<strong>


	113. Chapter 113 - Into Darkness

**Note: Hello everyone! After a week-long pause, here is a chapter!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: The Door_

_Time: 450 Billion years after the events of Procedure Kappa, four days after Lyric found Summer_

The strange man glared at the surprised faces of Gene, August, and Jefferson.

"Well?" he snapped, "Didn't you hear what I said? Blue, I want you and your underlings to turn around and get the hell out of here!"

"Underling? Whatever do you mean?" snorted Jefferson. He seemed more amused than anything, but his right hand slowly slipped under his overcoat to grasp a stiletto that was strapped to his velvet waistcoat just above his set of throwing knives.

"You damn well know what I mean!" snarled the strange man, who now was standing at the ready, with his rapier brandished high.

"No! You're mistaken!" exclaimed August suddenly, "I'm not Blue!"

"Lies!" snorted the man, "You're wearing his armor! And you look exactly like him!"

"But look at me! I only have some of my armor, and I'm fifteen! Blue had to be much older than me!" persisted August earnestly, "Please, you have to believe me!"

The man slowly lowered his weapon. He began to regard August with a mix of hostility and curiosity.

"He's right," muttered the man to himself, "He looks exactly like Blue at a young age… Ah… I know…"

The man straightened up, "No. I will never let you in. You are just going to have to leave whatever plans you had for here behind. Go now."

A red-hot bolt of rage seared through August's brain as the personality of Blue attempted to resurface. He could literally see next scene Blue had planned out play out with alacrity. He would pull out his gun and fire a diversion shot, then shove Jefferson over, relieving him of his throwing knives. He would then throw two in an arc to the man's left, forcing him to dodge right, straight into another bullet. It would be a piece of cake. It would be child's play. This person was interfering with their plans and that made him an enemy. And enemies needed to be mercilessly slain. This worthless piece of muck would have countless holes in him before he even knew what happened. It was so easy… So…. Easy…

August jerked out of the haze of Blue's fury and bloodlust. By some miracle, he had retained control. Still shaking from the ordeal, he slowly nodded at the man and turned around.

"We're going home," he muttered. He pulled out his Kanohi Olmak and prepared for departure.

Casting an alarmed glance at Jefferson, Gene then shrugged and prepared to follow August through a portal.

Then, suddenly, the man called out, "Wait! I believe you now."

August slowly put away the Kanohi Olmak. Then, slower still, he turned around to face the man, who was not looking a whole lot more amiable.

"I am the Gate Watcher," said the man, extending a hand, "I am sorry for being so stern with you, but you look a lot like Blue. I'm sorry for asking but… are you SURE you're not Blue?"

The Gate Watcher's gaze pierced through August's soul as he shook his hand. August took a shaking breath. Then he said, "No. You're right. I truly AM Blue, but I am also August Dellor. I mean that my name is August Dellor, but all of the information to be a John 3 Chapter Inquisitor is stored within me, slowly infusing my brain through the bleeding effect."

The Gate Watcher recoiled slightly, but then immediately went back to being friendly. "I am sorry for that. Blue was a murderous, brutal, fiend who simply earned the name 'hero' through technicalities. However, if you could resist killing me on the spot when I chose to end your mission in an instant, you are most certainly strong enough not to make the same mistakes that he made."

Jefferson chose that moment to cough loudly. "Um, excuse me, Gate Watcher? But what would those mistakes be?" he interrupted.

The Gate Watcher turned his blazing eyes to look at Jefferson. "He razed an entire land in pursuit of an enemy. Three thousand innocents, along with his target, died." The stern, gravelly voice of the man echoed as a shocked silence fell on the assembly.

August looked down at his feet in shame. Whenever someone talked about Blue, he felt like it was as if they were talking about his past, a past that he had no control or memory of in any case.

"However, this young man, August, has shown self-control, much like Blue in his younger days," stated the Gate Watcher, his friendly tone returning, "Thus, I welcome you Blue, or, should I say, August."

August nodded his head as he inadvertently attempted to once again claw off Blue's armor from his shoulder and arm.

Jefferson relinquished his hold on one of his hidden daggers and readjusted his large top hat. "Right," he said, "I do believe we should be on our way then."

The Gate Watcher nodded. "I will show you the way in."

Motioning for the trio to follow him, he strolled through the colossal doorway. A score or so meters in they were met with a vast void that stretched thirty or forty meters across, separating the doorway with the first strip of land of Averthon Magnum. In the middle of the void there was a massive wall of pure energy that split the gorge of darkness in half. In the distance, through the crackling, rippling surface of the energy wall, the group could pick out a mountain range, forests, and perhaps a few waterfalls.

The Gate Watcher pulled out what looked to be a pocket watch and toyed with it for a moment. Suddenly a massive bridge of brass, chromium, and iron clock faces and hands assembled itself from thin air, spanning the void. A hole in the wall of energy opened up to facilitate the bridge.

Jefferson, who was just pulling out the handle of his Tron glider, blinked in surprise. "Well," he said, "I can say quiet sincerely that that makes our journey a tad bit easier."

The Gate Watcher (who was now leaning on his large rapier like a swagger stick) nodded his head amiably. "Go on your way."

August bobbed his head in thanks to the Gate Watcher before turning. With a short breath, he put a foot on the bridge. In an instant, he was sucked into a vision.

In the vision, Blue was fighting with the Gate Watcher. Or, it looked like the Gate Watcher, but a little older. Blue had his longsword out, and he was combating the Gate Watcher with incredible skill. Though it was obvious that the Gate Watcher was on the losing side of this death match, he held his ground rather well. That is, until Blue spun in close, and slammed a fist into the Gate Watcher's chest, breaking every single rib. The Gate Watcher gasped and fell to his knees. That was the last thing he ever did. With a swinging uppercut, Blue relieved the Gate Watcher's head, right shoulder, and almost a half of his chest from the rest of his body. The poor man was dead as a doornail before he hit the ground. Suddenly, a wail of pure grief echoed out from behind Blue. Pulling out his Inquisition Blaster, Blue whirled to face two people. One looked to be the Gate Watcher's wife, and the other appeared to be the Gate Watcher's little boy. The wife swiftly reached inside her dress as if to pull something out. That was all the incentive Blue needed to pull the trigger. The blast blew a massive hole in her, and she dissolved into nothing before she even managed to fall to earth. The little boy closed his eyes and covered his ears, falling to the ground in fear. Blue pointed the gun and the little boy for a moment, then twirled it and holstered it.

Suddenly Sunflower and Dark appeared.

"We've got the coordinates of the fugitive," said Sunflower nonchalantly, not yet noticing the carnage before him, "We have till 4800 before the extraction point becomes hot, now we need to calibrate the… Um… Blue? Why is Mr. Gate Watcher and most of his family dead?"

"He attempted to stop our crossing," murmured Blue quietly, "I stopped him."

Dark strolled over to the bisected body of the Gate Watcher and searched him unashamedly. In a moment he pulled out the pocket watch. He fiddled with it, creating the bridge and opening a hole in the vast wall of energy. After that, he tossed the device to the little boy who was huddling on the ground.

"Shouldn't we do something about the child?" said Sunflower after a beat.

"No," said Dark, "What happened to him and his family is a casualty of war. This is for the greater good. We either need to shoot him now to put him out of his misery, or be on our way. Blue?"

Blue shook his head wordlessly and crossed the bridge.

August snapped out of the vision with a body-racking gasp. His memories/visions had never extended back that far before. It seemed the more armor he retrieved the more he remembered about Blue, and what he did far before the hiding of his armor. A nauseating sensation spread through August as he immediately realized who the little boy in his memory was.

Slowly August turned to look at the Gate Keeper. "One of the innocents Blue killed… he was your father wasn't he?" he whispered.

The Gate Keeper's eyes deepened in sadness. "Yes, August, he was. But he was only doing his job, and now that you are Blue, I can rest in peace."

August felt a lump appearing in his throat.

"Wow. I knew you would be ancient or something, but I did not know you were THAT old!" snorted Jefferson. Everyone promptly ignored him.

There was at least a minute-long moment of silence as August and the Gate Watcher stared at each other. Finally Gene placed a hand on August's shoulder and said, quietly, "We need to be on our way. Did you have any other visions pertaining to where the armor might be hidden?"

"No," replied August in hushed tones, "Just how Blue killed this man's father. But you are right, we need to get to the Scriptorium. Perhaps more visions will appear when we draw near."

August then set out across the bridge, indicating that Gene and Jefferson should follow him. Jefferson, still not really sure he should be feeling touched or not, took off his hat and twirled it in the air. Then he placed in back jauntily on his head and strolled after August, his coattails sweeping out from behind him. Gene immediately followed suit, and the trio disappeared over the other side of the clockwork bridge.

"I… was… a… MONSTER," hissed August, more to himself than anyone else as the trio stepped from the bridge into a grassy meadow that stretch on to a range of small knolls.

"You are not," replied Gene soothingly, "That was Blue, you're not Blue."

"And you have no idea how contradictory your last phrase was," snapped August, his eyes starting to slightly tear-up, "These are my memories I am experiencing, I am being infused with them. Next thing you know, I will only be a shadow of myself."

"As Doxia said," interrupted Jefferson toying with his top hat once more, "It is all about strength. If your conviction is great enough, then you will be able to push it down. Now it is time to see if your morals and principles are greater than the joy of being able to brutally dominate everything in sight."

"Wow," snapped Gene sarcastically, "I had no ideas mercenaries like you had such wisdom stored up like that."

Jefferson rolled his eyes, "Don't be so cynical. It's a gift."

"Stop it you two!" shouted August, "Jefferson, I thank you for your insight, I will keep that in mind. However, I would really appreciate it if you two keep it down now, I think we're coming to a town."

That very moment the group crested one of the green hills. Below them, in a shallow valley, surrounded by oak trees, was what looked to be a small town that appeared to be stuck in the 1700's.

"My! What classical taste," commented Jefferson airily as his expert eyes drank in the situation, "I prefer Victorian-style myself, but this looks good all the same…"

Gene gave August a side-long glance. "Are we going in there? Are you up to it?"

August rubbed the back of his knew with his unarmored left hand. "I guess we really have no choice. I cannot see the Scriptorium from here, so we will need directions."

"Well, let's hope you don't end up killing everyone for the information," joked Jefferson.

Both August and Gene turned to glare angrily at him.

Oblivious to the hostility he had just sparked, Jefferson shrugged. "What? Too soon?"

August pointedly turned away from Jefferson and started down the hill with Gene in hot pursuit. After a pause, Jefferson straightened his top hat and jogged down the hill after them.

In several minutes the team entered the town, immediately eliciting stares from any passersby.

August tried to start up a conversation with anyone who would listen, but it seemed that no one was in the mood to talk. Finally he gave up and turned to Gene in frustration, "Is there something wrong with me? Why will no one talk?"

Gene shrugged. "I can think of many possible answers. They might not like strangers, they might be wary of people with weapons, they might possibly hate the way Jefferson is dressed…"

"Or they might recognize the armor that young man is wearing from the tales of old," interrupted a voice behind them.

A searing bolt of shock jolted through August. Whipping out his gun, he whirled around and pointed it, causing the inn keeper who had snuck up behind them to jump up and raise hands.

In that moment, August started to sweat bullets as his finger inexorably moved to wrap around the trigger. It would be so simple to kill this man. He had snuck up on them, this posed a breach in their team's self-insured security. If he did not eliminate this threat now, the inn keeper would be free to sneak up on them again. August gasped as he forced his hand down and rammed the weapon back in its holster. The inn keeper let out a long breath.

Now that no one was in danger of being shot, Gene said, "What do you mean by 'tales of old'?"

The inn keeper pointed to the pieces of Blue's armor attached to August's right arm. "Ever since a man wearing armor akin to that destroyed this whole land in search of a target, any armor of that shape, color, or style has been considered cursed. No one will talk to you because of what this young man is wearing."

"Well, if it is bad luck, then why are you talking to me?" said August, half-touched, half-confused.

The inn keeper cocked his head to one side and stroked his beard stubble. "I don't know. Mayhap I recognized something different about you. You do not seem to fit the personality profile of the man who ruined our land so many years ago, though you seem to fit every other profile. I think you may have also proven me right by virtue of the fact that you did not shoot me when I snuck up on you three."

August looked down at his feet and mumbled an apology.

The inn keeper cracked a grin for the first time. "Do not worry, young'un! Now, tell me, is there anything you need? A place to stay? Information?"

"We do need some directions," said Jefferson, "We are attempting to locate the Scriptorium."

The inn keeper peered curiously at the trio for a moment before answering. "The Scriptorium? The tallest mountain of Averthon Magnum? Hmmmmm… Very well. You will be heading north of here. Keep heading north until you reach the Great Hedge, which separates this land to the frozen lands of the northern plains. Find a way around the hedge and keep heading north. In the epicenter of the ice lands you will find the Scriptorium. It is as simple as that. Just keep heading north."

"Just keep heading north? I think that that is not too terribly confusing," replied Jefferson, "Thank you my kind man."

The inn keeper nodded. Then, with a surreptitious glance about, he disappeared back into his inn.

"I guess our course is clear," said Gene, "Let's get to the town outskirts and then take to the air that should cut down any amount of travelling that has to be done by a considerable amount."

"I concur," agreed Jefferson, "Let us go."

The trio then set off for the outskirts of the aged town. For the most part, they went unobstructed. Everyone in sighed steered clear of them, going so far as to run into the nearest buildings and bolt the door.

August bit his bottom lip hard and looked at the ground. "They're terrified of me."

"No," said Gene, "They're terrified of Blue."

"You do realize that those names are fairly much synonymous with each other now, correct?" pointed out Jefferson as swept off his hat and winked at a nearby harlot, causing her to faint (out of pure, gripping, fear, nothing more).

"Shut up Jefferson," snapped Gene.

Jefferson threw up his hands and exhaled in exasperation. The group lapsed into silence once more. They continued to work their way through the town without any more incidents.

"Look on the bright side," said Jefferson as they exited the town, "Since everyone was so terrified of you, no one thought of confronting you about the deaths Blue caused."

Suddenly August held up a fist. Jefferson and Gene stopped. August looked about and whispered, "I heard something…"

Suddenly August dove to the ground. The moment that happened, a gunshot went off. A bullet whizzed through the spot that August had been standing before. August leapt up, his head sweeping around in search for the attacker.

All of a sudden, a young man, holding a smoking pistol, leapt up on nearby stack of wooden crates and held a sword high.

"Blue you fiend!" he roared, "I remember the stories. You were the one to kill my great-grandfather, ruining my family line forever! You… shall… pay!"

Jefferson began to laugh. "Oh my gosh! We're being challenged by a mewling youth! This is ridiculous. Come, let us leave this place before this kid hurts himself while swinging that sword around."

The young man fired off another round from his pistol, striking August in the right shoulder. The metal pellet crumpled upon itself and fell to the ground, smoking. Not a single scratch was on the armor of Blue.

With a roar, the young man rushed August, his sword held high.

"I'm not Blue!" yelled August, trying to back up, "I'm not a monster! I'm a hero!"

"You… are… a… monster!" screamed the youth, thundering towards August.

Gene attempted to step in front of the young man, but Jefferson grabbed him and pulled him back.

"I may be a mercenary," said Jefferson under his breath, "But I know a man-on-man situation when I see one. August needs to sort this out and come to terms with himself."

August spread his hands wide, teeth bared. "If you want to kill me, do it!" he hissed, struggling with the personality of Blue that was pushing to resurface in the face of danger, "I am sick and tired of being accused of atrocities that I truly did not commit. Do it!"

The youth yelled at the top of his lungs as he jabbed with the sword. Then… August snapped.

With a sweeping turn, August dodged the sword point. Locking the blade between his armored right arm and his shoulder, he slid across the blade until he reached the young man. Then, with his left hand, he seized the boy by the throat. Then, with a heave, August hoisted the youth in the air, slowly squeezing the life out of him while relieving him of his blade. Then, swinging the boy's own sword over his head, August drove the blade into the boy's stomach. Once, twice, thrice.

The boy was long dead before August finally dropped the dead body and broke the sword over his knee.

"August," whispered Gene, "What have you done…?"

Suddenly August blinked. "What have I… huh?"

Then he noticed the body on the ground and remembered what he had done before Blue had seized his mind. The young man, the attacker, was dead on the ground with three massive sword holes in his stomach, chest, and abdomen.

August slowly fell to his knees, his eyes wide with horror.

"No…"

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><p><strong>Note: What will become of August? Stay tuned to find out! Anyway, gimme reviews! If you give me reviews, I will give you a action figure of Blue! It's all the rage! Okay, anyway, I think I will be able to post up until Thursday. I have been really busy, so I have had very little time to write. I am sure you all understand. Thanks!<strong>


	114. Chapter 114 - Shadowed Horizon

**Note: Hello everyone! Keep up that speculating! To Russet Burbank: Here is a hint! The other Inquisitor might just be someone new. Anyway, read on!**

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><p><span>Flashbacks: Shadowed Horizon<span>

_Dimension: Clifford_

_Planet: Space_

_Specific Location: A parsec from solar system KOI-351_

_Time: Over 500 Billion years before the death of the Paradox_

"Okay! Listen up buds!" shouted Doxia loudly to gain attention in the briefing room (which consisted of Doxia, Allison, Meadolax, Libra, and Vaporis), "I know all of you are dying to check your Facebooks, Twitter accounts, and MySpaces, but we have a mission to discuss here. Now, what was I talking about before I was so rudely interrupted?"

There was a long pause. Finally Allison raised her hand and said, almost meekly, "Ummmm… We weren't interrupting you in the first place. You were talking about the target base specs before you suddenly started shouting about us interrupting you, and Facebook. What's a MySpace?"

Doxia sighed dramatically. "And now I remember how old I am. You listen here young'un…"

"Doxia, I think we can save that for later. Remember that last time we both broke out singing 'Let It Go' during that one summit meeting?" interjected Meadolax from the back of the room.

Doxia sighed again. "Fine. Now, this is the target base. From the info we hacked from the main computer at that last Dukarse base, we triangulated the closest 'new weapon' delivery to this place. Sources say the Dukarse have these deliveries all over their dimensional territory, so we need to act fast to steal it, analyze it, and figure out how to disable it before the Dukarse start a new phase of mobilization. Now… behold our enemies' base!"

Doxia telepathically brought up a holographic projection in front of his, and everyone else's, faces. This base was oil-rig-like just like the last one, but that is where the similarities stopped. The last target base had been similar to a college campus, with several large buildings scattered across the raised platform. This base was like a fortress. It had massive walls, tall spires, and an enormous tower in the center that stretched high up. Missile launchers, proximity turrets, and artillery lined the walls. It looked like a pretty tough place to crack.

Allison raised her hand. However, thanks to their new telepathic link due to project Dual Blade, Doxia knew exactly what she was going to say. "The reason why we are attacking this place specifically, Allison, is because this is the closest to the A.E.S. Intervention – which will be the best starting point – and because it is the closest to Amethyst territory. We really have no other choice but to hit this place, and to hit it hard."

Doxia then telepathically began to bring up different schematics and photos as he explained, "Like the last base, this whole planet is covered with phantom devices and energy shields. Thus, Libra, Allison, Vaporis, and I are going to have to hit this place the hard way: Space-to-Surface Dive-Pods. They will be launched from the A.E.S. Intervention, and will hit the base in formation riiigghhhtttt… here. Since we will be arriving from directly above at high speeds, they will not be ready for us. The moment we arrive, secure the perimeter for Meadolax and disable the AA weapons. With those offline, Meadolax can land on the roof of that largest tower using an ATS Scorpion. At this point, our team of Inquisitors, the Malachi 2 Chapter, will STSDP from the A.E.S. Intervention as well to support Vaporis in holding our perimeter as Allison, Libra and I hit the largest tower from the ground. With Meadolax working his way down through the building, and Allison and I working our way up, we can locate the weapon quickly and then escape through the ATS Scorpion and go pick you guys up."

Libra raised a hand. The moment Doxia gave her the go-ahead nod, she said, "I've been looking at these specs and have seen some disturbing high-level anti-Dimensional-Lord tech. This looks like a tough task for any amount of us in a short time, and we know destroying that galaxy or planet is out of the question. Why do we get the Malachi 2 Chapter? I think, due to the importance of the mission, we should get no less than the John 3 Chapter."

Doxia shook his head. "You just think that because you have a crush on Blue… or Dark… or Sunflower. Anyway, we can't because they are right now assassinating a Barius Warlord who has been lending vast amounts of soldiers to the Dukarse. As for the tech… just keep your head down. Since the beginning of time, only five Dimensional Lords have been killed, and the Heaven Multiverse was severely ticked off each time that happened."

Doxia closed all of the projections with a slight mental push and nodded his head. Class dismissed.

As the room emptied, Doxia strolled up to Allison and threw an arm around her.

Allison shrugged off his arm and said, "I am fine, thanks. And yes, I did check that paperwork for you."

Doxia threw an arm around her again and said, "You know, sometimes being linked to you like this has its advantages and its disadvantages. For example, the disadvantages are that I can hear you mentally raging about my love for the movie Frozen and Totoro. However, these are offset with the advantages of me now know that you still try to sleep at night."

Allison immediately threw off Doxia's arm roughly and turned her back on him. Doxia sighed. "Look, Allison, I wasn't making fun of you. In fact, I am fascinated. Why do you still try to sleep?"

"Sleeping in something I hold dear," muttered Allison, clutching at herself as if she was freezing, "The peace… the quiet… the chance to reflect. I just wish I hadn't been forced to sacrifice it."

Doxia stepped in front of her and gently pressed his visor against hers. Even through both masked helmets were one-way glass and metal, Doxia could see through it. He looked straight into her golden eyes and smiled.

"Hey. I understand how important peace and quiet is to you. And that is why you will never know how appreciative I am of you putting up with me and my babble. That is who I am, and you cannot begin to fathom how grateful I am that you accept me like this. Hey… next time you lay down and try to sleep, let me know, I will try it out with you. Who knows? We might be able to somehow catch a dream… the first lords in just about 500 Billion Years."

Allison slowly reached forward and hugged Doxia. Retaining her humanity was something that she valued highly, but it had been scoffed at by countless Dimensional Lords who considered it worthless in the face of the immortality and omnipotence that they had gained. So, Doxia's acceptance of her and her ways meant a lot to her.

At this point, Meadolax sidled into view and sent Doxia a secret PM that read: "Score Bro… Again! YOLO. Ask her out."

Even though it was a secret PM, Allison could see into Doxia's mind as clearly as he could see into hers, so she read the PM at the same time. She gave Meadolax a pointed glance. Then she realized he had meant for her to see it as well. The two male Dimensional Lords looked at her expectantly. Finally Allison sighed and said, "Doxia. I accept your request. I would love to go on a date with you."

Doxia pumped a fist. Meadolax jumped into the air and shouted, "I am the best match-maker of ALL TIME! Come on guys! Celebrate with me!"

Allison crossed her arms and said, "Please… no."

Doxia immediately straightened up and said, "Get a hold of yourself man! We need to act like gentleman!"

Meadolax stopped hopping up and down, and then bowed low. He then said, in a British accent, "Oh dearie me! Forgive my little bout of hopping and the like. I do bally well like a bit of a hop early in the mornin' though. It's good for the flippin' heart and such. Well… I have to go now. Cherrio!"

Meadolax then shimmered and vanished, having teleported elsewhere. Doxia then opened a portal to the A.E.S. Intervention. He held out a hand to Allison and said, "Time to skedaddle. You with me, buddy?"

Allison quickly gave herself a brushdown with her hands for no reason whatsoever, and then took his hand tentatively. The two then stepped through the portal. Vaporis and Libra were waiting for them.

"Are we ready?" said Libra quietly, "We have the STSDPs ready for launch. The target coordinates are all set, and the Malachi 2 Chapters have set up the underwater nano-scrambler device. The enemy sub-dimension radar and semi-molecular diffusion radios are offline. ETA in thirty second at launch."

Doxia nodded and leapt into his pod. It was one-man, but he motioned Allison to sit next to him anyway. She looked confused, but Doxia quickly said, "Dual Blade. We have to be together."

Allison nodded and stepped into the tight space with him. The pod door shut and the vehicle blasted away at an incredible speed.

Libra and Vaporis quickly leapt into their own respective STSDPs and were off in seconds.

Down at the Dukarse base, two soldiers were standing side-by-side, doing nothing.

"Hey… do you ever wonder why we're here?" said one slowly as he gazed off into the sky.

"What, you mean the answer to life, the universe, and everything?" replied the other one, "You know we solved that a while ago, the answer is…"

"No," interjected the first, "I mean why are we here? I thought we were supposed to be deployed to central HQ, where they were amassing the reserves for all those new weapons we got. Rumor has it, those weapons were given to us by a new uprising interdimensional empire, who has technology beyond even Amethyst."

"Get out!" snorted the second disbelievingly, "EVERYONE knows that Amethyst has all the good goodies! Like yesterday I was talking to my buddy and he was like…"

Then the STSDPs arrived. The shockwave of the pods arriving at incredible velocities sent the two troops flying across the courtyard of the base. In seconds, the alarm was raised and powerful tanks rolled out to engage… but it was too late. They had been taken by surprise.

The doors flew open and Doxia rolled out. He leapt onto his feet and loudly shouted, "HAH! BOOM BABY!"

Allison stumbled forward and shouted, "HAH! BOOM BABY!"

Then she tripped. As she jumped up again, she snapped, "Okay. I did it. Now you have to tell the Special One that we were the ones who broke the A.E.S. Immaculate."

Doxia laughed as he hurled a beam of gravimetric energy, turning the whole battalion of anti-Dimensional-Lord tanks to pancakes. "Okay! Fine! But I had that on video."

Alarms were triggered everywhere, and soldiers ran out, hurling bolts of Dimensional Energy. Doxia dove under a wave and conjured up two high-powered anti-existence carbines. He hoisted them and began to pull the triggers with speed available only to those with super-reflexes. Waves of energy tore through the targets, turning the whole group to dust.

As this was going on, Libra and Vaporis were back-to-back, warding off tracking missiles and destroying groups of hoverpad-mounted Gatling guns. Libra glanced at Vaporis and then spread her wings. Vaporis quickly unleashed a massive seismic blast that caused several smaller concrete security spires to collapse. With this distraction now in the face of the enemies, Libra quickly gained height and assassinated the Gatlin-gun troops on the hoverpads. She then commandeered one and then shape-shifted into an exact replica of one of the troopers manning the guns. She then quickly flew backwards until she was behind the line of deadly tanks pressing in on Vaporis's position. Then she opened up, turning the whole line into dust from behind, where their energy shielding was the weakest.

Doxia and Allison were also fighting side-by-side, clobbering whole battalions of heavily armored soldiers in seconds. Suddenly Doxia grabbed Allison and dove to the ground on a whim. It was lucky for them, because high-powered Dimensional Energy bullets tore through the air above their heads. A long line of snipers were hitting them from a hovering transport carrier some distance out over the sea.

Doxia snorted in frustration as another hail struck the ground a centimeter from his face. Doxia quickly threw up a massive explosion of shadow energy, obscuring the sniper's line of fire. He then turned to Allison and said "When I say 'go,' hurl an energy bolt straight at them."

The shadow cloud began to clear, and Doxia yelled, "Go!"

Allison leapt up and hurled an energy bolt. The transport skipped to the left, narrowly dodging Allison's attack… and headed straight into Doxia's. The transport and all that was inside exploded into flames. Nothing but ash managed to sprinkle into the ocean below as the whole thing dissolved. Doxia then turned a pulled a face as he saw a whole group of powerful mechs bearing down on their position.

These mechs were heavily armored and extremely dangerous… and the enormous group was blocking their path to the main building. Suddenly Doxia had an idea. He opened up a telepathic channel with Meadolax and said, "Change of plans. Have you landed the Scorpion?"

"Sure have buddy! You need some extra backup from little old me?"

"I sure do buddy-numero-uno. Just jump from the building into the courtyard. Land and land hard. The enemies need a little bit more of surprising."

"Righto dude! Check this out! I've been waiting to say this!"

Doxia closed the channel and turned to Allison. "We need to distract them and keep their fronts to us. Meadolax has a little surprise coming up for them."

Allison had already mentally heard what had transpired and nodded. The two released a wave of energy bolts in focused beams at several mechs. Though the mechs had enough power to absorb supernovas, they could not stand up to such a focused attack from beings powerful enough to dissolve a dimension. Two mechs immediately went up in flames and simply shimmered out of existence. The mechs began to really open up with their attacks, but did not break formation. That is… until Meadolax arrived.

Falling from the sky at two-times terminal velocity; he smashed into the ground feet first, causing the whole base to tremble. The mechs tried to turn around, but it was too late. A massive hurricane of power sent the giant robots skimming through the sky like discarded dandelion seeds into the ocean. As the smoke and flames cleared, Meadolax walked through the debris of war and struck a dramatic pose.

"I… am… your… FATHER!" he shouted.

There was a pause. Then Meadolax faceplamed. "Dangit! That was the wrong quote! Rewind! Rewind! Let's try that again!"

Doxia chuckled as he shook his head. "No time buddy! Let's roll! Get back to the top and rig the base's location. We will hit this whole place with a Tyreal's Hand Cannon when we leave. Hopefully the residents of this dimension's earth will not be missing an extra planet, 'cause this place is going up when we finish the mission."

Suddenly wings made of energy and light erupted from Meadolax's back. He spread the blinding wings wide and flapped them swiftly. In a moment he was rocketing back up to the ATS Scorpion parked on the top of the central tower. At this moment, three more STSDPs dropped from the sky, and their doors flew outward. Three heavily armed Inquisition troopers (all colored dark grey) with black Amethyst insignias plastered across their heavily armored chests rushed out and accosted the enemy soldiers nearest to Vaporis. Doxia quickly glanced at Libra and Allison and motioned them to follow him. The three sprinted inside the building and were attacked by heavy wall-mounted turrets.

Doxia swiftly warded off the shells with a miniature black hole as Allison whipped out her sword-guns and hurled them at the obstructing devices. The turrets were slashed off the walls and tumbled, sparking, to the ground.

"I've hacked into the mainframe and gotten control of their systems," said Meadolax over a telepathic link, "The weapon looks to be in the security vaults in the center of the building, where the protection protocols are the heaviest. I can seize control of the elevators and get you three to the hall. From there you guys are going to have to punch your way in."

Doxia quickly waved Allison and Libra into a nearby elevator as he dropped a score of security soldiers with a single gesture. Then he dove in and let Meadolax take control. The elevator took them to the 500th story and opened up. They were immediately accosted by a giant mech. Doxia threw up a shield of solid power, reflecting the hail of deadly energy bolts. He then kicked it forward. The shield smashed into the mech and sent it flying backwards.

It collided with a whole group of troopers and barreled through a wall, taking its massive metal hulk and all those poor soldiers with it.

Then, just as there was a second of silence, a dozen wall-mounted turrets folded from the sides of the hall and opened fire on Doxia and his team. Libra and Allison dove through the hail of energy bolts as Doxia drew the turrets' fire. They quickly disabled the whole group with slashed and cuts of their hand-held weapons, all the while narrowly avoiding any attacks sent their way.

With the turrets gone, the room went quiet again. But just as no more than a seconds-worth of silence had passed, several more armored mechs rose from ground panels. These mechs were armed with Dimensional-Energy charged flamethrowers. They hurled their focused streams of extremely deadly fire straight at Libra and Allison. Libra spread her wings and hurled herself through a window (narrowly avoiding a stream of fire). As she smashed through, she spread her wings and hovered in place, throwing bolts of energy. Allison hit the floor hard, rolled, and then kicked off a wall, spinning through the air. The seven mechs turned their attention to both Libra and Allison to take them out… a vital mistake. Suddenly Doxia uncloaked beside them and erased the whole group from the timeline with a single release of energy. Total destruction. Finally the passageway was quiet once more, and no more trials rose up to oppose the group. Now all that stood in their way was a twelve-meter-thick vault of Vibranium and Adamantium. Doxia blew it open with a single discharge of power.

Inside the vault was a whole plethora of interdimensional relics probably won from raids. In the center was a large metal crate, with unusual, archaic markings covering the whole thing. Doxia cocked his head to once side as he approached it. He gently tapped it and began to press his face to the thing, as if peering into the very depths of the container.

Doxia drew in a sharp breath. "There is something within this that is wrong. This weapon is truly evil."

Allison cocked her head to one side as she saw what was going on within Doxia's mind. Her breathing became labored as she saw Doxia struggling with the readings of his scans. Something inside the crate WAS evil. Pure evil.

Doxia jerked backwards quickly and said, "Enough! We need to get moving. Meadolax is waiting."

He then opened up a telepathic connection with Vaporis and his team. "Vaporis? How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Doxia," replied Vaporis over the link, "The Inquisitors and I are holding them off. But there seems no end to them! Hurry up, or I might inadvertently blow this whole solar system up, and that would destroy this dimension's timeline forever."

"Understood, old friend," said Doxia briskly, "There will be no dimensions going bye-bye by our hand today! Let's roll out!"

Doxia levitated the crate with the weapon within it and held it by his side. He approached the other side of the vault and kicked the security door at that side as well. Immediately turrets dispatched to assault them, but Doxia released a massive shockwave of power that turned the offending weapons to slag. Doxia strolled down the melting hallway and turned the corner to the elevator. Then he stopped.

A lone guard was standing between him and the exit.

The guard stiffened and held up his shotgun with shaking hands. He was basically threatening a tank with a pea shooter.

The guard shook as he said to Doxia, "Uhhh… Stop! Stop or I'll… um… er… I'll shoot? HQ? This is Johnson of level 500 security. We're going to need a bigger… um… everything."

Doxia leaned close until his visor was a hairsbreadth from the guard's visor. Then Doxia simply said, "Boo."

With a yelp, the guard leapt through a nearby window screaming, "Iimmediatelyregretthisdescision!"

Chuckling, Doxia strolled up to the elevator and opened it up. He, then the crate, then Allison, and then Libra bundled themselves into the thing. The lights flickered as Meadolax took control of the systems once more, and the elevator began to rise. Then it stopped.

Doxia snorted. "Meadolax? Hello? Remember the part where we rise to the top like majestic chickens and fly away into the sunset in the Scorpion?"

"Yeah, I remember the majestic chickens part, but I thought we had agreed that pigeons would be better," said Meadolax, who sounded unworried, "It looks like the Dukarse dudes have gotten a huge group of peeps to cut through the elevator's maglev system. You will be falling in less than ten seconds, so here is what I'm going to do: blow a hole through the elevator and the shaft and dive out. As you are falling, I will fly the Scorpion down like a hawk and scoop the crate up in the cargo hold along with Libra. You and Allison, will hit the ground as hard as you can… and rupture the whole planet. Coolio?"

Doxia chuckled. "Your coolio has never been more cool, my friend. Let's do this!"

At that very moment, the elevator dropped and the group within the elevator began to float. Doxia then shouted, "Libra! You and the crate are going to take a little trip outside!"

"What?!" yelled Libra, "No! I am not leaving you two!"

"Whatever! Nose goes!" roared Doxia back. He and Allison quickly touched their noses.

Libra blinked. Then she yelled, "What is that supposed to-"

She didn't get through the entire sentence, because Doxia interjected, loudly, "You lose!"

He then blew a hole in the side of the elevator and the elevator shaft with a blast of explosive energy. He then shoved Libra (and the crate) out. The two were immediately sucked out into the air.

Libra seized the crate and spread her energy wings. However, she only had to glide airborne for a couple seconds before the ATS Scorpion (piloted by Meadolax) whizzed down with several Dukarse jetpack troops hot on the trail. Libra went into a dive once more, and Meadolax expertly piloted the Scorpion in front of her. She barreled into the dropship bay. Meadolax then performed an incredible spin, completing a 180-degrees turn in a millisecond. The jetpack troops tried hard to pull away, but it was too late. Meadolax turned them to dust with a hail of energy bolts from the Scorpion. He then shot off into the sky with blinding speed.

Doxia and Allison continued to fall.

"You ready?" shouted Doxia. Allison nodded. Then Doxia held out a hand. Allison glanced in surprise at the gesture. However, after a moment of confusion, she reached forward and gently took it. The two fell at thrice the speed of terminal velocity.

"Vaporis! I suggest you and the Inquisitors get off the ground!" shouted Doxia, "We're coming in hard!"

On the ground, Vaporis quickly signaled for Inquisitors to follow him. They shot off into the sky.

Silence fell on the battle-scarred courtyard.

"Aha! You better run!" shouted one of the soldiers gleefully. Then he froze. "Ummm… Why did everyone go so quiet?"

Then Doxia and Allison struck the ground with incredible force. The whole base and the whole planet shattered with a massive explosion of power.

Doxia and Allison floated amidst the debris, looking around at the asteroids and chunks of rocks that represented the grave of the planet.

"We exploded the bad guys successfully," said Doxia telepathically to Meadolax, "Come pick us up, big guy."

In a moment, the ATS Scorpion appeared from behind one of the larger of the colossal rocks, and rocketed towards them. It pulled up next to them and unlocked a docking bay. Doxia and Allison quickly entered, and the Scorpion shot away.

In two hours, Doxia, Allison, Meadolax, the Amethyst Empire Special One, and Mattimeo stood together, awaiting the lab reports on the weapon.

"It looked like some kind of bomb," mused Doxia to Mattimeo, "I really couldn't tell. Maybe some kind of multi-dimensional nuke?"

"That isn't what I'm worried about," said Meadolax, not sounding worried at all, "What really caught my eye was the strange aura that surrounded the weapon. Is it just me… or did it feel… EVIL?"

"Yeah! That is what bothered me as well!" exclaimed Doxia (also not sounding bothered at all), "There is something wrong!"

"Well, from my own personal scans, the weapon actually looks like some kind of container," said the Special One quietly, "There are no forms of deadly explosives known to us in there, and that is what personally bothers me. We know of every natural and man-made element ever to exist anywhere in the multiverse, and yet whatever is inside that weapon does not hit our scanners. If that is true, then why has the Dukarse Empire gone through such great lengths to protect it? I suppose we will find out soon…"

At that moment, everyone in the room received an update from the lab detailing all of the information discovered from the test.

"This… this doesn't make any sense," muttered Doxia, who NOW sounded worried, "What does this even mean?"

Suddenly the Special One slammed his fist hard on the table, smashing it into shards. Everyone looked at him as he drew in a sharp breath.

"Maelstrom," he whispered, "This bomb contains Maelstrom. The devices are set to explode tomorrow. And when they do, all Dukarse soldiers assembled will be infected. The Maelstrom is upon us. We have no time to prepare."

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><p><strong>Note: And here was the latest of the flashbacks! What did you think of it? Do you want more like this? Now, please give me reviews! Lots and lots of them! If you give me reviews, I will give you a tank. Remember, tanks are useful, since if you have one, the other person's argument is invalid. Thanks!<strong>


	115. Chapter 115 - Last Request

**Note: Back to Lyric and Summer! These chapters are by far the best... For me at least. Let's go!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Council Room_

_Time: Four days after Lyric found Summer_

"… And that is totally how the team is going to find the Inquisitors. Except… there might be more explosions… or less," said Doxia animatedly to the rest of the Rerenhaw Council.

There was a pause that was at least a minute long. Finally, the mouse Martin the Warrior broke the silence.

"Doxia… What in the name of barrel-bottomed toads are you talking about?" he asked incredulously.

This seemed to break the spell over the assembly.

"I thought we were originally talking about this situation with that one Pegasus," stated Firestar calmly.

"We were, then Doxia went off on a tangent," said Martin the Warrior.

"No, I don't think it was a tangent, if you think about it," said Rosalina quietly, "Doxia never does that."

"I agree," piped up Derpy, "Doxia, what were you talking about?"

"A tangent," said Doxia simply.

"See?" exclaimed Martine the Warrior.

"Doxia was JOKING, Martin," interjected Firestar.

"Everyone, please!" said Jiminy Cricket as loud as his cricket-sized voice box could muster.

The entire assembly quieted down (with the exception of Mattimeo, who had said nothing in the first place). The group then looked to Jiminy Cricket.

"Now that we have a bit of peace and quiet, Doxia, would you mind telling us again what happened when you approached that one Pegasus that August reported present in the Coma-Safeguard Dream Sequence?"

Doxia nodded. "I went to her and explained the whole situation. I told her that the multiverse needed her, and what we wanted her to do."

"… And…?" prompted Jiminy Cricket.

"She said no," continued Doxia simply.

Firestar's eyes blinked inexorably. "She said no? Intriguing,"

"I'm sorry, but is that her final answer?" said Martin, a little surprised.

Doxia nodded. Martin glanced at Mattimeo, who finally spoke for himself.

"I do not think we should consider that her final answer," he said, "I understand that one of the staples of the multiversal laws of Amethyst is the honor of free will, but, then again, the Inquisition was never about honor. It was about winning, no matter the cost."

Doxia glanced sharply at Mattimeo. "Matty? Is that your voice I hear? Look here dude, who are you and what have you done with Mattimeo?"

Mattimeo straightened up in his large council room chair. "Doxia, you heard me. We cannot simply take her answer at face value. We need the Inquisition information stored within her."

"I'm sorry Mattimeo," sighed Doxia, "But I have no inclination to force her to be an Inquisitor. Her heart is lovely, innocent, simple, and pure, and I will not corrupt her. God, imagine what would happen to her consciousness if Dark's personality was stored within her. It would rip her apart. However, by an act of providence, those Inquisitor memory-based data packets are locked behind an impenetrable wall caused by her amnesia, and I intend to leave it that way. If she finds a way past it, then that is fine by me, but we have no right to infringe on her own fate."

"I don't mean to sound so aggressive," murmured Rosalina, "But is that not the policy the Angels of the Celestial Heaven so heavily enforce?"

"I must agree with Rosalina," said Firestar, "We were given a task by High Lord Kytax to reinstate the Amethyst Empire to protect the Earth Multiverse. We are unable to do that if we fall into the Heaven Multiverse's practices."

Doxia crossed his arms belligerently and leaned back in his chair. "I still don't like it," he said, his voice disgruntled, "I still do not like it, and, in fact, I am fairly much against it."

"Well?" asked Derpy, her voice soothing, "What should we do as an alternative?"

Doxia cocked his head to one side as he thought. "Hmmmm… I have an idea, but it is risky. First I suggest we try and convince her first. Mattimeo, I think you should talk to her. Your reasoning is always sound, she might listen to you. If not, well, then I have an idea to extract the information we need from her memories. As I said, it is risky, but it is better than taking complete control of her mind and forcing her to become an Inquisitor against her free will."

"I will agree to that," said Mattimeo, standing up, "This council will adjourn until I have a word with this Pegasus. When we have determined where her loyalties lie, we can proceed from there."

Doxia leapt up and opened up a portal. He then gave Derpy a flourishing bow and said, "Madame, may I have the honor of walking you home?"

Derpy gave Doxia a sweet smile and held out a hoof. Doxia took it and led her through the portal.

As it closed, Doxia said, "Righto. I am going to find my team of peeps. They are preparing to begin their search of Dark and Sunflower, whichever of those two are still out there. Huh…"

Doxia's voice trailed off into a troubled silence. Derpy looked at Doxia with her bright (yet misaligned) eyes. "Doxia, is something troubling you?"

Doxia did not say anything for a moment. Instead he scratched the back of his helmet nervously. Finally…

"Yeah," he confessed, "I know that that pony Summer and August are present in the coma-safeguard dream thingy – that is two John 3 Chapter Inquisitors accounted for – but that leaves an important question: where is the third Inquisitor? I mean, this literally leaves a plethora of unanswered questions. What Inquisitor is Summer? Who is the missing Inquisitor? Why has Orion been facilitating August's transformation into Blue? Who is Orion working for?"

Derpy shut Doxia up by lightly planting a kiss on the distraught Dimensional Lord's cheek. Her smile was calm and soothing as she said, "I don't have any of those answers, but I know that, in time, each one will come to light. You just need to wait and see."

Doxia sighed. "I guess you're right. Hey, are we still on for lunch?"

Derpy giggled. "Do I ever say no?"

The two chuckled for a bit. Then, finally, they went their separate ways. Derpy off to her mail delivery route, and Doxia to find Twilight Sparkle and the rest. He found his team assembled with the rest of the Mane 6 at Sugar Cube Corner with Sunset Shadow.

"Oh my gosh!" exclaimed Doxia gleefully, "It is the elements of harmony united! Quick! To the Tree of Harmony to defeat Tirek! Or maybe Discord! Or maybe some other villain that will be immortalized in fanfiction one way or another!"

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side. "Who would right fanfiction about us?"

"Sorry kid," chortled Doxia, "But I am pretty sure you specifically haven't made it into any fanfiction yet. Maybe one or two, but that is it."

"I would rather we never mention the Tree of Harmony again," snorted Rainbow Dash. Even after all these years, she was still extremely ticked off about all her harmony powers being given to her as a diversion by the homicidal maniac, the Paradox. "I mean," she continued, "It's not like it really did any good in the end. It ate our elements of harmony!"

"Which the Paradox also made," interjected Doxia, "But never you fear! You guys have proven to be greater than those silly little elements! Rainbow Dash braved the Stallion Empire! Applejack braved the weapon exchanges of the south! Pinkie Pie worked her way through the traps of the Canterlot Royal Treasury! Twilight masterminded the rebellion against the Paradox! Rarity was a total freaking awesome Dimensional Traveler! And Fluttershy was in the background, being so awesome that it looked like she was doing nothing and yet she was doing everything at the exact same time."

"I still AM a Dimensional Traveler," sniffed Rarity. She clapped her hoofs together lightly, and a fainting couch appeared with loads of ice cream and chocolate stacked beside her. She settled down, and began to levitate hunks of the candy into her mouth. Everyone just ignored her.

"Is it really true that old miss Rarity here is actually going on an… ADVENTURE?" squealed Pinkie Pie, as excitable as ever. "That is Whoopy-Dooper-Loopty-Looper-Alley-Ooper AWESOME!"

Doxia fist pumped. "You bet your rainbow-colored cupcakes they are! Heh. I cannot believe I made that reference. I am glad Mattimeo razed that alternate timeline eons ago."

There was a pause.

"Sooooooo… What are WE going to be doing during all of this?" interrupted Rainbow Dash impatiently, "I hope you don't honestly think we will be sitting on our backsides doing nothing while Twilight goes on a suicidal adventure?"

"Define suicidal," snorted Discord, "YOUR adventure into that cursed land of snow and ice was suicidal. This is nothing but mere child's play. Do not worry your dear old head, Shutterfly, I will protect them!"

"I seriously doubt that," countered Flaming Star irritably, "And the pony you are talking to is Rainbow Dash. The yellow and pink Pegasus is Fluttershy. And don't worry, I will protect us."

"Oh, don't be absurd, dear," added Rarity, "I will protect eveypony! I have the flair to do it! I can and I will!"

"Last time I recall you had such power, it ended up being a disaster. Remember that Inspiration Manifestation incident?" pointed out Discord dryly with a smirk.

Rarity coughed. "I simply have no idea what you are going on about, Discord!"

"Okay! Okay!" interrupted Doxia loudly, "We still have to work out who is protecting whom, and where exactly we lie with respects to having a fully functional trust circle – or is it a triangle? – But now is not the time to discuss that!"

"No pony has answered my question about what we'll be doing!" shouted Rainbow Dash.

"Ummm… Maybe we could all twiddle our hooves peacefully?" offered Fluttershy hopefully.

"Fluttershy, really," snapped Rainbow Dash, "You've raised a foal, and you STILL want nothing to do with adventure? Did your mid-life crisis skip you or something?"

"Maybe she was so calm and tranquil, she lulled it into nonexistence," replied Sunset Shadow sharply, coming to his wife's rescue, "And I still race you now and then. Isn't that excitement enough?"

"Yeah, but you always lose now!" groaned Rainbow Dash, "You are nowhere near as fast as me since Kytax took your powers! You've literally turned into a guy-version of Fluttershy! Flaming Star is the only challenge anymore!"

"Define challenge," replied Flaming Star, "In that case you always lose. And no, the only reason we ever come close it because I make it so, so please spare me your boastful speeches. And since when did Fluttershy become her own category of physical ability?"

"You ain't heard nothin' yet, sugar cube," sighed Applejack, "Rainbow's got it down to somethin' of a science. Fluttershy now can be used to categorize speed, disposition, and color. She's even used it on mah apples."

Doxia snorted back a snigger. "What did Dashie do? Did she picked up an apple and say, 'Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! This apple is sooooo Fluttershy! Now if it could only break Mach Seven, then it would be twenty percent cooler!'"

Applejack opened her mouth to confirm Doxia's extrapolation of Rainbow's attitude, but was stopped by Rainbow's hoof.

Rainbow grinned nervously, "Heh… I said nothing like that!"

The entire room erupted into multiple conversations.

Suddenly the clamor was cut through with a single, extremely loud yelp from Pinkie Pie.

"FROSTING!"

The whole room shut up immediately and looked at Pinkie, who pointed a hoof at Doxia.

"Thank you Pinkie," said Doxia, after clearing his throat, "Now, if I may have your attention, please. Rainbow Dash, I have nothing for you yet, but I do believe Canterlot's secret service is considering bringing in Trixie once again, so at least you will have something to do sooner or later. Anyway, Discord, Twilight, Rarity, and Flaming Star, I want to talk to you about your mission."

The whole room remained silent, prompting the Dimensional Lord to continue.

"The first lead we have is in the Dishonored dimension. We want you guys to search it for any signs of either of the Inquisitors. Are there any questions as of yet?"

Discord raised a lion's paw.

Doxia sighed. "Yes… Discord?"

"If I am not mistaken, the Dishonored dimension is one of the more nasty places in the multiverse. It has steampunk, but other than that it is rather… yucky. Have you decided who is going to protect whom yet?"

"Yes," replied Doxia promptly, "Everyone will protect everyone else. I am not going to appoint a leader, you guys are going to have to do that. Flaming Star has the holopad with the rest of your instructions. I want you guys to begin immediately. We are running out of time. Orion is still wreaking havoc in the Reset Dimension, and we are no closer to catching that terrorist and his mysterious employer than Tom is to catching Jerry."

"I still firmly believe that, one day, Tom will catch Jerry and eat him," sighed Discord dreamily.

Flaming Star gave Discord a disturbed glance. "In your dreams," he replied sharply, "Jerry is totally going to outsmart Tom for all of eternity. I should know, I interviewed them both during a multiverse-wide manhunt."

"Ooooh! Was that the manhunt of 1775?" interjected Rarity.

"I read about that on the database!" exclaimed Twilight, "Flaming Star spearheaded that!"

"I bet you all just made that up," replied Discord airily.

"You know what? That's it," said Doxia sharply, "You guys are leaving now. Keep your head and limbs in at all time, and try not to kill yourself or another universe. The Heaven Multiverse does not take kindly to dimension-exploders. Have fun!"

Doxia snapped a finger and opened a portal. Then with a slight gesture, he commanded the linoleum floor beneath Flaming Star, Discord, Twilight, and Rarity to heave up and toss the group through the portal. The portal slammed shut with a small "pop" and all went quiet.

Rainbow Dash turned to look at Doxia.

"Um, hey, Doxia-nator," she said timidly, "You said I might be called in to retrieve Trixie some time?"

"Yeah," replied Doxia, almost apologetically, "It seems that there is some suspicion that Trixie is the leader of a high-tech terrorist group called Trixie's Hoof that is eating away the insides of the Stallion Empire. The ruler of that land has personally requested Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to aid him in taking them out."

Rainbow Dash's face went dead-straight for a moment. Then she began to sweat.

Doxia facepalmed. "Dashie… You knew about this terrorist organization all along, didn't you?"

"Heh, um… yeah… about that…" chuckled Rainbow nervously, "I knew about it, but Trixie promised to me that she would personally protect the inner valleys of the north. That way all refugees would be safe while she declared war of the Stallion Empire monarchy from the inside. I thought she was doing the right thing! Those Stallion Empire guys are bad, and need to be taken down."

Doxia sighed. "It is a lot more complicated than that. And you do know you could get into a whole boatload of trouble for withholding this information, right?"

Rainbow bit her bottom lip. "You're… you're not going to tell anypony, right?"

Doxia patted her rainbow-colored mane lightly. "This situation is waaaaayyyyy out of my jurisdiction anyway. I did not hear a single thing you just said. Who is Trixie, anyway?"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Frozen North, the Stallion Empire_

_Time: Four days after Lyric found Summer_

Lyric looked about frantically. "Voices? Already!? This is really, really, really bad…"

Summer let go of Lyric's hoof and began to grope about until she found the edge of the precipice. Then she felt along it until she located the nearest trees. She put an ear to on and rapped it lightly.

Then she turned to Lyric. "It seems most of these trees are tall enough to span the gorge. Is there a way to topple one?"

"No!" exclaimed Lyric worriedly. His eyes raked their surroundings once more, searching for a possible answer to their problem. Sadly, other than the gorge, there was nothing but massive frozen pines and dirty white snow. The sun was now past the east mountain ranges and was illuminating the scene before him in a cold light. Everything was practically frozen solid.

"There is no other way!" snapped Summer, the tension in the air making her short of temper, "We need to find a way to topple one of these trees!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" hissed Lyric through clenched teeth, still looking for another alternative. The tree's trunks were too thick and icy. There was no way his small dagger could cut through one.

"They're getting closer," replied Summer, her voice rising to a frightened squeak, "I think they know we are near!"

Lyric himself could not hear anything yet, but he had learned to trust Summer's senses, if not her judgment.

"We have to head left," he snapped, roughly grabbing one of Summer's hoof, "The mountainous slopes are nearest there, when we've made it, we can make a break for the north. There is a massive icebridge that I know of that spans the ice river and perhaps this gorge."

Summer yanked her hoof free of his grasp. "That is in the opposite direction! We can't detour! That would cost us resources!"

"It's either resources or our lives!" yelled Lyric.

"We run out of resources, and it will be our lives nonetheless!" cried Summer.

Lyric bit down hard on his bottom lip to prevent him from screaming at his friend. Finally he sighed and replied, in a low voice, "I am going to see how close the mountain range is to our left. How close are the voices?"

Summer began to tremble as she picked up more noises too faint for a regular pony to hear.

"I've most certainly picked up the word 'Trixie' now. They have vehicles and weapons too. Lyric… why won't you listen to me? I am sure there is a weakened tree around here somewhere that we can topple!"

Lyric turned around and began to gallop away. As he did so, he called back, "You have no experience. I do."

Summer groaned in dejection. As her friend disappeared into a particularly thick grove of trees, she sighed, "But sometimes I know things too…"

Summer sat there for at least an hour, dejectedly listening to the voices draw nearer, and nearer, and nearer...

Abruptly she stiffened, and then, almost forcefully, she was pulled into a vision. It was like being dragged roughly from a dry pier into an icy-cold lake.

She gasped as she found herself in a tranquil dreamscape expanse. Suddenly she realized something: she was not alone.

A tall being was before her, but she did not know who it was.

"D-D-Doxia?" she stuttered.

"No," replied the voice, "But I am a friend of his. My name is Mattimeo."

"P-please Mattimeo!" cried Summer, "We are being chased down by killers! I can't be immobilized like this!"

"I have scanned your situation through your ears, nose, and eyes," said Mattimeo emotionlessly, "The enemies will not find you for a little while longer."

"B-but I could be finding a solution to our predicament in the time it takes for you to talk to me," pleaded Summer, "Please, kind sir, let me go."

"I already have a solution to your problems, little one," said Mattimeo, "I will trade that information for you agreeing to listen to me."

Summer sighed. "Okay. Are you SURE they won't find my body, or Lyric, while you talk?"

"I am ninety-two percent sure."

"Okay."

Summer cocked her head to one side as she heard Mattimeo beginning to pace back and forth before her. There was a pause, then, finally, he spoke.

"I am sure Doxia has told you of your true destiny?"

"Well, he told me that I had special memories that automatically made me part of a powerful team to save the entire multiverse… But… But I don't see how that makes that my destiny."

"It is, little one. You have been chosen, and now you need to shoulder your responsibilities."

"But… I can't! I have to stay with Lyric!"

"You are casting aside your God-given duty because you want to be close to your lover?"

"He's not my lover! We're just friends. B-but he needs me. I know it. And I need him. I cannot imagine what life would be like without him."

"You cannot imagine life without him because you cannot imagine life past four days ago, when he found you. If we reveal what memories we can salvage from your amnesia, you might just change your mind."

Summer bit her bottom lip. She had never thought about that. But did she really want to do this?

"I don't know," she stuttered, "I want to be with Lyric."

"You don't know that," pressed Mattimeo, "All you know is that a colt found you, and he took it upon himself to protect you and care for you."

"Exactly! He has gone out of his way to protect me, and I now I need him."

"Is this really the life you want to lead? We can offer you and him so much more. For you we can offer power, and for him we can offer protection and comfort. All you need to do is leave him and come to us. We will recover your memories, and a whole new segment of life will begin."

Mattimeo's voice was entirely devoid of emotion, but it still chilled Summer to the bone. But this strange being did make excellent points.

Finally, she spoke up again, "No. I do not want to be separated from him, no matter the cost. If you asked Lyric, he would say the same thing."

There was another pause. Then Mattimeo spoke.

"I have seen what you have seen of him. He is a thief. Do you truly believe he wouldn't give up comfort and wealth for you?"

Summer's throat caught in horror, and she felt a lump forming in her throat. She turned away from his voice.

"Go away," she sobbed.

"Very well," replied Mattimeo, his voice still as calm as a tranquil lake, "But we will be back. We need those memoires. Now, Summer, to your exact left is a tree whose roots have been rotted to nothing by the frost. It is already starting to list, but the snow piled around it makes it look solid. Give it a good, hard shove, and the entire thing will topple-"

"SUMMER WAKE UP!"

Summer gasped and shot up, rubbing her sightless eyes. "I'm awake! What happened?"

It was Lyric, shaking her vigorously. "Oh thank God you're not dead," he sobbed.

Summer blinked. Emotion was heavy in his voice. He had been scared witless.

"I'm okay now," she said softly, "How is the mountain range?"

"It's blocked off by a tank. A freaking tank! They have tanks here! No, we're trapped. But at least you're okay," he sighed. He then sat down next to Summer and said, "How close are they?"

Summer's heart picked up tenfold as she heard the oncoming enemies slowly drawing closer to their position. Soon they would be close enough for them to see. Then they would be dead.

Summer began to cry. It was silent, but the hot tears still rolled down her cheeks, freezing the moment they dripped off her face.

Abruptly she felt a gentle hoof touch her face. She stiffened as Lyric brushed away her tears.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry for yelling," he whispered as the shouts and yells of the oncoming enemies became truly audible.

Summer nodded her head, "And I'm sorry for yelling as well."

Lyric shifted closer to Summer. Then he said, "Well, this is it. It was fun while it lasted. Too bad your special powers aren't working anymore…"

Summer gasped. The whole incident with Mattimeo came rushing back. She jumped up. "I've got it!"

She then dodged off to the left, and began to tap the base of the nearest pine with a hoof.

Lyric got up. "What are you doing?"

"The roots of this tree," Summer explained, "They've rotted away! We can push it over!"

"Impossible," murmured Lyric. He then planted a hoof firmly against the tree and gave it a little push. It shifted with a loud groan.

"By the Emperor, Summer, you are a genius!" exclaimed Lyric, "Quick! Give me room!"

Planting his back hooves against the tree, Lyric shoved backwards with as much force as his starving body could muster. With a roar, the tree toppled, its green-tipped head smashing on the other side of the gorge. Snow exploded in a wave into the gorge as splinters shot out. The old pine had just become a sturdy bridge.

Suddenly gun shots began to sound off. They had been spotted.

"Quick! Summer! Over the bridge!" yelled Lyric.

"Why do I have to go over the bridge first?" asked Summer. Bullets began to whiz by them.

"Because you're blind! I can't have you in the line of fire!" shouted Lyric. A tree beside him exploded into splinters as bullets tore through the bark.

"Being blind is precisely why I should go last!" snapped Summer, "I can grab a hold of your tail, and you can lead me across! I'll be fine!"

"No you won't!"

"Yes I will!"

Lyric clamped his mouth shut. He then put a hoof on the pine bridge. Summer clamped down on his tail with her mouth and then nodded her head, signaling for him to go. Lyric proceeded to gallop across, with Summer in tow. It was an absolute miracle that they were not hit by bullets, as a whole squadron of Trixie's Hoof terrorists lined up and began to shoot.

Unscathed, they made it to the other side. Lyric leapt down, helped Summer get to the other side, and then shoved their end of the pine bridge into the gorge with adrenaline-enhanced strength. Two terrorists fell to their deaths as the pine shattered and splintered as it fell into the depths of the precipice.

However, even though they were now safe from a direct attack, Lyric and Summer were nowhere near being out of danger. Suddenly a large grove of trees were flattened as a massive tank, akin to an FV215b rolled into view. Turning its gun to face the duo, it fired. The shell missed them barely and exploded into the trees behind them, but it was enough for Summer to fall to the earth, screaming in pain from the loud noise. Fire rippled in a red and orange plume of heat and light from the grove as splinters and fiery branches hailed down. Snow scattered everywhere, and dust and earth rose in billows.

Hoisting Summer onto his back, Lyric dashed into the forest before the tank could fire again. Galloping as fast as he could, Lyric dashed away from the scene. Soon the explosions, gunshots, and yells died into silence. Now they were finally safe.

Lyric gently placed Summer on the ground and stroked her face.

"Summer? Summer!"

Summer opened her eyes groggily. "L-Lyric? Are we safe?"

Lyric sighed deep and long. "Yeah. We're safe for now."

Summer jerked forward and clasped one of Lyric's hoofs. With her sightless eyes sweeping over his face, she asked, "Lyric? If you could have me, or a palace full of treasures, what would it be?"

Lyric blinked. Where had this question come from? For a moment, his stomach flipped as the tantalizing temptation of gold and wealth clouded his mind. But then he remembered Summer's kind words and guiding smile. No. He wanted, nay, he needed her, gold was not nearly as important.

"I would choose you, you silly filly," he snorted, "Whatever brought up that question?"

Summer closed her blind eyes and sighed. "Oh… nothing…"

Though she appeared to now be peaceful on the outside, Summer's mind continued to race. He had SAID that he would choose her over gold and riches, but, if truly presented the chance, would he still be thinking the same thing? There was no way for her to know.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: This is the last chapter for me this week! Sorry. I will see you all next week! Now give me some reviews (A.K.A. Feedback) please! Thanks!<strong>


	116. Chapter 116 - Refusal and Acceptance

**Note: I am back! I hope you all have been hanging in there! Anyway, on to answering a couple reviews! To austin, actually, the FV215b is a British tier X tank! It's gun has an OP RPM, but it is not even close to being relevant when facing things like the T110E5. To AdorkableDerpy, baconwaffle you say? Hmmmmm... Challenge accepted. Now here is my latest chapter. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Council Room_

_Time: Five days after Lyric found Summer_

Yet another Rerenhaw Meeting had been called. However, this time no one was very happy about the call. Tension hung heavy in the air as everyone leapt through portals from their home dimension to file into the large Council Room. For the first time in a while, Doxia was the very first to be there. He wrung his hands lightly, which denoted the fact that he was, indeed, very nervous.

Finally Mattimeo arrived. He strolled purposefully into the room and sat down in the head chair. The rest of the council followed suit.

There was a pause…

"Well?" asked Derpy, her voice bright and chipper in the hopes that her disposition could lighten the feeling of foreboding that hung over the assembly like a dark storm cloud, "How did it go, Mattimeo? Did she say yes?"

Mattimeo shook his head. "No. She said no."

Firestar flicked his tail over his forepaws as he said, "Very well. She has made her final decision. Now it is time for us to do the same. Doxia? What was this plan that you were speaking of earlier?"

Doxia sighed. Then he got up and telepathically activated a plethora of holographic projections. They slowly spun around the council room table in a physical cacophony of light as the council studied them.

"These are some notes I have been taking about my plan," said Doxia, "Would you like me to pitch it to you all now?"

Martin snagged one of the holographic projections with a paw. He studied it before tossing it back into the spiral of light. "Yes. Please do."

"Well, in theory, the unique DNA born of the Inquisitor-based Imagination Streams that materializes inside beings are practically useless besides being able to deliver the memories," started Doxia, "If that is the case, then we are not looking for the genetic makeup of a person, we are looking for their memories."

Doxia paused momentarily to sigh deeply.

"Go on," prompted Mattimeo, a tinge of interest invading his usually emotionless voice.

Doxia nodded his head in Mattimeo's direction before continuing. "Memories, unlike genetics, can be stolen. What we need to do is simply take whatever Inquisitor-based memories are hidden within Summer's subconscious. They were never truly hers to begin with, and she has in no way begun to rely on them, so we are not doing anything technically wrong. Additionally Summer will be able to go one her way without any harm from us."

"I like this idea quite well," mewed Firestar, "but I still do not see a repercussion yet in these notes. I know the multiverse too well for that. Everything comes with a cost or some form of an obstacle. Correct?"

Doxia nodded his head again. "There is one obstacle. As most of you are aware, memory-extracting is a tricky thing, since we are dealing with a being's brain and subconscious. In order for us to proceed, we need Summer to be in a coma. Wow. Saying that out loud made this sound terrible. You know what? Scratch this whole idea."

Doxia clapped his hands once, and all of the holographic projections spinning around in a mad dance of energy and light flashed out of existence. However, Mattimeo was not about to let this plan go.

"No, Doxia," he stated, "This plan has merit. With those memories on hand, we can pick-and-choose who we want to Summer's Inquisitor. This plan could work well."

"So, what, do we find a way to knock her out?" asked Roaslina, her eyes wide with horror.

"Unfortunately so," stated Mattimeo calmly as he telepathically brought up a dozen holographic scans reports of his own, "However, it is not as simple as that. From what I understand, we need to hit her with a trans-phasic Imagination pulse. It will stabilize her unconscious mind, allowing us to retrieve the needed memories. In short: we need to put her in a coma, and then bathe her in a special power pulse for this to work."

"But we have no idea where Summer is," Jiminy Cricket, "And we cannot simply re-occupy the My Little Pony dimension. That would cause a xenophobic uproar. Remember how intense that got a couple of decades ago?"

"Agreed," replied Martin, "I do not see how this could work. Unless we found a way to narrow down her location."

"Summer did say she was in the Stallion Empire, in the north," added Doxia, "But that is still too great of an area. I also would like to point out that putting Summer in a coma against her will is unethical and therefore illegal."

"As I stated before, Doxia," replied Mattimeo coolly, "This is not about ethics, this is about the Inquisition. We can hit the north with a continent-wide sub-sonic disruptor. It will only affect those who are blind. It will cause them to pass out within minutes. After the disruptor has done its job, we can hit the continent with a massive trans-phasic Imagination flash-bang. I understand that this is a large expense of resources, but it is required."

"No," said Doxia flatly, "We cannot do this. Summer and Lyric are being hunted. If we knock out Summer, than this reduces their joint chances of survival by a blanch-worthy amount. In other words, we could just be killing the two if we carry out this endeavor. I vote down this operation."

"Same," sighed Derpy, "As much as I respect you, Mattimeo, you just are not thinking this whole thing through."

"I vote this operation down not because it is effective –which it is– but because it is simply too dangerous and unethical to perform," added Firestar.

"There has to be another way. Rest assured, I will find it," said Martin stoutly, "I regretfully vote this operation down."

"I am the voice of reason. And I can easily say such a dangerous operation as this is most certainly unreasonable in many aspects. I vote this operation down," said Jiminy Cricket.

"I am sorry Mattimeo. You know how much I like you, but I cannot condone something like this. I vote this down," sighed Rosalina miserably.

Mattimeo stood there for a moment, his masked visor sweeping the scene. Finally he turned to Doxia and simply said, "Operation Infrastructure?"

This ticked Doxia off by quite a bit.

"No," snapped Doxia angrily, "This was not that. Operation Infrastructure was carefully planned and wonderfully executed. I knew for a fact that the projected deaths would be a gross exaggeration of the real amount of deaths involved. This is wrong, pure and simple. Operation Infrastructure was an excellent plan to bring down the Maelstrom, the god of evil, this operation is a horrible plan designed to steal memories from a blind filly and condemn her and her coltfriend to death."

Mattimeo bobbed his head slightly. "Noted. Very well. By popular vote, Operation Memory has been aborted. We will look for another way to retrieve Summer's Inquisition-based memories. Martin, you said you would not rest until you had a solution. Begin your search now. Dismissed."

The whole group began to file out slowly until only Rosalina and Mattimeo remained.

"I'm sorry Mattimeo," sighed Rosalina, "We're still friends, right?"

Mattimeo glanced at her. "But of course."

Though his voice was as smooth and tranquil as a small lake in a lush forest, Rosalina simply felt worse than before. She shook her head, turned around, opened a portal to the Mario dimension, and left.

Mattimeo was alone.

Slowly the Dimensional Lord brought up a holographic projection and opened a link to the captain of the A.E.S. Byron.

"Captain, this is High Dimensional Lord Mattimeo speaking," he said calmly, "I need you to redirect your ship to the Harmony Tree dimension. Enter into high orbit about Equestria Earth. When optimal orbit has been achieved. Hit the Stallion Empire continent with a continent-wide sub-sonic disruptor and a trans-phasic Imagination pulsator in quick succession. This movement has been given a class-5 secrecy level. Cut all communications with any sentient being until the mission has been accomplished and you have returned to your regular patrol route. Over?"

There was a moment of silence before the captain of the A.E.S. Byron replied.

"We understand your orders, sir. Beginning mobilization. All communications have been severed. Over and out."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: Doorstep Valley_

_Time: Five days after Lyric found Summer_

August continued to kneel beside the carcass of the young man, simply looking at the ground.

"August, we need to keep going," urged Jefferson, reaching for August's arm. August simply roughly shook off Jefferson's arm and continued to look at the floor.

"No, seriously," continued Jefferson, "If anyone in this town sees that you gutted a youth, they will all rise up in arms. We cannot afford to spill any more blood, or, more importantly, be slowed down."

"I think you have your priorities all mixed up, Jefferson," snapped Gene. Then, in a gentler voice, he said to August, "August, this was not your fault. You fell to Blue again. Come on, we need to go!"

August slowly got up, his hand shaking. He slowly pulled out his Inquisition Blaster and threw it away.

"I will not have that piece of death-inflicting hell with me," he said. He then turned his back and began to walk away. Suddenly he stiffened, and then, almost like in a trance, he turned about and slowly walked back. He then picked it up and holstered it once more. His face was the picture of dejection as he turned back to his friends.

"I-I cannot keep him out of my head," he mumbled, "And what's ever worse… I don't really mind anymore either."

"That's it," said Gene firmly, "We cannot go on. August will end up tearing himself apart before too long."

"No!" exclaimed Jefferson, "It is in our best interests that we keep going. Doxia needs you, August, the Amethyst Empire needs you. Who are you loyal to? Your friends, family, and nation? Or simply yourself. I would choose the latter myself, but I am not you. You understand what it means to be a hero, or have you forgotten so soon?"

August bit his lip. Blood began to dribble from the spot as he bit harder and harder. Then he gasped loudly and staggered back. Shaking his head, he sighed.

"We need to keep going. If we don't stop Orion, who will?"

Gene shook his head sadly, but Jefferson clapped.

"Bravo!" he exclaimed, "Right you are. Now we need to keep moving. I suggest we take to the air."

August nodded his head. "I think… I think that would be a good idea…"

His voice trailed off. He turned around to face the town. No one had seen them yet, but every moment they resided near the dead body of the young man increased the chance of them being caught. This did not seem to bother August, though. He continued to stare into the town, his face contorting as if he was in pain.

"There could be witnesses," he murmured, his hand creeping for the Inquisition Blaster.

Finally August jerked backwards with a gasp. He then turned around and quickly said, "We have to get away. Blue is becoming stronger all the while I grow weaker. We need to move."

Gene sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. What would he do when (not if) Blue consumed August? Would he have to turn his back on him? Would it even worth trying to befriend the being that would be replacing his friend?

"This is all Doxia's fault," groaned Doxia, "We have to go back. We cannot keep doing this. Perhaps we can find a way to undo what has been done."

"No…" murmured August, "This is my duty, my destiny. I will shoulder the responsibility."

"You still have a choice in all this, August, you can back out and refuse," persisted Gene.

However, August simply shook his head silently in denial. Then, beginning to harness his levitation abilities, August lifted into the air and began to fly off to the north.

Gene glanced at Jefferson.

Jefferson simply shrugged. Unlike Gene, he seemed less worried about the wrongness of the situation, and more interested in whether or not August would consider killing him along the line if he accidentally got in the way.

Jefferson then pulled out his Tron Hang Glider, and, with a running leap, glided off after August.

Gene sighed. Then, with a powerful leap, he became airborne like his two friends. In moments the trio was nothing but a small group of specks on the horizon, leaving the disheveled corpse of the innocent young man to rot in the sunlight.

Still determined to not let his friend give into despair so soon, Gene pushed his flying powers to the limits as he struggled to catch up to August. The moment he did so, August simply looked away to show that he had no interest in talking, but Gene continued to talk anyway.

"You need help, August," said Gene loudly over the howling wind as they flew, "I know you have made your choice, and I know that you've decided to become an Inquisitor, but that does not mean you need to suffer through this. I know that you vehemently are against becoming Blue, but it seems quite apparent that you cannot do it alone. What about Kytax? He is all-powerful, perhaps he can…"

August suddenly stopped flying. He just stopped in midair and hovered there. He had ceased movement so abruptly that both Gene and Jefferson had to pull hard turns to come about to face him.

"What if I want to be Blue?" shouted August to Gene. His voice choked, and his eyes were full of desperation.

Gene shook his head. "That is not what you want. You heard Doxia: they had no honor. They were not heroes. They were simply monsters that were leashed by the good guys."

"You don't know that," hissed August, tears slowly beginning to form at the corners of his eyes, "I've seen Blue's past. I've seen his memories. There is more to this. He was… he was hurt…"

"No," said Gene sternly, now trying to take the offensive, "You're just telling yourself that. Opinion and proof are two very different things, and while you have your own opinion, I have seen overwhelming proof that Blue was a murderer. He's killed, razed, and maimed his way through countless situations. That is not what heroes do. That is not what you do."

"Pardon me for interrupting," interjected Jefferson suddenly as he swooped by, "But what is your definition of a hero then, Gene?"

Gene glanced sharply at Jefferson before saying, "A hero is someone who is willing to protect the innocent and the weak at the cost of their personal gain, their goals, and their lives. They do it for the betterment of all, even if it means personal loss."

August opened his mouth and then closed it sharply. He started at Gene for at least a minute. Finally, he choked out, "Perhaps I don't want to be a hero. Perhaps I want to be an Inquisitor."

With that, August resumed flying off to the Scriptorium, which was now faintly visible in the distant horizon. It was a lone mountain, thin, craggy, and grey painted against the sky that had become blood-red with the setting of the sun.

Gene shook his head again, and resumed following August, but now from a respectful distance. He knew August had heard what he had said, but now it was up to him to decide what the next step was. Jefferson continued to follow them, his face rather solemn. It seemed that the conversation between August and Gene had sparked a few controversial questions within his head as well.

In a couple of minutes, they reached the Great Hedge that the Innkeeper they had met at the small town had talked about before. It was straight, green, and colossal. Though they were flying about a hundred meters in the air, they just skimmed the top of the green barrier. The moment they did, they noticed a sharp difference in the environment: namely, it was snowing. Literally. On one side of the Great Hedge (to the south), it was like the middle of summer, on the other side of the Great Hedge (to the north), it was like winter. Nonetheless, the same setting sun was hovering equally above both lands.

Despite this curiosity, none of the trio chose to comment or acknowledge it. Instead, Jefferson loudly shouted, "The sun is setting. I say we set up camp for the night and wait out the darkness."

August glanced back at Jefferson and nodded his head. He immediately began to slow in velocity and descend in altitude. After a moment of hesitation, Gene followed suit, with Jefferson right behind him.

Three touched down at the foot of a great snowy forest. Snow continued to fall in billows as the group took cover in the tree line. As the strolled into it, August peered through the branches, his eyes fixed on the horizon that was rudely split by the massive spire of rocks that was the Scriptorium.

"Somewhere up there is yet another piece of my armor," he murmured, more to himself than anyone.

"You mean Blue's armor," corrected Gene, now tense with apprehension. August seemed faint, as if his true self had become so exhausted that it had decided not to even combat Blue's submerged personality anymore.

August simply bobbed his head in acknowledgement to the correction.

Jefferson then loudly tossed himself on a pile of dead grass grouped about the cold trunk of a large pine and tipped his massive top hat over his face.

"I'm going to sleep," he said loudly, "If you two decide to continue to argue about whether or not August is now the new Blue, please keep it down."

"Do you care nothing for August's wellbeing?" snapped Gene, quite annoyed by the lack of empathy the mercenary had shown throughout the course of their adventures, "He is having trouble, and we, as teammates, need to help him through."

Suddenly, August spoke. "What trouble?" he asked in hushed tones, his voice even fainter than before, "I am who I am. I am an Inquisitor."

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><p><strong>Note: Things look dark now for both August, and Summer and Lyric! Now, does anyone want a cake? No, this cake is not a lie. However, it IS air-flavored, so be warned. I will be willing to trade this cake for some reviews (A.K.A. FEEDBACK). You give me reviews, you get cake. A fair exchange, if you will. I know you know you want the air-flavored cake. Just look at how tasty it is...<strong>


	117. Chapter 117 - Shot in the Past

**Note: Hello everyone! There seems to be some surprise and confusion over the appearance of Doxia's physical form. I shall make an official statement. Yes, Doxia WAS an anthropomorphic dog when he first became a Dimensional Lord, just like Mattimeo was an anthropomorphic cat. However, after a while, Doxia shape-shifted into the appearance of a human because he believed that he felt closer to the human species after his dimension and his entire species vanished into nothing from old age. Okay, moving on. To Rainbow999, you wanted a chapter with Discord and his team? Okay! I decided, because of your request, to juggle about my chapters so you got some Discord action first. And if you make a Doxia plushie, Rainbow999, I will make you a dozen air donuts... and air cookies... and air cake. Moving on once again, here is the latest chapter, enjoy!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Dishonored<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Outskirts of Dunwall_

_Time: Five days after Lyric found Summer_

Discord straightened up huffily and gave himself a quick brushdown. He then jauntily polished his lions paw against his downy coat.

"Well!" he snorted, "I guess that was Doxia-ese for 'get going before I kill you all.'"

Rarity tossed her head. "Nothing of the sort. He was in a hurry. You see, Discord, unlike you, Doxia and I have a special connection. Brother and Sister, you understand?"

Twilight said nothing. She really couldn't. Her mind had gone blank with shock. Before her was a massive city. It was a vast metropolis of steam-punk buildings, with smoke rising in billows from forests of smokestacks and electricity openly crackling from strange copper tesla towers. To the average Dimensional Traveler or Dimensional Lord, it was a regular sight. But for a pony who had known nothing but Equestria, this land was beyond wondrous.

Flaming Star gently nuzzled her ear and murmured, "Amazing, is it not?"

Twilight simply nodded her head wordlessly as her eyes continued to widen as she visually drank in more of the strange land. Almost inadvertently she lay her head on Flaming Star's head and sighed.

Discord coughed loudly. "I do apologize for my interruption of this obviously tender moment, but we were actually here to do some good old investigating, not sight-seeing."

Twilight started. "Oh! That's right! I forgot! Yes… Ummm… How do we intend to do this?"

Rarity opened her mouth as if she was more than ready to take command, but then she shut her mouth. She opened her mouth one more time, but after another pause, she sighed and closed it. She then rolled her eyes and turned to look at Discord, who was grinning smugly.

"Very well, Discord," she snorted, "You take point."

Discord winked. Then he turned to Flaming Star. "Protocol first, just to make sure we do this the way it was intended by the Paradox before he went insane. Firstborn? May I?"

Flaming Star actually looked honestly surprised. Both by the fact that Discord was acknowledging his position as the highest of the Dimensional Travelers, and by the fact that Discord had referred to him to Firstborn. He had not heard that name for decades. He blinked. Then he nodded his head slightly.

Discord's grin widened. Then he flashed out of existence. A microsecond later he flashed back into existence, wearing a Fleet Admiral's vest with a golden-tipped swagger stick.

"Very well! Listen up laddy-bucks! First things first! Right now I believe it would be best if we did some research. The only thing we have to go on now is that Inquisition-specific Imagination Signatures were picked up in this dimension on this planet. That is it. Thus we cannot go off and begin searching like Rainbow Dash searching for attention. What we will do now is use our specially-equipped Amethyst Empire databases to look for unique events possibly pertaining to an Inquisitor's actions. Let us begin!"

"Research?" exclaimed Twilight with a barely disguised squeal of delight, "I love that!"

Flaming Star raised his eyebrows slightly as he muttered, "I of all people know that the most."

With that, Discord, Rarity, and Flaming Star opened up their Traveler's databases (with Twilight sharing Flaming Star's).

For the next hour and a half, the group simply sat in one place, searching through terraquads of information. However, as time went on, very little came up with actions outlandish enough to have been performed by an Inquisitor.

"This is a waste of time," sighed Rarity, tossing her curly mane, "I believe that if I stare at this hologram any longer, my eyes with explode!"

"And that would be a tragedy, indeed," chuckled Discord, "For some."

Rarity was about to sharply retort when, suddenly, Twilight exclaimed, "I got it!"

Immediately all quarrels were forgotten as the whole group huddled around Twilight and her holographic panel.

Twilight, face alight with happiness, pointed to a data log in the holograph.

"Look at this," she stated, "About twenty years ago, a high-ranking senator of the southern isles was staying here, at Dunwall, for a meeting with the young Empress. However, the night before the meeting he was assassinated."

Rarity sighed. "Granted, darling, but how is this unusual? From what I perceived of this dimension, assassinations were aplenty during the early stages of the Empress's reign."

Twilight shook her head. "That is not the strange part, Rarity. See this image? This is a picture of the tower the official was staying in. It was the highest tower in all of Dunwall. So high, in fact, that from the second highest building, the angel of elevation would still be too steep for any sniper to make a headshot unless the senator was hanging himself out the window. But guess what? He was killed by a sniper."

With that, Twilight brought up some more images of the death of the senator. The death was clearly from a bullet from a sniper rifle. However, what was even stranger was that the bullet had punched a neat hole through his head at a flat angle, which was impossible from what Twilight had just described.

"Do you think someone could have just snuck up to his room and shot him in the face with a sniper rifle at point-blank range?" asked Flaming Star, now very interesting by this promising piece of information.

Twilight shook her head again. "Dunwall's two most renowned bodyguards were with the senator. They both saw him get up from his bed to rub a crick out of his neck, and then get shot."

Discord clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Wonderful! Oh, not about the death itself, but about what this death implies, of course. Anyway, now what we have to do is search for a building that matches the height of this tower, no matter the distance!"

In a moment, Rarity had found it. Her jaw dropped. "Oh, er… I found one. It's the east bay's lighthouse. But… um… it's over four kilometers away."

Flaming Star nodded his head sagely. "I think we've just found Sunflower. According to Doxia, his weapon could fire projectiles across solar systems, so sniping a head off a man from that distance could probably be child's play."

Twilight nodded her head in agreement. "I agree. According to this data, no weapon in this dimension has even close to enough power to fire something that distance. Oh! Look at this! The very same day of his death, a man named Corvo Attano discovered evidence that the senator had been intending to kill himself, the empress, and the Empire of the Isles' House of Commons with a massive bomb! It looks like Sunflower had decided to keep that act of terrorism from happening."

Rarity nodded her head as well. "Yes. And when did this event happen? About twenty years ago? Well, I think it is very obvious then: Sunflower was just recently active, not vanished like the Inquisitor Blue eons ago."

Discord straightened up. He then flashed out and then back into existence quickly, replacing his Fleet Admiral's vest for a neat suit and tie with a shiny black bowler hat. He winked at his comrades.

"Right, NOW let's do some investigating, shall we?"

Twilight's face paled. "But… but I won' fit in! They don't have colorful, talking ponies here, do they?"

Flaming Star chuckled. "No, but after the reign of Emily Kaldwin, the Paradox made this place a small interdimensional trading post. So, the people of Dunwall have seen their fair share of strange creatures. And besides, I have no intention of transforming ever again, so if they don't like having colorful talking ponies about, they will have to deal with all of us. Isn't that right, Rarity?

Rarity actually looked a little disappointed. She had initially been planning to transform into a human, but now…

"Er… yes…" she sighed, "Yes. Well? Let's go!"

Discord nodded his head as he pushed his bowler hat at a jaunty angle. "Right! Let's go!"

The group of four began to set off into the massive city of Dunwall in the direction of the tower where the traitorous senator had met his end.

As they strolled through the cobbled street, most people going about ignored them. There were a couple startled or interested glanced tossed their way, but nothing too extreme. A couple of frolicking children even complemented Rarity on her mane.

Discord looked like he was enjoying himself a lot.

"Do any of you remember the things I said about the Dishonored dimension previously?" chortled Discord, "well, if you do, I take it all back. Last time I was here was when this land was enveloped in a power struggle after the last Empress of Dunwall, Jessamine, was killed. Ugh, it was a terrible place. But, fortunately, it seems this one timeline of the Dishonored dimension got it all right in the end. I mean, look at how clean everything is!"

At that moment, the group turned the corner to face the tower. It was part of a larger complex, obviously designed for housing royalty and other high-ranking officials. Unfortunately, it was heavily guarded. An armored soldier at the gate to the place immediately stopped them before they got even close to the front of the place.

"Halt!" the guard said sharply, "What is your business here?"

Discord motioned for the rest of the group to stand down as he declared, dramatically, "I am Discordious. My compatriots and I wish to see that tall tower. We hear it is the tallest in all of Dunwall. Are my sources accurate?"

The guard did not answer. Instead he simply sighed. "Tourists. I am sorry, you four, but I cannot let you up to sightsee. It is for VIPs only."

Discord's grin did not falter. "Did I say we were tourists? I did not. We are here because we wish to investigate a death that was caused in that very tower twenty years ago. The investigation was called off because it was too outlandish, and because the deceased was a traitor to the Empire. Now will you let us in?"

The guard did not bat an eyelash. "Wonderful story. Now please leave before I have all of you arrested for loitering."

Discord's grin still did not falter. "Very well. But do not expect Dunwall to get any more of MY tourist money!"

With that, the group moved off a ways until they were out of earshot of any of the guards protecting the complex.

"What now?" asked Twilight innocently, "Do we go home?"

"The very idea!" exclaimed Rarity indignantly, "We do NOT go home! Doxia would never have given up. Discord, I have an idea!"

Discord's face was the picture of mock surprise. "An idea? Why, how is that ever possible?"

Rarity ignored the jab and continued, "Discord, I want you to distract the guard. Get him to turn his head away from the rest of us for just a moment. Then, when that happens, I will cloak us in invisibility. Then, Flaming Star, I want you to fly us up to the tower. We can get through a window or something."

Discord clapped his hand. "An excellent idea if I've ever heard one, which, by the way, I have. I will do my part right now."

With that, Discord strolled over to the now exasperated guard to talk to him once more. Now claiming that his sources were telling him that the bedchambers of the Empress were taller than this complex's top tower, he got the guard to bend over to inspect a map of Candyland that he had conjured up. In a flash, Rarity had cloaked the group, and Flaming Star began to levitate the three through the air.

Discord glanced up, and, seeing that his part of the mission was complete, dropped his map and exclaimed, "By my auntie's apron strings! The rest of my group left me!"

"I wonder why?" muttered the guard sarcastically as Discord ran off in an exaggerated manner. Shaking his head, the guard then went back to his post. Little did he know, however, that three beings had just passed over the gates unseen.

Twilight let out a little gasp as they continued to rise higher and higher through the air, approaching the spire. Flaming Star glanced over at Twilight and asked, "Are you okay? You've flown countless times before."

Twilight glanced at her wings before answering. "Of course. But… I've never flown THIS high, before."

Rarity peered out of the photon-reflecting energy shield she had cast and said, "Hmmm… yes. The air is quite thin up here. I would not doubt that this could possibly be the highest even Rainbow Dash has flown."

Flaming Star grinned. "Oh no. She and I have flown way higher during a couple of our races. Trust me."

At that moment, they arrived at the window of the top tower. Quickly Flaming Star scoped out the interior using X-ray vision. Then, with the slightest gesture, he teleported them all inside.

"You know," said Twilight as they began to trot about the room, "It just occurred to me that it HAS been over twenty years since the assassination. What forensics has not cleaned up, time most certainly has."

"Right you are, my incredibly intelligent wife," said Flaming Star looking about carefully, "But some energy signatures never go away. All interdimensional weapons leave an Imagination Energy mark, no matter how faint. The signatures are not unique, and we will be unable to glean the current location of anyone using it, but it will confirm for sure that our theories are true about an Inquisitor carrying out the assassination."

A second later, Rarity cried out in exhilaration, "There! I've found it!"

Twilight and Flaming Star turned to look at Rarity, who was pointing a hoof at the window. "There's a faint signature in the shape of a bullet hole right there!"

Flaming Star opened up a holographic scanner interface to let Twilight take a look. After a moment of inspection, Twilight nodded. "If this thing shows correctly, then we have found the last place an Inquisitor was spotted performing a mission. Well done, Rarity."

Rarity smiled in a very lady-like manner. "Why thank you, dear."

Abruptly Flaming Star held up a hoof. "Wait! I hear something!"

The trio quieted down. Faintly, they could hear voices coming up the stairwell.

"Are you sure I heard a shout?"

"I'm positive!"

"But how is that possible? We were guarding the stairwell the whole time!"

"More like you were sleeping. But, anyway, we are about to find out how it is possible. Come on!"

Flaming Star glanced at Rarity angrily. "A shout?" he said grumpily.

Rarity grinned sheepishly. "Heheh… So sorry."

Flaming Star shook his head. "We have no time to get out. Rarity, activate an invisibility bubble."

Rarity shook her head frantically, "I cannot! We are in too close of a proximity to objects. The bubble's radius would end up half-cloaking several objects! We have to cloak ourselves! But wait… we cannot! We have Twilight. Quick… how about a joint skin-tight invisibility web?"

"We can't do that either," snapped Flaming Star, "We don't have the time to scan and calculate all of our body surface areas. Rarity… quick! Cloak yourself!"

Pupils the size of pinholes, Rarity mentally fumbled with her invisibility abilities. In an instant she was gone. With that, Flaming Star transformed into a couch.

Twilight, realizing what Flaming Star had in mind, quickly dove behind it and hid from view. Less than a second later, two guards entered the room.

They stood about for a moment, looking about.

"See?" snapped one, "I TOLD you there was nothing. It was your imagination."

"But you were asleep in the first place, so you weren't conscious enough to hear it as well!" protested the other.

"Well, I didn't either way, so let's get back to our posts," retorted the first grumpily.

"Hey! Look at that couch! It looks amazing!" exclaimed the second suddenly, pointing enthusiastically towards the shape-shifted Flaming Star.

The first glanced at the couch in exasperation, but the moment he laid eyes on it, he said, "Wow. That IS a nice couch."

The second looked about, almost tentatively. "Do you think we would get in trouble if we sat down on it for a moment?"

The first roughly shoved the other. "Of COURSE we would get in trouble. Come on, let's go."

The second sighed in resignation, and the two guards went back down stairs.

Almost three whole minutes had passed before Rarity, Flaming Star, or Twilight dared to move. But, finally, Rarity uncloaked and Flaming Star returned to looking like a pony.

Twilight grinned as she nuzzled Flaming Star affectionately. "See? You look good even as a couch."

Flaming Star blushed a little. Then he said, out of the side of his mouth, "For the love of God, please do not tell Discord, Rainbow Dash, or Sunset Shadow about this."

Rarity winked. "You can count on me, Flaming Star. Now, shall we be going?"

Flaming Star nodded. "We can. Now that I have an image of our initial starting point in my head, I can quickly teleport ourselves down there to Discord without further ado."

With that, Flaming Star opened up a portal to an alleyway. The group hopped through. As the portal closed behind them with a small "pop," Flaming Star beckoned Twilight and Rarity to follow him. The quickly trotted down the alley, turned two corners, and found themselves at the front gate of the complex once more.

At the gate was Discord. He was playing Gin Rummy with the guard that they had met from earlier.

Discord looked up and spotted Flaming Star and the rest. The moment he noticed them, he said to the guard, "Oh bother! It seems the rest of my group has 'found' me. I suppose I shall be going now."

The guard actually looked a little disappointed. But he nodded, got up, shook hands with Discord, and returned to his posts. Discord winked at him and then turned to his team, grinning even more than when the whole fiasco had started.

Flaming Star blinked in surprise. "You actually got a gate soldier to play a card game with you? Incredible."

Discord bowed. "I know. I am incredible. So, what do you all have for me?"

Rarity nodded her head to Twilight, who said, "We found Imagination Energy signatures unique to interdimensional weapons. An Inquisitor killed that corrupt senator for sure."

Discord stroked his beard for a moment before saying, "Good. We are most certainly on the right track now. Now let's go to the one east bay lighthouse. That is most probably where our mysterious Inquisitor took the shot."

Rarity bobbed her head. "It is indeed. I was able to look at the Imagination Energy scatter effect. The trajectory most certainly came from that direction."

Flaming Star glanced at Rarity in shock. "How did you know to check that?"

Rarity smiled sweetly. "Let's just say Doxia and I've spent some extra 'quality time' on the field. I know quite a few things now."

Flaming Star decided it was best not to ask further and instead said, "Okay. We have our next course of action clear."

Discord struck a dramatic pose. "It is indeed! Off to the lighthouse!"

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><p><strong>Note: I had a question. Do any of you play either Dota 2 or League of Legends? If so, you might want to check out <span>w w w . litetactical . c o m<span> It is something that I made to help me play them better because I am a huge fan of both. Okay, now that we have that out of the way... who wants a Dishonored wristbow? The weapon looks exactly as you think. You give me a review (A.K.A. FEEDBACK) and I shall covertly send you one that is invisible. Remember, wristbows are for assassins, and making the weapon invisible makes it even more sneaky.**


	118. Chapter 118 - A Small Spark

**Note: Well, sorry, but no Flashbacks today! I will explain what is going on in the later author's notes. Time to visit Summer and Lyric. Dang, I like these parts so much. To Russet Burbank, Rarity should seem more experienced. Even after she had her powers taken from her, she and Doxia continued to work together so that she would truly understand her abilities should she ever need them again. They share a kind of brother-sister connection now. Okay, here we go!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Stallion Empire_

_Time: Six days after Lyric discovered Summer_

The snow was a sparkling white, with little pinpoints of cold blue dancing along the fluffy expanse. The sky was a crisp blue, and the sun shown cold yet bold, with golden rays of warmth streaming through the awe-inspiring mountain-tops. At the feet of these awesome mountains were two little specks, these two specks were Lyric and Summer.

The two ponies trudged through the snow and ice as they worked their way through the past. Behind them was the large pine forest with the gorge, before them, on the distant horizon, was another forest. As of now, they were making their way through a small intervening strip of snow.

As the two ponies continued to trot on their way to the next forest range, Lyric described this scene with alacrity, causing Summer to sigh and sway in satisfaction as she drank in her friend's description of the unseen surroundings.

"So… majestic…" breathed Summer, "Now, tell me, what about the forest before us?"

"I actually happen to know that forest quite well," replied Lyric, "It is a whole lot more open than the forest we just left, and I am pretty sure there are now gorges or Trixie's Hoof Tanks lying in wait for us there. Just a couple of clean, cool streams and beautiful miniature waterfalls. I am sure you will enjoy it, and, since I know it well, we will be able to hide in it for a while."

"A stream," sighed Summer, "It's been a while since I've been able to dip my muzzle in an icy, refreshing brook! I can't wait!"

With a giggle, Summer broke loose of Lyric's grip and galloped a dozen meters ahead. She then turned around and called, "Come on slow-poke! I may be blind, but I think I can get to the tree line first!"

And with that, Summer galloped away in a surprisingly straight line, straight to the forest ahead. Lyric could not help but snort playfully as he took off after her. The two went neck-and-neck for about a minute as they raced through the crisp air, sparkling cascade of white ice showering upwards around their hooves.

Then, suddenly, Summer stopped. Lyric, at first, took advantage of this to put on a burst of speed, but, when he realized she did not pick up the pace again, stopped and turned around. His stomach immediately did a somersault as he saw the distressed look on her face.

"What is it?" asked Lyric hoarsely as he approached Summer.

"I hear… rotors starting up, and a few shouts…" murmured Summer, her eyes widening in horror.

Then, with a throbbing roar, a helicopter rose above the treetops of the forest they had just left. This helicopter was black, large, and was towing a small armored vehicle. It rose a score or so meters above the green and white treetops before slowing its ascent to a stagnant hover. Then there was a pause. Suddenly another helicopter rose, and then another, and then another. Four helicopters hovered in formation, their noses pointing straight for the dwarfed figures of Lyric and Summer.

And with that, the helicopters shot over the forest range towards the unfortunate duo. As each respective helicopter cleared the tree line of the forest, they dropped its vehicle and then swooped away back to whence it came. The moment each vehicle hit the ground, its engines roared and snow spewed away from its half-tracks in dirty waves. When all four vehicles were on the ground, they lurched forward in formation, and proceeded to bear down on Summer and Lyric.

Lyric's heart dropped into his stomach as he saw the vehicles in the distance starting to race toward them. No doubt they were on a mission to end their lives. Head still swimming with how fast things had soured, Lyric seized Summer's hoof and shouted, "Run!"

The two turned tail and galloped off at top speed. But they had only gone a score of meters before Summer tripped, skidded, and then curled up in a ball.

Lyric instantaneously felt compelled to leave his downed friend behind, but in a second he rejected that idea for folly. Summer was his friend and guide, he could never leave her behind. Skidding to a stop, he turned about and ran to her, shouting, "Summer?! What's the matter?!"

"The noise!" sobbed Summer, "There's this buzzing sound… it's everywhere… It's getting… It's getting worse!"

Summer's wail rose to a throat-stripping scream as she began to thrash in the snow in pain. Lyric blinked in horror. What was going on? Was the enemy using some sub-sonic attack or something to bring down his friend? Whatever it was, it seemed to be working, for Summer had been totally incapacitated by the sub-sonic attack. With that went all hopes of escape. They were doomed.

Once again Lyric felt compelled to run, but, once again, he realized that he could no longer imagine life without his friend. And, besides, even if he got away, his conscious would continue to plague him until Trixie's Hoof soldiers found and killed him too.

No, this was how he wanted to go: with his best friend. Slowly sinking down, he wrapped his front hooves around Summer. He pulled the unconscious mare close to his chest and closed his eyes, waiting for the end.

However, before the armored vehicles even draw near, there was a massive explosion of light on the horizon, as if someone had dropped a nuclear bomb. Lyric's eyes shot open, and his stared wide-eyed at the new scene developing before him. A massive shockwave of purple light was rippling through the sky from some point in the vast distance. This pulse of energy spread throughout the land, filling the horizon. The sparkling points of purplish-light continued to ripple forward, and it cascaded towards him and Summer, passing by the charging vehicles with ease.

Lyric simply stared wide-eyed at this new development. Was this yet another weapon devised by Frozen Heart to eliminate him? Well, he was about to find out.

The purple pulse of energy reached them and bathed them in light. The second it touched Summer… everything exploded. A massive flash of light erupted from her, and a shockwave of pure kinetic energy sent Lyric, and the nearest of the attacking armored vehicles, flying backwards. Lyric came to a painful stop in the snow. Groaning in pain, he pulled his face out of the ground and spat out a mixture of snow and blood. As he glanced upward, his stomach flipped once again. This new shockwave had triggered another hellish event: an avalanche.

With an ear-splitting roar, a massive tsunami of ice and snow coalesced and shot down the ridge of the nearest mountain. The frothing and writhing sea of white rumbled down the slope exploded onto the scene… missing Lyric but burying Summer, and all four attack vehicles. Mouth opened wide in a silent scream, Lyric covered his ears and curled up into a ball as the sky was filled with the unending clamor of the avalanche. However, just as the noise and tremoring got to the point where Lyric thought for sure his sanity would snap, everything calmed down.

Groaning, Lyric dragged his taxed body from the snow and looked up drearily. The entire strip of snow that they had crossed had been replaced with a white wall of ice, frozen dirt, and snow. At first nothing seemed to register as Lyric continued to gaze upon the wall… and then his heart froze as solid as the ice before him. Summer was in there.

Half-choking, half-sobbing, Lyric rushed to the decimated scene before him and began to dig frantically with his hooves. He dug for a minute before he drew back to blow on his frozen hooves and contemplate.

He needed to get his nerves under control if he wanted to stand even the slightest chance of finding his friend. Pushing his hysteria back barely, Lyric trembled in grief, shock, and horror as he struggled to think about all the possible areas the snowfall could have swept Summer to. After a bit of experienced inspecting, Lyric chose to dig through a large patch of snow several meters to his left.

Leaping upon it with a will, Lyric dug like a wild beast, tearing through the fluffy white snow in a mad effort to recover his lost friend. Seconds passed, then minutes, then hours. The sun had reached high in the sky before Lyric stopped, his body shaking even more now from exhaustion and grief.

Slowly sitting on his haunches, Lyric shook his head. What was he going to do now? He had spent his whole life a loner, but these four days had taught him more about friendship, love, and compassion than anything had in his entire existence. It was all thanks to Summer, his one-and-only friend… and now she was gone.

A single, hot tear rolled from his right eye to splash down onto the ice. It fell in a sparkling display of light, refracting the noonday sun's rays with rainbow-like brilliance.

Lyric glanced down to look at the final resting place of his lone tear… and his throat caught. There was a tuft of mane, just beside the contact point of his tear and the snow. Could that piece of mane belong to Summer?

Hope revitalizing his strength tenfold, Lyric attacked the snow again with a will, and this time it paid off. It took an entire hour, but eventually Lyric managed to dig a massive hole… And at the bottom of that hole was a sodden, forsaken filly: Summer.

She was covered in snow and frozen mud, and her mane was straggly and disheveled. There were cuts and bruises in many places, and her eyes were tightly shut.

Hope now combating an overwhelming sense of fear, Lyric rolled Summer onto her back as he checked for a heartbeat. He gave a sob of pure joy when he realized that, in fact, there was one. By some miracle, Summer's strange, mystical powers had saved her life yet again. However, unfortunately, she was still in a coma, and Lyric had no idea when she would ever awaken. But that did not matter. Simply the fact that she was still alive was enough to send a searing jolt of warm joy through the body of Lyric.

"Well, first-things-first," murmured Lyric to himself, still recovering from shock, "I need to get you cleaned and warmed up…"

Hoisting Summer onto his back, Lyric floundered his way out of the hole he had just made and struggled through the sea of snow the avalanche had deposited. Huffing in exhaustion, Lyric straightened up and began to drag his tired body towards the forest before him, leaving the avalanche, the gorge, and the buried enemy vehicles behind.

His hooves trembled, and his vision was blurred from tiredness, but Lyric was determined to get Summer to safety. Hours passed as he dragged his battered and bruised body through the freezing snow on his way to the forest, but, finally, he made it to the tree line. Breath coming ragged gasps, Lyric made his way through the trees towards a place in the forest that he knew possessed a small stream and a rocky alcove. The sun was just beginning to set when he finally stumbled upon the perfect setup: a small, unfrozen stream cut through the icy foliage, with a little cave neighboring it. The clearing was cozy and shielded by a ring of trees, and the sky was shrouded by a myriad of branches. This was the perfect place to hide for now.

Lyric wanted nothing more to faint, but he knew that if he did that, he could die, and Summer would pass away for sure. So, despite the blurred vision and loud buzzing noise bouncing within his head, Lyric pushed himself back from the edge of collapse and started to make a fire. Once he did that, he rolled Summer close to the crackling flames. As the warmth began to heat her up, he rubbed and massaged her body firmly, hoping to get her blood flow going.

When he was sure he could hear her heart rate going normally, Lyric sighed in relief. "The worst is past," he muttered to himself, "Now let's clean off this dirt…"

He gently grabbed the scruff of her neck and lowered her into the stream. The icy water cleaned off the blood, dirt, and frost covering Summer's body. Gently Lyric washed her legs, neck, ears, and stomach.

"Oh Summer," sighed Lyric out-loud as he gently rubbed the soft fur on her belly, "What happened? Why won't you wake up?"

Slowly he hoof drifted to her navel. His brain barely was registering his actions as it drifted even lower, past her line of innocence. Then, with a gasp, he sharply pulled back his hoof. What had he been thinking? She was at his mercy, but she was also his best friend, he could not defile her like that.

Even though he technically was all alone, Lyric's face burned with shame as he pulled Summer out of the water. He then plopped her down by the fire once again to dry. And with that, he collapsed a couple meters away, passing out from sheer exhaustion.

There the two lay, unconscious, as the sun disappeared behind the west mountain range.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Council Room_

_Time: Six days after Lyric discovered Summer_

Mattimeo stood in an empty Rerenhaw Council room, sifting through reports. He had been working tirelessly for days now, searching for a way to track down Orion. But, to his surprise, he had been unable to do anything so far. This was a shock because Orion may be good, but he always made some miniscule mistake. It was, in fact, a small mistake that Orion had made eons ago that allowed Mattimeo to track down Orion in the first place and set the Inquisition on him.

But this time it was different. Orion had performed his acts of terrorism with precision and perfection, a thing he had never been able to do truly before.

"This is not Orion," muttered Mattimeo, "There is someone helping him, I am positive. How is the mysterious mastermind able to keep himself hidden from our eyes so perfectly?"

At that moment, he received a call from the captain of the A.E.S. Byron.

"Yes, captain?" murmured Mattimeo as he answered the link.

"We performed your instructions with precision, High Dimensional Lord Mattimeo" replied the captain, "We are resuming our previous mission. Over and out."

Mattimeo cut the transmission and immediately entered a dreamscape in order to locate the detached consciousness of Summer. He found it – denoting the fact that she was, indeed, unconscious – but then he noticed something disturbing: her Inquisitor memories were still locked behind a solid yet immaterial wall of amnesia.

Mattimeo blinked slowly in mild surprise, how had the Trans-phasic Imagination Pulse failed? In an instant the answer became clear: Summer was not only an Inquisitor, but she was a Dimensional Traveler as well.

When she had been knocked out by the sub-sonic shockwave, her Dimensional Traveler protection instincts had taken over, and so, when the Imagination Pulse had hit her, her instincts rejected the pulse with a fury. Thus, not only had he failed to accomplish his mission, he had knocked out Summer and placed her in a deep coma.

Mattimeo cocked his head to one side as he considered his options. He could say nothing, he could fabricate a cover story, or he could just go ahead and tell the truth of what had happened.

"I rarely ever miscalculate," murmured Mattimeo, "In fact, this the second time in a trillion years. Yes, perhaps this does warrant a proper apology."

Almost as if he had heard this, Doxia entered the room a second later. He jauntily strolled into the Council Room, announcing, "I've got it! I know what Inquisitor Summer is!"

Mattimeo shook his head. "That's wonderful, Doxia, but I have something to tell you…"

"Wait, this will only take a sec," interrupted Doxia, "I think she is Sunflower! I mean, she was the one who destroyed the Trixie's Hoof Miss Peashooter Gatling Gun! She hit the gasoline tanks with explosive energy from an incredible distance despite the fact that all of her senses had been disoriented…"

"Doxia!" said Mattimeo sharply, "Listen."

Doxia stopped talking. Looking at Mattimeo in interest, he cocked his head to one side. "Yah?"

"I ignored you and the rest of the council… I went ahead and performed Operation Memory."

Doxia stood there for a moment as his brain registered what Mattimeo had just said. Then, finally, he said, "Did it work?"

"No," replied Mattimeo emotionlessly, "I do know for a fact that Summer is not dead yet, but I also regret to say that she is also in a coma."

Doxia slowly crossed his arms. "So you miscalculated. Come on Matty! You're better than that! Well, I'm not angry, I'm just a little shocked. You usually aren't one for skipping out on rule-obeying."

"I thought my idea warranted a shot, for the chances of completion seemed rather high, but that was until I discovered that our friend Summer was also a Dimensional Traveler."

"Oh! That would TOTALLY make sense!"

There was a pause. Finally, Doxia spoke again, "We need to help them."

Mattimeo nodded his head as he said, calmly, "Yes, Doxia. I suggest you go to Summer and attempt to help her recover from the shock. With Lyric working to revive her in body and with us working to revive her in mind, she should come out of her coma soon."

"That is assuming your little escapade has not just sent them to their deaths yet," added Doxia, "But very well. However… I'm not going to help Summer, you are."

Mattimeo cocked his head to one side. "I beg your pardon?"

Doxia chuckled a little, though there was little mirth in it. "I'm not the one who went against the Rerenhaw Council and put that poor blind filly in a coma. That was you. So you are going to comfort her and bring her out… not me. This is your mission."

Mattimeo stared at Doxia evenly for a moment. Then he said, "Very well. I accept. I will begin immediately."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Unknown<em>

_Planet: Unknown_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Six days after Lyric discovered Summer, unknown_

"Hello?!" cried Summer as she stumbled about, a lone figure in an empty dreamscape. "PLEASE! SOMEONE ANSWER ME!"

Summer broke down sobbing. She was all alone in a vast and desolate land of nothing. She was trapped in her mind, with no control of her body outside.

"What happened?" she cried, "Why did this happen? I just want to be with Lyric…"

Suddenly she stiffened. She was no longer alone. Who had just invaded her bleak dreamscape? Her blank, tear-stained eyes began to rapidly sweep the land as if she was searching for the source of the disturbance.

She gave a squeak of horror as a voice spoke before her.

"Little one… I am so sorry for what happened to you."

Summer leapt into the air, fell back hard on to her rump, and fell over. Slowly she got up, struggling to hold back her tears as she said, "Who is this?"

"It is me… Mattimeo."

"Mattimeo… I remember," sighed Summer, tears now squeezing out from the corners of her eyes, "Please… what happened to me?"

She continued to sniffle as Mattimeo got down on his knees before her and gently took her forehooves in his hands.

"It was all my fault, little one," Mattimeo confessed gently, "I wanted your Inquisitor memories so bad that I ignored the advice of my best friend Doxia and went ahead with a mission. This mission involved knocking you out with a sub-sonic device, and bathing you in Trans-phased Imagination. This would allow me to take them without bothering or hurting you…"

For a moment Summer wanted to scurry away and hide, but then she realized that despite the fact that little emotion echoed from Mattimeo's voice, she knew he truly was sorry. So, instead, she gulped against the lump in her throat and hoarsely asked, "Did it work?"

There was a moment of silence. "No."

Tears began to build up under her eyelids anew as Summer squeaked, "So you knocked me out, put me in danger, and scared Lyric silly… for nothing?"

Another pause. "Yes."

A minute of silence unfolded after that single word. However, finally, Mattimeo sighed, "I am so… so… so sorry, little one. I am not generally prone to failure, but now I stand corrected. I understand what I did was wrong. Is there anything I can do that will help?"

Summer sniffled. Then she turned her face to look up into Mattimeo's. Her sightless eyes sparkled with tears, and her bottom lip trembled.

Mattimeo took in a sharp breath. "You want a hug… Don't you?"

Summer wordlessly nodded her head. Mattimeo sighed again, "Very well. Come here."

Summer wrapped her front hooves around Mattimeo's chest and burst into tears. Her body was wracked with heavy sobs as Mattimeo gently pressed her into his chest as he softly stroked her mane.

As Summer rubbed her muzzle into him, Mattimeo felt a strange jolt of emotion sear through his usually calm and collected brain: fatherly love.

"There, there," he muttered quietly, "Don't cry…"

Mattimeo then did something he had never done before over the course of a trillion years. Slowly he slid back his visor, commanding his helmet to fold away into nothing. His battle-scarred face was exposed for the first time in countless eons. Then he leaned forward and kissed Summer gently on her forehead, her fuzzy mane enveloping his face.

Summer's sobs quieted down into whimpers as she drifted into a stupor.

Mattimeo rocked Summer back and forth while running his fingertips through her mane as he gently murmured, "You're going to be fine, little one. I am here. I swear that I will get you out of this…"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I have some bad news. I will have to change my posting schedule once more. I will now only be posting on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. Real life has been getting hectic, so I decided to give myself some indefinite slack. I would now like to divert your attention towards a story called "The Kingdom of Everfree" by HeartlessSpartan. It is one of the best fanfic stories I have read. If any of you are still looking for something to read, check it out. Now gimme reviews! I have decided to star mass-manufacturing air bacon on a mass scale, so if you give me reviews, I will give you CRATES of bacon!<strong>


	119. Chapter 119 - Karma

**Note: I am back! Now let's go see what August and his friends are doing. To Austin, air bacon as actually made out of clouds. The especially fluffy ones, to be exact, so no air pigs were hurt. To Russet Burbank, I see what you did there. Oh, and I will admit that, yes, I did go a little explicit that chapter. That is what you get when you write a chapter of "A Mending Soul" directly after writing a chapter of "Through A Glass Darkly." Lines tend to get blurred. To FocusedStream, same thing, basically. I will try to keep the explicit references down. To Minebrine... What? Bad ending? What is this treason that you speak of? To AdorkableDerpy... I love your name. And to Rainbow999, you need Doxia's face? His real face? Not his visor? I really have not put a lot of thought into what Doxia ACTUALLY looked like under his armor. Anyway, now that we have that out of the way... enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: Textillium Forest_

_Time: Five days after Lyric found Summer_

Gene's eyes snapped open. Sitting up quickly, he scanned his surroundings to ensure nothing had changed. There had been no movement in the night, and no unusual sounds, so their campsite was secure, however, there was one thing that stood out: August.

August was simply standing off to the side, staring unblinkingly at the Scriptorium. The giant mountain was framed in the early morning sky, tall, twisted, and gray.

Gene got up and gently put a hand of August's shoulder. August did not react at first, then he said, "We should go now."

Gene nodded. He turned to awaken Jefferson. However, as he did so, his stomach churned sourly. August was nothing like his old self now. Instead of being energetic, bashful, and witty, he was quiet, foreboding, and mirthless. How much of August had Blue left? Gene did not know of the answer.

As his train of thought disappeared into the distant mists of his mind, Gene managed to shake Jefferson into wakefulness.

"Alice… No… Cheshire… Queen… Uhg… Erm… Huh?" mumbled Jefferson to himself as he opened up his eyes. Immediately he stretched, and his eyes darted around, his mercenary instincts informing him of everything around him. He then got up and said, "What, is it time to get moving already."

"Get on board or get out of the way," murmured August. He then pulled out the Inquisition Blaster and began to walk off towards the tall mountain.

Jefferson gave Gene an exasperated glance and then ran after August, shouting, "You know, you were a whole lot more fun when you were conflicted. Now that Blue has won, you are no longer exciting."

"That should not be a deciding factor of 'fun,'" snapped Gene as he ran after Jefferson, "And Blue has not 'won.'"

"Oh?" snorted Jefferson, "Then who is that tall, intimidating, killer machine we are following right now?"

"It is not important who I am," August suddenly interjected, "But I was given a responsibility, and I am going to shoulder it. Let's take to the skies."

With that, August launched himself into the air as if he was a seasoned flight expert. In a moment Jefferson had pulled out his Tron Glider and Gene had activated his levitation abilities.

"You know, the more I look around, the more this place reminds me of the House in the Keys to the Kingdom dimension," yelled Jefferson over the cold howling winds to no one in particular, "Both are weird, and both and not very friendly in general."

Both August and Gene ignored him. August veered upwards sharply and gained some altitude before correcting his course and shooting off directly towards the sheer rock faces of the craggy mountain. Both Jefferson and Gene quickly followed suit, unsure of what August (or Blue) had in mind.

As they neared the rock face of the massive mountain, Gene caught up to August and said loudly, "What are you planning to do when you get up there?"

"I am unsure," replied August, "Blue still has not shown me where he left the other piece of armor."

Gene was secretly pleased to hear August refer to Blue as a separate person, but did not show it. Instead he said, "Okay. Are we simply going to fly to the top, then?"

August actually shrugged (which pleased Gene even more), "I still do not know. I suppose."

Gene then swung back and began to fly beside Jefferson, "It looks like August is starting to act more like himself. I think Blue is releasing his hold on him momentarily."

Jefferson nodded, "Maybe that will make him more talkative and interesting."

Gene responded to that with a glare, but Jefferson ignored him and pointed ahead, "Hey, look. Up there… There's a cave."

Gene followed Jefferson's pointing finger and saw a small cave far ahead and above them. It was faint, thanks to the windblown snow particles that were driving across the vast expanse in droves, but it was still visible all the same. Gene immediately sped up and began to fly beside August once more.

"August!" exclaimed Gene over the shrieking, ice cold wind, "There is a cave up ahead. Do you see it?"

August glanced up and saw the cave. He nodded. "We shall investigate."

"What do you mean 'we SHALL investigate'?" interrupted Jefferson who pulled up beside the two, "Has this become like a monarchy? Why don't we vote first?"

August simply ignored Jefferson and increased his airborne velocity. Gene shot the perturbed Jefferson a warning glance and followed quickly after his friend. Jefferson rolled his eyes and followed as well. In several minutes, they were all hovering outside the mouth of the strange cave hewn in the sheer rock face.

"This is obviously not natural," commented Gene, "Thus, we must assume it is manmade. Therefore we must assume that it will be guarded in some way. We should proceed with caution. We do not want to put our or anyone else's lives in danger."

August promptly readied his Inquisition Blaster and strolled inside the cave. Jefferson twirled dual dirks and grinned. "When there is danger, August becomes Blue. And I am thinking Blue is more interested in getting this mission done than avoiding putting anyone's lives in danger."

With that, Jefferson swaggered into the cave after August.

Gene groaned silently as he followed.

The cave was dark, damp, and cold, thanks to the heavy snowfall that was outside. However, other than the drip of water and the mournful wailing of the wind at the mouth cave, all seemed quiet. Despite this, it seemed that the Blue-enhanced ears of August picked something up nonetheless, for he suddenly held up a fist, motioning for his two comrades to cease movement.

In the deathly silence that followed their abrupt halt, the trio could hear a faint scratching noise. At first, that was all that could be distinguished from the faint sound, but as August signaled for them to move and they drew closer to the sound source, the sound become clearer. The sound was of a being writing with pen upon parchment.

Pen and parchment? Gene glanced in surprise at Jefferson who rolled his eyes and shrugged. At that very moment a voice called out, "Who is there?"

Seeing that their cover had been blown, August straightened up and strolled purposefully down the dark, craggy hall. They rounded a corner and stumbled upon a very shocking scene.

A very old man sat at a mahogany desk, writing with a quill pen and ink on old parchment. However, that was not the strange part. The strange and shocking element of the scene was the fact that the room within the cave was massive. And every square centimeter of the room (aside from the desk, the man, and a small pathway) was covered from top to bottom with stacks upon stacks upon stacks of paper covered in writing. Millions, nay, billions of papers filled the room.

Jefferson snorted in amusement. "I guess you do not let smokers in here often. Am I right?"

The old man turned around to say something, but then, suddenly, he laid eyes of August and gasped, "Blue!"

August quickly holstered his gun and held up his hands, palms up, to show him the universal sign for peace. "I am not here to harm you, elder."

The man chuckled. "You are obviously not Blue, then. You seem a bit off. Interesting, I am sensing that you are Blue… but not at the same time."

Gene cocked his head to one side. "You knew Blue?"

The man nodded. "I was naught but a mewling youth when first I laid eyes upon that dreaded Inquisitor, but, yes, I did. He protected me for a while during a massive civil war. So strange. I have seen things like this once before, but I had never dreamt the same to happen to Blue…"

Jefferson blinked. "What? What do you mean?"

The man nodded his head wisely, "Oh yes. You know of Amethyst's Special One, Joseph Torrus, correct? There have been so many Joseph's… many of them special, many of the not. But this is the same. This is another Blue, but not the same, but then also the same."

Jefferson threw up his hands in exasperation. "You know what? Forget it. Forget I asked. I think we better go before my head explodes from a paradoxical overload. Let's go."

However, August seemed to have no intention of leaving. Instead he stared intently at the old man. "No… I think I remember you… You are Karma Tutelary, the warden of this universe's time."

The old man looked rather surprised when he heard that. "Well, yes! So, you seem to have the memories of Blue. Well, I pray to God that you have not inherited any of his less pleasant traits."

"He's got them all, Karma," said Gene, "But that does not make him Blue."

Karma glanced from Gene to August, and then back to Gene. Then he nodded his head wisely, "But of course. Now… Is there something I can do for you?"

"Can you tell us our futures?" said Jefferson nonchalantly as he ruffled unashamedly through several towering stacks of parchments, "I mean, it looks like you are telling the future in some of these papers…"

Karma shook his head, "I keep time for this dimension. None of the others. But I do see something… You are looking for the Scriptorium, are you not?"

August nodded. "You have information?"

Karma nodded his head. "I do. But… But perhaps it is not wise to…"

At the sound of the word "but," August pulled out his Inquisition Blaster and pointed it straight at Karma's face. With a cry of horror, Gene attempted to but his form between the old man and August's gun, but August shoved his friend out of the way with ten times his regular strength.

Karma held up his hands to show he meant no harm. He then said, "It appears to me that you have inherited everything Blue has, August. Very well, there would be no use in attempting to protect you or otherwise. I am unsure of what you are after in the Scriptorium, but perhpaps, seeing that you have the memories of Blue, August, I can jog your memories a bit."

With that, Karma began to shuffle through several of the largest stacks of parchment that filled the vast room. There was a dozen or so minutes of silence as the old man worked. However, after the search, he did come out with a parchment.

"This is the recordings of our very last meeting," said Karma. He handed it to August. August took one look at it, and was sucked into a memory.

In this memory, he was Blue, standing tall and proud. Beside him was a much younger version of Karma.

"Where are you going?" asked Karma worriedly, "I think you should stay sheltered for a bit. You seem… unruffled."

"No thank you," murmured Blue, "I must go to the Scriptorium. I have something to give Aldgitess for her treasury."

"For her treasury?" exclaimed Karma, "I do not think you should be giving that woman anything! I have heard rumors of a joint effort between her and Lord Narvix to demolish the middle realm! This could be civil war all over again!"

"That is not my concern…" replied Blue in hushed tones.

With that, August was pulled out of memory like someone being roughly pulled out of a hot tub. He gasped and stumbled slightly. The shock of the memory ending cleared his mind a bit, and he managed to straighten up, saying, "I'm sorry about that. That happens sometimes. I also am sorry for pointing a gun at you earlier…"

Jefferson leaned near to Gene's ear and whispered, "Three words: Multiple Personality Disorder."

Gene promptly ignored him and smiled encouragingly at August.

Karma smiled kindly. "It is good to meet the real you, August. Remember, having Blue within you is not bad, but it is not good either. You must harness his skills and fight his personality. He was an excellent warrior, but a cold-hearted monster as well. Be careful, my son. Now, did you get what you needed?"

"Blue has hidden a piece of armor in the Scriptorium. It should be somewhere in Aldgitess's treasury. Who is Aldgitess, by the way?"

"She was the queen of this realm some time ago. Joseph Torrus's son banished her," replied Karma promptly.

Jefferson began to chuckle uncontrollably, "So… let me get this straight… If I have this right… Joseph Torrus has been the Amethyst Empire's Special one, the Paradox, Sunset Shadow, AND some guy who had a son who helped liberate here?"

Karma nodded his head sagely. "You have that correct. Joseph Torrus was a great champion of this dimension as well… But that does not matter. What matters now is the means by which you will attempt to retrieve the treasure you seek. Although Aldgitess has been defeated, her treasury still remains under extremely heavy guard. None of the things she has stored in there goes in or out."

August shook his head. "I do not think that will be too much of a problem."

Karma pursed his lips together. "And that is exactly what I am afraid of. But it is not my place to judge. I wish you three the very best of luck."

August nodded his head and turned about, motioning his friends to follow. In a moment they were back at the mouth of the cave, with droves of icy bullets being driven by them outside by the howling wind.

"Snow… I hate snow…" muttered Jefferson as he readied his Tron Glider. The group then leapt out into the raging snow storm and began to force their way upwards. As the trio climbed, it seemed that the storm was only getting worse, but they continued to go on. At the apex of the mountain, the storm seemed to be at its most intense, threatening to sweep away the trio into a bleak why abyss of nothingness. The shrieking of the skin-shredding wind was immense, and snow was hurled at incredible speeds around in random directions. But, suddenly, it stopped. The storm simply stopped, as if a mere switch had been flipped.

Jefferson (like always) was the first to speak. "Well… that was… interesting…"

Gene turned around. He immediately noticed something: the just mere meters away from them, the storm was still raging.

"We've entered into some protective bubble of some sorts," he commented.

August nodded and pulled out his handgun, "A protective bubble hidden within an immensely powerful snowstorm? The fortress is undoubtedly here."

And, lo and behold, the group turned about to notice a massive fortress placed in the very apex of the mountain plateau before them. An icy spire sprouted from the center of the large complex, and at the tip of the spire was a large glowing globule of power, which was emanating ribbons of power that fed into the protective bubble. Bat-winged guardians (naturally not angels, of course) of unknown origin strolled the wall tops nonchalantly, hoisting lightning-charged spears along the way.

"This is most certainly the place," replied Jefferson with a chuckle, "Now we go into stealth mode… Right?"

Gene beckoned for the group to form a huddle. "You are correct for once, Jefferson," he said, "We do indeed need to go into 'stealth mode' now. So here is the plan. Jefferson, you see that southern wall? It seems to be the least guarded in terms of guard posts. If you can get to that direction, we can draw attention to the north side. When you get through, open that secured side entrance on the east wall. It is at the very southeast corner. August, I need you to draw the guards using… August? August!"

August was gone. Gene and Jefferson stepped back and looked about frantically. But it seemed indeed that their friend was gone. He had simply vanished.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Once Upon a Time<em>

_Planet: Fairy Tale Earth_

_Specific Location: Snow White and Prince Charming's Castle_

_Time: Five days after Lyric found Summer_

"I think we have nearly reached our second phase's goal," said Harold happily.

"Whatever that means," grumbled Pictor, "I couldn't even tell what the hell you were doing in the first place."

"That is because you are you, Pictor," replied Harold mockingly. Pictor just ignored the jab, he had gotten quite good at that during his time with the Paradox.

"I have set up what you requested for Doxia," said Orion, "And I will have to say it is most impressive. But I know Doxia, he eats impressive for breakfast."

"You do not need to worry about that, it is simply going to be a distraction for the real show. Pictor… you are up."

Pictor blinked in surprise, his heart almost leaping out of his chest for joy. Would this mean he could finally kill, maim, and terrorize once more? He needed to cause pain very badly now.

"What do you mean…? What do you mean by 'you are up'?" he asked hoarsely.

"I mean just that, Pictor. I have a job for you. You get to do a little bit of killing," said Harold.

Pictor could barely contain his excitement. "Wonderful. Finally. Who do I get to kill?"

There was a pause. Then…

"I need you to kill August, Gene, and Jefferson."

Inside his helmet, Pictor bared his teeth in a vicious grin. "It will be done."

"Of course it will," replied Harold airily, "Just do what you usually do and demolish everything. Strike at 0800 hours this dimension's time. They are in the Provistorian dimension."

"But… will not the Amethyst empire pick up our movements?" asked Pictor suddenly.

"Obviously not, you moron," snorted Harold, "That is what I had Orion doing: setting up a distraction. Now go distract yourself for a bit, I do not think I could stand your excitement for killing random beings for another second."

Pictor hissed, but did as he was bade. He turned about, opened a portal to some unknown dimension, and left.

"Interesting," murmured Harold, "I do not like killing, or ordering the deaths of others, but sometimes it must be done. Collateral damage… I hate it passionately, but sometimes it cannot be avoided. Oh well, every good old fashioned story needs a bad guy, and I suppose I shall have to readjust my views to fit the role."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Pictor is on the move! What will happen? Stay tuned to find out! Fortunately for you all, I have chapters written up for both Tuesday (a Flashbacks chapter) and Wednesday, so you will get the full schedule! Anyway, does anyone want to know anything more about the Provistorian dimension? How about the many lives of Joseph Torrus? Now please review! If you give me reviews (A.K.A. FEEDBACK), I will give you a cloud. Seriously, a cloud. Remember, clouds are fluffy, and fluffy clouds are nice. If you are lucky, you might even get Rainbow Dash to sit on it! Now that would be interesting.<strong>


	120. Chapter 120 - Bearing Seasons

**Note: Okay, I had to post this waaayyyy ahead the regular time because I will be unable to post for the rest of the day. To Austin, don't worry, I am planning to assemble a chapter for the "A Mending Soul" guide that will be devoted to the enigma surrounding the multiple lives of Joseph Torrus. To AdorkableDerpy, you thought your name was stupid? Seriously now, it's adorkable. See what I did there? To Russet Burbanks, will Charlie Brown return? I doubt it. I really did not enjoy having to juggle so many unique personalities in Part 5, so I will try to stay strictly with MLP characters, and a few very special interdimensional characters. Anyway, we're moving on now... enjoy this flashback! Great secrets shall be revealed!**

* * *

><p><span>Flashbacks: Bearing Seasons<span>

_Dimension: My Little Pony_

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Flaming Star and Twilight's Friendship Castle (formerly Library)_

_Time: Seven years after the death of the Paradox_

"Ack! Emergency room! She's coming! Hurry!" shouted Flaming Star in his sleep. His eyes snapped open, and he leapt out of bed, his eyes sweeping from left to right, wild with shock and fear.

He quickly galloped to the other side of the bed where a disgruntled Twilight attempted to burrow further under the covers.

Shaking his wife wildly, Flaming Star exclaimed, "Is she… is the baby okay?"

Twilight groaned. She rolled onto her back and pushed back the covers, exposing her bloated stomach.

"She's fine. Of course she would be even better if her mother wasn't forced to wake up at exactly 6:00 in the morning every day."

Flaming Star exhaled in a prolonged sigh of relief. Then he grinned sheepishly. "Heh… I'm just… er… getting you ready for having to wake up at 2:00 AM every day to suckle the baby."

Twilight glared at Flaming Star through sleep-deprived eyes. "I am sure you are, and now I would like you to stop. This mare here wants to get as much sleep as she can before that begins."

However, like most beings in the multiverse, Flaming Star just kept talking, making the situation worse.

"Oh, yeah. I know. But I am sure you will be fine, having to wake up every morning, that is. I mean, when Starlight Amber was a baby, Fluttershy said that everything was perfect."

Twilight flipped the covers back over her form with magic and then burrowed her head under her pillows, muttering, "For the love of Celestia, please don't bring Fluttershy and Sunset Shadow into this. Whenever we compare their love life and ours, all I can think of is when Doxia said, 'they are cuter than you, sorry.' This may be hard for your Firstborn Dimensional Traveler supercomputer of a brain to comprehend, but they are not us. We have our own set of problems."

Flaming Star opened his mouth to keep making matters worse with his nerve-wracked babble, but a burst of magic from Twilight sent a flurry of bed pillows into his face to silence him.

A couple of hours later, Twilight was finally up. As she slowly made her way to the kitchen, she found Flaming Star already using his abilities to make her something.

"This is my apology," said Flaming Star with a sympathetic glance over his shoulder, "I'm sorry, I just had a terrible dream and so it really set me off my rocker."

"Oh, that's alright," chuckled Twilight, "I guess I should be really getting ready for waking up early in the morning anyway. What was the dream about, anyway?"

"Well," started Flaming Star as he helped Twilight work her extended stomach past the table so that she could take a seat, "I just had a dream that you broke water, but the hospital had been attacked by Legion and an army of demons."

"Are you kidding me?" a voice suddenly range out from outside a window, "That would never slow you, or me, down in the least! Seriously now!"

Twilight and Flaming Star turned their heads to behold Doxia. The Dimensional Lord was dressed as a classic mailman, with a blue cap and a large blue mailbag. He was leaning against the kitchen windowsill, twirling a couple of letters in his right fist.

"Doxia!" exclaimed Flaming Star, who was not particularly pleased by this intrusion of privacy, "What in the hay are you doing here?"

Carefully setting down the pair of letters next to the sink, Doxia replied, "I'm helping my good old pal Derpy with her mail route. I've been doing it for a while now. How did you not notice?"

"Ohhhh… So YOU were the mysterious mailpony dressed as a cactus that was causing such a ruckus a fortnight ago!" exclaimed Twilight. Suddenly she grinned as she said, "You're helping Derpy with her mail route? Is there something going on between you and her that we should know?"

Doxia stiffened. Then he coughed as he said, "Ummmmm… Is that a trick question? I bet it is. I'm not going to answer that. Okayawesomeseeyoulater!"

With that, Doxia vanished. With a suppressed giggle, Twilight turned back to Flaming Star to say, "Anyway, it's okay, Flaming Star. When our child is due, the emergency room is not going to be under siege."

This seemed to only make Flaming Star even more nervous. For a being who had countless years of experience in combat and war, when it came to family life, he was a nervous wreck. He wrung his hooves together as he exclaimed, "But what about Pictor? I am sure he wants revenge for being defeated so terribly! Maybe he would try to assassinate you… or me… or worse… the baby!"

Twilight had to push Flaming Star away with a hoof as he inadvertently attempted to protect the baby (and thus by extension, her belly) from invisible sniper fire with his body.

"Flaming Star! Get a hold of yourself!" she finally had to snap, "Everything is going to be fine!"

The sound of Twilight snapping pulled Flaming Star back to his senses. However, being snapped at did not sit comfortably with him, so he could not help but mutter, "Says the mare who freaked out about every test ever… even when she is not the one taking it…"

"I heard that!" cried Twilight, "And if you are thinking of that one incident with Starlight Amber's High School finals, that was an isolated incident!"

Flaming Star rolled his eyes. "Ohhhh yeah. Sure… Wait… Do you smell something burning?"

He turned just in time to see the smoking oatmeal that he was cooking abruptly spontaneously combust and burst into flames. With a yell, Flaming Star threw up an energy shield around Twilight. He then hurled a hyper-focused stream of water at the flaming pot. The water stream was so high-powered, however, that it not only put out the fire, but also blasted a hole in the pot and sent it spinning through a window, shattering the glass into multiple sharp crystal shards.

There was a deathly silent pause. Flaming Star facehoofed. Twilight broke the silence by saying, "If Sunset Shadow was cooking…"

Flaming Star held up a hoof (while still facehoofing with the other hoof) to silence her. Then he said, "As you said earlier, let's not bring Sunset Shadow and Fluttershy into this. We are not them."

Twilight began to giggle. Flaming Star cracked a grin as the hilarity of the disaster that had just occurred dawned on him. However, before he could began to laugh as well, a knock at the door broke him out him out of his moment of hysteria. Trotting to the front door, he opened it. It was Sunset Shadow.

Holding up a letter that looked to be a form of an invitation, he said, "Hey Flaming Star! I got this letter from Doxia earlier and I was wondering if you… Hey… Do I smell something burning?"

He got no further. The moment his lips began to form the last phrase, Flaming Star slammed the door on his face.

Struggling to get her rather large stomach from out of her chair, Twilight called out, "Flaming Star! Open that door back up this instant!"

Flaming Star sighed. "Right away, Mrs. Firstborn, commanding officer…"

He opened the door. Sunset was still standing there, his jaw still slack as if he had been interrupted in mid-speech (which he had been). He blinked and then shook his head.

"Was it… was it something I said?" he asked almost meekly.

Flaming Star rolled his eyes. "No. Do continue."

Sunset bobbed his head, but then noticed Twilight who came trotting up to stand beside Flaming Star.

"Twilight!" he exclaimed joyfully, giving Twilight a hug, "I haven't seen you in a week or so! How is the baby?"

Twilight sat down on her haunches. She then straightened up to show off her belly. "She's fine, thank you," she said.

Sunset nodded. "You look healthy," he added, "That is good. Poor Fluttershy had a terrible time when she was pregnant. Always sick."

Twilight nodded her head as well. "Oh yeah. I remember that…"

Flaming Star brightened up. "Wait a second. Does that mean, for once, we had it easy while you guys didn't? That's awesome!"

Twilight glared sharply at Flaming Star. "Stop it!" she exclaimed, "This is not a competition! Sunset Shadow, I apologize for his behavior…"

Sunset winked. "Oh no, it's quite alright. I've been dealing with him for forever now. By the way, Twilight, when are you due?"

"In one or one-and-a-half months, depending," replied Flaming Star, who seemed to have gotten over being grumpy for the day.

Sunset nodded. "That is good. Now, back to what I was saying, did you guys receive this Pinkie Pie party invitation?"

He held up a colorful invitation. "I got it in the mail today. I was just wondering if you had as well."

Flaming Star went back to the kitchen to look at the two letters Doxia had delivered earlier. Opening up the more colorful of the two (the difference being one was white, and the other was pink with splashes of glitter everywhere) he opened it up. And, lo and behold, a Pinkie Pie party invitation was nestled inside. Glancing it over, he trotted back to Sunset Shadow and Twilight and held it out.

"Sure did," he said, "It seems to be a party for Rarity…"

"What?! Let me see!" exclaimed Twilight, she took the party invitation when Flaming Star proffered it to her and looked it over. "It's her birthday!" she wailed, "How could I have forgotten?"

"Well, just like that, actually," chuckled Flaming Star, "I am honestly surprised. I wrote it down on the calendar. I thought you always looked at it."

"I do!" exclaimed Twilight, "But I haven't been doing it regularly for the past weeks! Oh no!"

"Don't worry," soothed Sunset, "I am sure that no one will notice. People do not regularly find out that you have forgotten a birthday unless you declare it out loud."

Twilight sighed as she rubbed the back of her nape, "I suppose you are right. Quick! We must buy her a present! Let's go!"

Struggling to all fours, Twilight attempted to gallop off to the nearest beauty shop, but her belly made the motion cumbersome, and she could not go very fast.

"I'm going to take her to the store," said Flaming Star, "I guess I will see you at the party."

Sunset nodded. "Right you are, Abimael."

"Don't call me that," replied Flaming Star, "But yes, see you later."

He trotted by Sunset Shadow and caught up to Twilight. The two trotted side-by-side into Ponyville.

"So, where might we go?" Flaming Star asked as the trotted.

"Um… er… yes! Over here!" exclaimed Twilight. She pulled Flaming Star into the nearby jewelry store.

"Greetings Princess Twilight! Greetings Lord Flaming Star!" exclaimed the pony manning the cash register, "How may I help you today?"

"I just need something beautiful!" exclaimed Twilight in a hurry as she rushed by.

The cash register pony looked from Twilight to Flaming Star to Twilight again, her eyes wide in confusion. Flaming Star just grinned apologetically and said, "We're just browsing. Give us a minute."

He trotted back to where Twilight was looking around hysterically.

"Look who has their knickers all in a knot now?" he chuckled, "Calm down a minute and we can look for something Rarity-proper."

"Don't you patronize me!" exclaimed Twilight angrily, her emotions all mixed up, "I'm going to- OH!"

Suddenly she doubled over and fell to the ground. With a gasp, Flaming Star conjured up a protective energy shield. He cast it about him and his wife as he crouched down.

"Are you okay?!" he cried, "Should I call the ambulance! Blink once if you can hear me, and twice if you cannot!"

Twilight groaned and got up. Rubbing her lower abdomen with a hoof, she panted, "I think that was a contraction…"

"A contraction?! That is a sign of childbirth!" shouted Flaming Star dramatically. Striking a pose, he cried, "Off to the hospital!"

Still panting, Twilight leaned against a shelf for support. "No… no…" she mumbled, "I'm okay. The baby is not due for another month. I'll be okay. See? I'm better already!"

Flaming Star eyes Twilight suspiciously. "Hmmmmm… Okay."

At that very moment, Twilight glanced at the shelf she was leaning against and exclaimed, "Look at this pendant! It's perfect! I'll take it!"

However, she doubled over in pain again. Flaming Star seized her gently and helped her steady.

"I'm okay… I'm okay…" she said. She straightened up again as if nothing had happened and boldly took the pendant. She then trotted purposefully over to the cashier and slapped down the piece of jewelry.

Eyes still wide with shock from everything that had transpired over the last couple of minutes, the cashier said, "Um… ma'am? I think I should call an ambulance…"

Twilight shook her head firmly. The cashier squeaked and quickly calculated the price of the pendant.

Head held high, Twilight left the building, leaving two flustered ponies behind. After a moment, Flaming Star shook off his surprise. He then glanced apologetically at the very flustered cashier before galloping after his wife.

"I think being with child is messing up your emotions, Twilight," said Flaming Star as he caught up with her, "Maybe you should take a rest."

"Hmmmm… I think I might do that, but as for the rest of your statement… I'm not grumpy at all! I have complete control of my emotions!" exclaimed Twilight. She then left him in the dust.

Flaming Star blinked, still a little unsure of what had just transpired. At that moment, Applejack, Caustic Rain, and Princess Luna turned a corner and nearly bumped into him.

"My apologies," said Princess Luna, "We did not see you standing there."

"Oh, it's my fault, Princess Luna," said Flaming Star, "I was just getting back from shopping for Rarity."

"Ah, that's right!" exclaimed Applejack, "Her party is a' comin' today!"

"It's a little late to do shopping, is it not?" asked Caustic Rain.

"Yeah, it is, I agree, but Twilight had not remember until now," explained Flaming Star.

"Princess Twilight. That is right. How is she?" inquired Luna, "She is with child, is she not?"

"She is, and I think it is messing with her emotions," said Flaming Star.

"That's weird. 'Cause I remember when Fluttershy was…" started Applejack. She stumbled on her words when she saw Flaming Star's look and instead said, "Oh, er… that's right. You don't like it when we compare you two. Sorry, sugar cube."

Flaming Star sighed and rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. "Yeah, it's okay. I think I better be going. Say, who else is going to be there?"

"Quite a few people, actually," said Caustic Rain, "Though she is no longer a Dimensional Traveler, she somehow made a lot of friends in the ranks of the Dimensional Lords and the Dimensional Travelers. Beings like Jetfire, Mattimeo, Wild, and many others have been invited."

"Hmmm… This ought to prove interesting," murmured Flaming Star, "Well, I better get going. Nice talking to you."

With that, he trotted into the house. He found Twilight fast asleep on their king-sized bed, her tongue hanging out, and hooves askew. Chuckling, he gave his wife an affectionate kiss before going out to discuss some business with Alyss Heart, with whom he had a meeting in the dimension of the Last of Us.

Several hours later, just a dozen or so minutes before the start of the party, he returned to find Twilight sitting on the bed.

"Is it time yet?" she groaned.

Flaming Star nodded his head slowly. "Well, yes it is. But… are you okay?"

"Just a little nauseous," sighed Twilight, "But I will be fine. Let's go!"

Slowly she rolled out of bed and got wobbly to her hooves. Flaming Star was by her side in an instant to help support her.

"Are you ABSOLUTELY sure you are okay?" he pressed, his eyes deepening in concern.

Twilight shook her head as if to shake off a mantel of ailment, "I am fine! Really! Let's go."

Sighing in resignation, Flaming Star stepped back, and Twilight trotted off to get the present she had wrapped earlier.

In several minutes they were at Rarity's Boutique, where the party was being held and hosted by Pinkie Pie. The instant Flaming Star knocked, the door was flung open. Doxia (who was wearing a piece of cake as a hat and was wearing a fake mustache over his intimidating masked helmet) greeted them joyfully.

"Yo! Pink-a-nator!" shouted Doxia, "The Princess de Friendshipo has arrived!"

Pinkie popped out of nowhere to exclaim, "OOOOHHH! There you are! Where have you been? Let's go!"

Seizing Twilight's hoof roughly, Pinkie dragged Twilight inside to talk to the rest of the Mane 6 (and Discord) who were all hanging around Meadolax, who was telling an embarrassing story about Doxia and his deceased wife Allison.

Chuckling at the antics of Pinkie (and generally the entire group of Dimensional Lords aside from Mattimeo), Flaming Star trotted after Pinkie and Twilight to expand the circle and listen in on the story.

"So then," said Meadolax, "Doxia looked closely through the binoculars and said 'I don't think those Maelstrom Troopers are anywhere near here. I totally think we have time to squeeze in a game Xbox!' He then tossed the remote controller behind him. The thing flew up… and smacked straight into the face of a cloaked Maelstrom Assassin. In an instant his cloaking field was disrupted and Allison flash-vaporized him. The bad guy had only a second to say something before he turned into dust, and you know what he said?"

"OHHHHHH!" cried Twilight suddenly. She doubled over and slowly fell to the ground, clenching her teeth.

"That is exactly what she said!" laughed Meadolax, "How did you guess?"

"Uncanny," snorted Jetfire.

"Um, I do not think she did that on purpose guys," noted Wild.

"Oh dear, I think she is in pain!" declared Discord as if it was in no way obvious.

"I think she is having contractions," said Flaming Star. Then he suddenly stiffened. Clear liquid had soaked Twilight's inner thigh.

"Her water's broke!" exclaimed Meadolax, "Everyone PANIC!"

The entire room obliged. Shouts and screams resonated within the building as poor Twilight and her child labor was forgotten by almost everyone, except Flaming Star and Doxia, that is.

"QUIET!" roared Doxia, his voice resonating through the room, "We need to get her to the hospital."

"The A.E.S. Prometheus is orbiting, we can retool the med bay for her! The ship is a mere teleportation away!" declared Meadolax.

"I am unsure how the A.I. would proceed though," interjected Mattimeo, "After all, no Dimensional Lords have ever procreated in recorded history."

"PLEASE!" cried Flaming Star as he tried to comfort Twilight who was now having contractions, "We need to get her to a hospital!"

"Right!" exclaimed Doxia, "Hospital! Everyone in favor of taking her to the A.E.S. Prometheus, raise a hand, er, hoof!"

Mattimeo shook his head and quickly took charge. "Everyone, stay where you are and continue the party. Doxia and I are going to take Twilight and Flaming Star to the Ponyville hospital. Meadolax, go to Princess Celestia and alert her of the situation. Please try not to stall, I know how you have been hitting on her for at least a century."

"Think again, Mattimeo!" cried Rainbow Dash, "You're crazy if you think we are going to stand by while our pal has her foal!"

"You are going to stand by because I told you to," replied Mattimeo curtly, "She is in pain, and she needs space. Doxia will go because he understands what I am attempting to do, and Flaming Star is Twilight's husband. The moment the child is born, I will alert you all and you will be free to visit her. Until then, I would appreciate it if you all stood aside. Sunset Shadow, Fluttershy, please keep Ponyville calm."

"He's right, darling," said Rarity, "We need to stand aside for now. Go, Doxia! Get Twilight to the hospital!"

Doxia quickly opened a portal to the doorstep of the Ponyville hospital. Gathering up the pained Twilight in his arms, Doxia hurled himself through with Mattimeo and Flaming Star in hot pursuit.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you are going to have to sign these papers first," said the hospital receptionist without looking up. However, when she did look up…

"You say 'sign these papers' one more time and I will turn you into pony soup," said Doxia in a low voice, "I have Princess Twilight Sparkle here, and she is going into labor."

Quickly the receptionist called up the emergency room. In an instant Twilight was taken to a delivery room surrounded by Doxia, Flaming Star, and a host of doctors and nurses. Mattimeo stood to one side, his arms crossed, as he watched the scene unfold before his nigh omnipresent vision.

"START PUSHING!" shouted Doxia for absolutely no reason.

"STOP TALKING!" shouted Flaming Star in return. Then, to Twilight, he shouted, "START PUSHING! ONE, TWO, THREE…"

In a few heated minutes, a little foal, a filly, was born into the My Little Pony dimension.

Hours later, the excitement had calmed down. Twilight's hospital room was quiet, like a sea after a storm, as she sat with her little foal and Flaming Star. Outside Doxia stood guard, warding off strangers with enthusiastic waves.

"Meadolax stalled in the end, but he did get word to Princess Celestia," Flaming Star told Twilight, "I even hear tell that he got a date with her as well. Anyway, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence, and Shining Armor are on their way as we speak."

Twilight chuckled weakly, slipping in and out of an exhausted slumber.

"What should we call her?" she murmured, gently stroking the baby filly's head.

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side. "I talked to Mattimeo and Archangel Michael some time ago about that. The Archangel suggested a name… It was… I think it was Summer."

"Summer…" murmured Twilight, "That is a beautiful name. I like it… Summer…"

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><p><strong>Note: As said previously, great secrets shall be revealed! I just blew at least one person's mind... maybe? No? Yes? Anyway, I am starting to wonder if tomorrow's chapter is worth posting, so there is a fifty-fifty chance that I might not post it. Nonetheless, ensure that you check tomorrow anyway! Hmmm... does anyone know when I first started to resort to bribing you guys with clouds of fluffiness? Never mind. Now please review! If you review I will give you another fluffy cloud! But this one rains chocolate milk! And cookies! And bacon! Basically the equivalent of the internet, stuffed into a cloud. I am sure Discord would love to give you guys one... or a dozen.<strong>


	121. Chapter 121 - A Way Out

**Note: I almost totally forgot to post a chapter today! Sorry about that! Anyway, on to answering some reviews! To Minebrine, the reason Harold and the rest are in the Once Upon a Time dimension is because the Fairly Tale Earth was practically abandoned after a curse caused by the Evil Queen Regina. It is complicated for someone who has not seen the show, but it was the perfect environment for the antagonists to hide out for the time being. To Austin, the cloud's would come in a baker's dozen. Are you surprised to find out that Meadolax got a date with Celestia? Don't worry, it is not going to get serious. To FocusedStream, I will explain how this all works as time goes on. To 1st Dragon King, I am sure you did. Harold would have seen it too. To Russet Burbanks, I am actually surprised at how popular Meadolax has become. I should bring him in more often. Too bad Rhett and Link triggered the zombie apocalypse during that one vacation, but it was all okay since it WAS vacation. Anyways, here is my latest chapter! Everyone prepare for some more Summer and Lyric awesomeness! Oh, and I posted this in a hurry, so please let me know if my pre-posting proofreading was insufficient.**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Council Room_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer_

Mattimeo slowly crossed his arms as he stared at the video documentation of Twilight's firstborn child. Over the course of the last 24 hours, Mattimeo had been searching tirelessly for a way to help Summer recover her memories. During that time, an idea had struck him: had he not heard of the name Summer before? In an instant Mattimeo had found the recorded documentations of every important pony to have been born fifteen years ago (Summer had told him her age). After several hours of watching video feeds... it seemed like he, Mattimeo, had found it. The answer. Summer was Twilight and Flaming Star's child.

Doxia stood beside him. "You need to tell her," he said.

Mattimeo turned his head to give Doxia a side-long glance. "Why should I?"

Doxia almost did a double-take. "What do you mean by 'why should I?'"

Mattimeo did not glance over again as he replied, "Summer is having her own troubles. It would not be right to trouble her anymore."

Doxia held up an armored hand. "Waitwaitwaitwait… Are you trying to PROTECT her? Oh my golly! You've grown to care for her, haven't you?"

"Your declarations have escalated rather quickly, Doxia," said Mattimeo, "But I am done attempting to conceal truths from you. Yes. I have grown to care for the child. I love her like one of my own."

"Oooooh!" exclaimed Doxia, "That is something special! However, why would you not want to tell Summer that she is the daughter of a Lord and Lady of Equestria?"

"If I tell her now, it will only be a source of wonder and confusion. What are her parents like? Why did they finally give up looking for her? Who is Pictor and why did he try to kill her? Was she a good daughter before she lost all memory? When will she be able to return? I do not have to remind you that we cannot locate her still. Her memories are still obscure for scans to detect her exact location."

"That's true," sighed Doxia, "But perhaps that is for the best…"

"However," interjected Mattimeo suddenly, who seemed to be in something of a trance, "I am at the point where I think we should cast all protocols aside. If we place an Amethyst Cruiser in low orbit to do a global face-scan, or if we hit the Stallion Empire mainland with a large dream-sequence location triangulation device, we will be able to locate…"

It was Doxia's turn to interrupt now. "Woahwoahwoah!" exclaimed Doxia, "Remember that xenophobia craze that swept Equestria right after the death of the Paradox? If we give any Harmony Tree dimension nation even the slightest hint of extradimensional intrusion, the whole situation will ignite once more! If the Stallion Empire decides that they no longer wish to tolerate our presence, they will rise up to resist, and if we quench the uprising, then the rest of the dimension will view us as tyrants and we will thus have lost a valuable dimensional ally."

Mattimeo turned his head to look at Doxia. There was at least a minute of silence as he stared. Finally he said, "Very well. I will say now, though, that this does not sit comfortable with me. I care for Summer truly now, and I do not appreciate her being exposed to danger for prolonged periods because of my mistakes."

Doxia nodded his head sympathetically. "I know, Matty, but you are just going to have to suck it up for the time being. Just continue to visit her in her mind and comfort her. That is all you can do now. And do not worry, I am coming up with a clever and covert way for us to pinpoint the exact location of her. Once we have found her, we can pull her out."

Mattimeo nodded his head slowly in agreement. Then, suddenly, he shook his head. "No," he said, "if we locate her, the last thing I want to do is pull her out. It does not seem that she will recover her memory anytime soon, and if we pull her out before she has recovered her whole memory, we will be doing the equivalent of pulling a fish out of water. In her amnesic state, she has bonded strongly with the stallion known as Lyric. To her, he is her lifeline, and the north mountain range of the Stallion Empire is, believe it or not, her home."

Doxia understood what his friend was saying, but decided to press further to see how deeply he had grown to care for the blind filly. "I see. But what about Sunflower's memories, Matty? You still want those badly, right?"

Mattimeo shook his head. "I've gotten word from Discord that they have picked up the presence of Sunflower in the Dishonored dimension. He might still be alive, even if his powers have been passed on to Summer. She deserves peace just like any sentient being, and I plan to give her that, and only that. It is not within our right to take what is her, by force or otherwise."

Doxia broke into a colossal grin from beneath his masked helmet. "Right you are, Matty, right you are."

Mattimeo nodded his head again. "Yes. Now I believe I must go. I told Summer that I would spend some time with her. I have several stories I wish to tell her."

Mattimeo attempted to walk past Doxia, but was momentarily stopped by an arm. When Mattimeo gave Doxia a quizzical glance, Doxia said, "You really have grown to care for her, haven't you?"

Mattimeo pushed passed Doxia as he responded. "Yes. As if she was my own daughter."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Stallion Empire_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer_

Lyric opened his eyes slowly and groaned. His head was throbbing, and his whole body ached from over-exhaustion. Slowly sitting up, he looked about him. Other than the sad, disheveled body of Summer, he was alone. He and his best friend were in a clearing, surrounded by snow-topped pine trees. A giant, ice-glazed boulder stood like a lone guardian to his left, and a thin, unfrozen stream dribbled out from under the boulder to run across the border of the clearing. The sun was just rising, and was filtering through the prickly pines in a beautiful, yet cold, display of light.

Lyric rubbed his head, hoping that the terrible throbbing would go away. He felt like he may vomit, and his vision was blurred.

"Why is it that the moment I met you…" murmured Lyric to the unconscious Summer, "… I've been battered, bruised, and knocked unconscious… but I have never been more content in my life?"

Summer did not respond, she was unconscious, of course. Groaning once more, Lyric straightened up. He then rolled his friend onto her back and placed an ear to her chest. His nearly-frozen ear twitched as he made out a faint, yet steady, heartbeat.

"You are absolutely amazing, Summer," breathed Lyric, "You have survived so much…"

Suddenly Lyric stiffened. His ears picked up the throbbing pulse of a helicopter coming their way. Gurgling in horror, Lyric scrambled to get to cover, but it was too late: the air vehicle was upon them. If only Summer had been awake. She would most have certainly heard the helicopter before it had snuck up like that, but now…

Lyric threw his body over Summer, hoping to somehow block her from the helicopter's view. Maybe they would just strafe the area and fly off. He would die, but it would buy Summer a little more time. The helicopter flew overhead and simply passed on by. Lyric blinked in surprise. That was not exactly what he had been expecting. Scrambling up the giant boulder that bordered the small cleared, he stretched his neck and eyes to catch a glimpse of the helicopter. He did for just a moment amongst the treetops. In the moment he saw it, he was able to see the insignia of the flying device: Stallion Empire. Lyric sighed. Though the soldiers of the Stallion Empire were cruel, immoral, and generally abusive, they were not bent on their destruction like the Trixie's Hoof Terrorists. However, before Lyric could even finish his sigh of relief, a massive explosion ripped through the air. Lyric's eyes snapped back onto the skies, just in time for him to see a second ground-to-air missile strike the helicopter. The air vehicle spun slowly in the air, thick black smoke pouring from its rotors, as it lost velocity in a giant ball of flames. Slowly it lowered into the trees beyond Lyric's vision until nothing but billows of smoke were visible. There was a pause, and then a final explosion as the things struck the ground and detonated with a powerful release of sound, heat, and light. Lyric's sharp eyes picked up several trees move as the shockwave uprooted or heavily splintered trees in a far-off vicinity. Mentally marking the location of the explosion, Lyric hopped down off the rock.

"I have to check out that downed helicopter," Lyric said out loud to Summer, almost apologetically, as if the unconscious filly could hear him, "There might be supplies. I'll be gone for just a moment."

Gently Lyric rolled Summer into some obscuring ferns near the giant boulder. Taking out his pair of think blankets, he wrapped them firmly around his friend. He then uprooted several small plants and overlaid the two blankets until he was positive the unconscious form of Summer was concealed.

With that out of the way, Lyric melted into the forest like a phantom on the hunt. As he worked his way expertly through the forest for a dozen or so minutes, he reveled at the fact that he could once again move freely without the restraints of having to guide a blind filly about. Perhaps…

"No," muttered Lyric to himself as he vigorously gave his head a shake, "I will never leave Summer again. I don't know why… it's just… I can't…"

Lyric quickly slammed his mouth shut as his ears picked up the clamor of several rowdy ponies conversing. Trixie's Hoof terrorists no doubt converging on the crash site of the helicopter to view their handiwork.

Lyric quickly slowed his trot and pressed his coat to a nearby tree. As the sounds of vulgar conversing grew louder, Lyric peeked around a tree to look at what was happening.

Five Trixie's Hoof Terrorists were trotting side-by-side. The one in the center was obviously the leader, and he was holding a large STING rocket launcher.

"Boss?" said the pony directly to the team commander's left, "Why exactly did you shoot it down?"

"For fun!" snorted the leader, "Come on, don't tell me you didn't enjoy cracking 'flaming helicopter' jokes after I downed it!"

"Sure," said the other pony, "But what if Stallion Empire reinforcements arrive on the scene?"

"Chill, moron," snorted the leader, "The STING missile I fired had a proximity scrambling device attached to it. They were obviously unable to call for help. And anyway, if help does arrive in the near future, we will be long gone. I just want to see if I killed the thing right and proper before we go back to hunting those two fugitives Frozen Heart told us to kill."

The group passed Lyric by, unaware of his presence. Breathing as light as possible, Lyric pressed his belly to the earth as he proceeded to trail the terrorists. They went on for a little longer, before coming to a clearing, where the helicopter lay in a flaming heap. Lyric could not quite see anything but scorched and frozen greenery, but he could see the backs of the terrorists, and hear their voices.

"Well, no pony is coming out of there," laughed the commander harshly.

"Boss," said another pony terrorist, "Should we scavenge?"

"Screw that!" snorted the commander, "We have all we need. Let's leave whatever is in there for the frost to claim."

Lyric blanched as he saw the terrorists turn tail to trot back from whence they came. Quickly he dove into a grove of ferns that clustered about a large pine tree to his left.

One of the terrorist ponies stopped. Holding up a hoof, he said, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" asked the commander irately, annoyed that the other ponies had stopped as well.

"I thought I heard underbrush rustling," said the pony, "Should we investigate?"

"Well? If you were me, what would you do?" asked the commander pony scathingly, his anger thinly veiled.

Unfortunately for the first pony, he did not detect the fury bubbling beneath the question, so he kept talking. "I would investigate!" he exclaimed. "First, I would look through those ferns over there," he continued, pointing a hoof directly at the ferns where Lyric was hiding, "Then I would check that grove of trees over there…"

"Aye… Then you could check the trees over here… then there… then there… then there… SHUT UP!" screamed the commander, "I am the one in command! I heard nothing, and that means there WAS NOTHING! Get a move on before I gut you!"

The whole terrorist group galloped off quickly, their tails practically between their legs before the commander of the team killed them all for their "incompetence."

Lyric sighed deeply in relief as the last of the sounds of the group melted into nothing in the cold, crisp air. Dragging his shivering body out of the icy ferns, he ventured into the clearing.

The moment he laid eyes on the wreck of the helicopter, he cried out in joy. The helicopter that was shot down had been a military-specific medical helicopter. Though it was rather morbid for the terrorists to have destroyed something that was designed to help ponies that were sick or wounded, it was wonderful luck for Lyric. Perhaps there might be something in the twisted mass of metal that possessed the ability to help Summer out of her coma.

Lyric fervently hoped so as he plunged through the snow towards the flaming helicopter. All consequences of entering a flaming helicopter failed to register in the brain of the colt. All he wanted to do was get in there, find something that could help Summer, and then get out. For probably the first time in his life, Lyric was thinking only of another pony, and not himself.

The heat scorched his coat, and the smoke stung his eyes, but Lyric pressed on into the decimated air vehicle. Pressing his stomach to the floor of the aircraft, he dragged himself through the debris, his eyes scouring the scene before him. The helicopter's center was large and hollowed-out to allow for a pair of stretchers and a rack of medical devices. The stretchers had long ago been flash-burned by the initial explosions, and almost all of the medical devices, drugs, and other medicinal cargo had been scattered about the floor of the burning helicopter.

Undeterred, Lyric searched frantically through the smashed contents of the floor. Pills, broken vials, stethoscopes and the likes were tossed aside by the desperate colt in his mad attempt to find a device that could help Summer.

He did not even stop to reconsider the endeavor as a loud creaking echoed above his head, denoting the fact that the fire-gutted helicopter was about to collapse. In a last-ditch attempt, Lyric got onto all fours and snatched the nearest device off of the smoke-obscured medical cabinet with his mouth.

Taking the thing out of his mouth with a hoof. Lyric brought it to his face so that he could inspect it through the smoke.

The "thing" was a long needle, with some strange liquid inside it. It read "Cerebral Sileo Tratser Fluid."

Unbeknownst to Lyric, that device had been recently introduced to help unconscious patients awaken. This was a stroke of luck to say the least. Unfortunately, the burning helicopter was not going to give Lyric any time to inspect his fine any further. For with a loud rumbling noise, the whole helicopter buckled inwards. With a very feministic squeak, Lyric dove out of the helicopter. But it was too late, a large metallic beam collapsed on his back right hoof.

With a cry of pain, Lyric yanked his hoof out, but it had been horribly twisted. No bones had been broken, but the damage was great nonetheless.

"Got… the… serum… though…" gasped Lyric through clenched teeth. Blood was dribbling through multiple punctures on his twisted hoof.

"The blood will leave a trail," Lyric muttered. He glanced at the blood, then the serum, then the blood, then the serum again.

"Summer needs this," Lyric growled. With a pained grunt, he began to slowly make his way back to his best friend.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Summer's Dreamscape<em>

_Planet: Summer's Dreamscape_

_Specific Location: Summer's Dreamscape_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer_

"... And that is how Doxia met Allison," said Mattimeo, finishing up a story about Doxia and his deceased wife.

Summer cocked her head to one side. "That was interesting," she mused, "Doxia never seemed to be a being who could care that much."

"Doxia can seem like that," conceded Mattimeo, "But you must understand that the many, many, many years we have lived have not been very kind to us. Those who have not simply decided to leave have gone insane one way or another."

Summer nodded her head slowly, taking all of it in. Then she suddenly piped up, "Why don't you ever talk about yourself?"

Mattimeo was honestly taken aback. He cocked his head to one side as he replied with another question, "What do you mean?"

"Well," said Summer meekly, "You always talk about Doxia and his amazing exploits, but you never talk about yourself!"

"There is not much to talk about," said Mattimeo emotionlessly, "Doxia and Meadolax have always been the center of attention. They have done incredible things. I rarely ever fight, and usually I am the one behind the scenes."

Summer turned her sightless eyes in the direction of Mattimeo's voice. Then she scooted closer.

"Did you ever have someone you loved?" she asked quietly.

"Not during my trillion years as a Dimensional Lord, no," responded Mattimeo, who was actually now beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Then how about before you became a Dimensional Lord!" persisted Summer, "You said you all weren't always like you are now, right?"

Mattimeo actually hesitated. Then he said, "I did have someone I cared for deeply. A sister. But that was a long, long time ago."

Summer clapped her forehooves together excitedly. "Oh! Please tell me about her! Please!"

Mattimeo sighed. Then he said, "Very well. But you must keep it secret. No one else aside from Doxia, Meadolax, and a couple others know of what I am about to tell you…"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I think I have decided how to proceed with chapter postings. I will post a chapter on August and his friends on Monday. I will then post a chapter on Discord and his team on Tuesday. I will then finally post a chapter on Lyric and Summer on Wednesday. Let's see how this works out! Now please give me reviews! You guys have been so awesome at that lately, and I thank you for that! Now if you give me a review, I will give you an invisible plushie of Meadolax! He has been so popular lately that I saw it only fitting that he be immortalized in plush! Thanks!<strong>


	122. Chapter 122 - Twisted Justice

**Note: Hello everyone! It is time for us to take a look at what August and his friends are doing. And I am sure it will please many of you greatly that there is a fair amount of action that will transpire throughout the course of this chapter. Now on to answering some reviews! To Russet Burbanks, there is actually no such things as "Flaming Helicopter jokes." And I agree, I could spend more time elaborating on Mattimeo, perhaps I should dedicate a section of the guide to it. As for the confusion surrounding the dimension of Summer's Dreamscape, there technically is no such dimension. I just put them there to elaborate on the fact that Summer was, indeed, unconscious. To Super Vegito, you want a Dragon Ball Z reference? Okay! I think I can do that. To Rainbow999, it pleases me so much to know that you are trying to do that. Hmmmm... I will PM you. To AdorkableDerpy, if there were those types of plushies, I would buy them all as well. Now we are moving on... to the story!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Council Room_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer_

Meadolax poked his head into the Council Room, where Doxia and Firestar sat together slaving over some project.

"Yo, peeps," he piped up, "What are you guys doing?"

Firestar turned his head slowly to glance at Meadolax and say, "We have been retracing the steps of August, and we found some rather interesting information. Care to join us?"

Meadolax strolled up to the two and looked at the holographic projection. "Right-o. However, I can only spare a minute. I am meeting Celestia for lunch. Then I'm going to take her to a movie in the Last Starfighter dimension."

Firestar blinked. "Celestia? She is the ruler of the nation of Equestria in the Harmony Tree dimension, is she not? What business do you have taking someone like that to lunch?"

Meadolax snorted. "I could totally date her if I wanted to."

"If you marry her, I will kill you," commented Doxia airily, "Now if we could get back to the problem at hand?"

Firestar and Meadolax turned to look at the holographic projection.

"Three days ago, August and his team were attacked by Deep Coal Cellar sentries under the control of Orion," said Doxia bringing up several more holographic projections.

"Weird," said Meadolax, "No one can reprogram sentries. Their coding is based on on/off Imagination Energy sequences. No one can control Imagination Energy."

"Perhaps not, but somehow Orion managed to take control," said Firestar.

"Yes…" murmured Doxia, "But perhaps we can turn that achievement to our advantage. Whenever you handle or deal with Imagination Energy, a little bit of your own personal Imagination Energy is mixed into the stream. Firestar… access the top-security Deep Coal Cellar database. That is where we can check the status of the Imagination Energy engines of the sentries. It will detect iniquities in the stream, and we will be able to isolate those iniquities. If indeed one of those iniquities is an alien Imagination signature, we will be able to trace it to wherever the source is in the whole multiverse."

Meadolax clapped his hands. "Abasaballyloutly awesome! We've got him!"

"It seems like this just might work," said Firestar as he pulled up yet another holographic projection, "I have the database up. There is indeed a foreign Imagination Energy signature interfering with the base stream. I've isolated it. I'm sending the information to your HUD."

Doxia tapped his helmet, bringing up a small holographic projection which hovered in front of his visor. After a moment he said, "I'm tracking the personal signature… I have it locked. I… Oh no."

Meadolax cocked his head to one side. "The last time you said 'oh no' was when you realized you accidentally sent a package of freshly caught fish to Fluttershy instead of Jayfeather the cat from the Warriors dimension."

"The location is leading straight to the Provistorian dimension. Last time I checked, August was there," sighed Doxia.

Meadolax leapt up to pose dramatically. "Oh noes! Quick! To the Batmobile!"

Doxia whirled around, conjuring up a black cape with the bat insignia plastered across it with the motion. "Robin! The Joker is attacking Gotham City! Let's go! Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na BATMAAAAAAAAN!"

"If you two are done playing around, a valuable operative is potentially in danger," said Firestar quietly.

"Oh! That's right! Meadolax, you go back to the Reset Dimension and do whatever it is you do there. I will go and track down the Imagination Energy signature," exclaimed Doxia.

"Right-o," said Meadolax, "But… but what if it is a trap?"

Doxia snorted. "Impossible. Imagination Energy signatures are absolute. We have the mastermind now."

With that, Doxia opened up a portal to the My Little Pony dimension. Before he struck, he needed to talk to Derpy.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: Peak of the Scriptorium, Aldgitess's Fortress_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer_

"Soooooooo… Now what?" said Jefferson.

Gene sighed. Then he facepalmed. "We need to find him before Blue takes him over again and razes the whole place."

Reaching under his overcoat, Jefferson pulled out two long dirks. Twirling them, he ran off towards Aldgitess's former fortress. "We need to get in there and find Blue."

Sighing, Gene conjured up electricity balls about his fists. He then dashed off after Jefferson.

Unfortunately, due to the bubble protecting the fortress from the elements outside, the sentries on the fortress's walls could clearly see the duo running at them in an aggressive manner. Shouting, a dozen leapt from the walls. Spreading their bat wings, the guards zoomed down to assault the attackers.

Jefferson leapt through the air just before two reached him. Spinning in midair, he turned about and buried his dirks in the back of the skulls of the two attackers, dropping them. Kicking off of the backs of one of them, he twirled even higher into the air. As he did so, he hurled four thin throwing daggers. The blades found their marks in the throats of four more enemies. Jefferson attempted to retrieve his dirks, but yet another guard rammed into him. The two fell to the frozen earth, grappling with each other.

Gene ducked coolly beneath his first attacker, electrocuting him as he passed over him. Two more landed next to him, their spears at the ready. They jabbed at him, but Gene quickly parried the attacks, using his proximity to them as an advantage. With a sweeping movement, he disarmed one and knocked back the other. Tossing the spear aside, he blasted the disarmed enemy to smithereens with a plasma discharge. Performing a quick backflip to dodge a spear jab from the last attacker, Gene snapped a finger. The earth around the attacker exploded, blinding her and setting her off balance. In the instance the enemy was confused, Gene vaporized her with dark matter bolt.

"I've got mine taken care of now," said Gene, glancing over at Jefferson, who was still grappling with the last attacker.

"Awesome… give… me… a… second…" growled Jefferson. Rolling over, Jefferson flipped his right hand's wrist. A hidden blade sprung from his coat's right arm sleeve. He then proceeded to ram the blade into the bad guy's throat.

"You have a hidden blade?" asked Gene incredulously, "So let me get this straight, you've gotten stuff from the Dishonored dimension, the Tron dimension, and the Assassin's Creed dimension?"

"I've been places, that is all you really need to know," said Jefferson, "Now I think we've gotten all the wall sentries, but that does not mean there aren't more bat-winged bad guys."

"That's right," mused Gene, "There was a lot of shouting, so why haven't there been any more reinforcements?"

Jefferson opened his mouth, but his reply was drowned out by an explosion. The front gate of the fortress was blown down by a blast of heat, sound, and light. With a crackling roar the red-hot metal portcullis and the heavily splintered double door was blasted away. The two objects were soon followed by at least a score of slain bat-winged humanoid guards, hurled from the entrance like rag dolls. August slowly strolled out from the gateway to stand in the flaming hole that was once the front door of the fortress.

August reached down and seized the throat of the nearest downed guard who, by some miracle, was still alive.

"Let me go!" the female sentry screamed as August squeezed her throat.

August shot her off half of her right wing. Her scream of anger transformed into a heart-rending cry of pain. Gene attempted to rush forward to stop this horrendous torture, but Jefferson grabbed his shoulders roughly.

"Don't get in his way. Remember what Doxia said?" he snapped.

"To hell with Doxia!" yelled Gene, "He's hurting her immorally!"

"Damn you!" screamed the captive sentry, her wings flapping wildly. August promptly shot off the halved wing. Her screams echoed throughout the mountain top.

"Where is the treasury room?" asked August calmly. His voice sounded different. It no longer sounded like an energetic, adolescent boy. It was deathly quiet, deep, and venomous.

"I'll never tell you!" yelled the sentry. August shot off her other wing. She screamed again.

"Pllleeaaassseee! Please stop!" she sobbed, "It's in the secondary observatory… behind the bookcase! The code is red… red… blue… green… yellow…"

August threw the sentry down. He then turned about to stroll away. However, before he could go two steps, the sentry spoke once more.

"Please… help… me…" the sentry groaned in a pain-induced trance. She dragged herself through the blood of her fallen comrades.

August turned around. Placing a foot on her back, he pointed his Inquisition Blaster at her head to execute her.

Jefferson pulled out a throwing dagger as he muttered, "Okay that is going too far."

He threw it accurately at August's hand. However, thanks to his Inquisition intuition, August drew his hand back in the nick of time. He then pointed the gun at Jefferson and fired. By some miracle, Jefferson managed to duck out of the way. The bullet hit a boulder behind him and turned it to less than dust. The shockwave sent Jefferson reeling away.

"August! Please!" yelled Gene, "Get a hold of yourself!"

August looked at Gene for a moment. Then he turned about and strolled into the fortress to retrieve the piece of armor he was seeking.

Gene dashed through the flaming debris of war to the fallen sentry. She was lying on the ground, unconscious.

"She's alive!" he gasped, "Jefferson! We need to get her help!"

Rubbing his cheek, which had been badly singed, Jefferson staggered up the sentry. "Wow. I am surprised that she has not died from blood loss. I'd give her about two minutes."

"That is callous, Jefferson," snarled Gene, "Get over here. You helped keep August from killing her, so you are also going to help me save her."

Gene quickly conjured up large swathes of bandages. Wrapping them around her chest firmly to cut off the bleeding from the two holes in her back, Gene worked quickly to keep the sentry alive. As he worked, he said, "I am not a Designated Healer, so I will be unable to heal any internal bleeding. Jefferson, you have basically everything in that overcoat of yours. Do you have anything that could help?"

Jefferson rolled his eyes. Despite the fact that someone was dying before him, he really could not bring himself to care very much. "Why do you assume I have everything here? What if I only carry weapons? I do know that I carry that one fork I found in the Deep Coal Cellar, though. Hmmmm… I have not yet ruled out the possibility it could be the Fork of Truth from the Looking For Group dimension."

Gene's eyes narrowed. Holding out a hand, he said, in a deathly quiet voice, "You're lying. Hand over the healing vial now."

Jefferson rolled his eyes again. "Wow. Am I really a terrible liar? Fine."

Reaching into a voluminous pocket, Jefferson pulled out a small vial of strange glowing fluid. Gene snatched the vial from Jefferson and uncorked it. In one swift movement, he poured the whole contents over the sentry's back.

"Really? Your just wasted the whole thing on her, just like that?" snorted Jefferson, "What if the first thing she tries to do is kill us as a form of 'thank you?' Or what if I accidentally gave you extract of llama from the Emperor's New Groove dimension?"

Gene promptly ignored Jefferson. "She's a sentient being in trouble. No matter who she is, she deserves a chance to decide for herself if she wants to go back to killing us. We are heroes. We know when to be fighters, and when to be healers."

He sighed in relief as the liquid from the vial sunk into the sentry's back and vanished into her skin. Her breathing became less labored, and it seemed that the infection that was working its way into her wounds was backing off.

Jefferson, however, was not impressed. Instead he muttered, "I'm not a hero. I'm a mercenary."

This time Gene just shook his head. "God help me," he murmured, "My team consists of a friend being mentally and physically controlled by a heartless killer and of a mercenary. Where has the honor in this multiverse gone?"

As if the multiverse decided to blatantly disregard Gene's remark, a massive explosion rippled before Gene. The explosion then abruptly morphed into a giant portal… and Pictor stepped out.

Jefferson groaned. Readjusting his large top hat, he took up a fighting position. Gene stood up as well and charged his fists with plasma.

Pictor looked at the two almost complacently. Then he said, in guttural tones, "Gene Grayson. Jefferson Madigan Hatterus. It is my pleasure to meet you… and kill you."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: Peak of the Scriptorium, Aldgitess's Fortress_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer_

Inside Aldgitess's fortress, August strolled down the halls as if he owned the place. Whenever a guard rushed out to attack or challenge him, he would shoot them in the face with incredible speed and accuracy. Using his Inquisition intuition, he worked his way upwards through the fortress to the secondary observatory.

Two winged guards stood at the ready. The moment they saw August, the tensed and pointed their energy spears.

"Halt!" snapped one, his energy spear crackling with lancing lightning bolts, "Who goes there-"

That is as far as he got. In an instant August had whipped up his Inquisition Blaster and shot him and his comrade in the head, dropping the two within seconds of each other. Walking up to the door, August punched it with his right fist (the armored one). The door's molecules literally drifted apart from the force of the punch. The interior was abandoned. A small telescope stood unattended by a large slit in the wall that exposed the night sky which was visible through the snow storm outside of the fortress's bubble shield.

Aside from the telescope, a couple of tables and chairs, and a bookcase, there was not much.

August turned to look at the bookcase. It was jam packed with books of many colors. In an instant he remembered the code he had squeezed out of the sentry.

"Red… red… blue… green… yellow," murmured August as he pulled respectively colored books off the shelf. The bookcase suddenly lurched in place and began to slide to the right, exposing a hole in the wall.

The hole was an entrance to a small hallway. Nodding to himself, August strolled down the hallway purposefully. At the end of the passage was a small door. August kicked it down without breaking his stride. Behind the door was a massive room. It was jam packed with strange articles and treasures. It was the ancient treasury of Aldgitess.

Without even looking about, August walked to a specific corner or the hall, disregarding the strange wonders that filled the room. Packed neatly in the corner he was approaching was the armor. It was the left shoulder plate and left arm armor.

August walked up to it and gently brushed it with his left hand's fingertips. The armor flared to life. It shot through the air in an arc and slammed into his left arm. The shoulder plate secured itself snugly against his left shoulder, and the left arm armor extended over his arm to end in powerful gauntlets. Now his left and right arms were covered in Blue's powerful armor.

August sighed. In a moment Blue's influence lifted from August. August retched violently as Blue's conscious left, and he reeled backwards as if from a physical blow.

"What's going on?" he murmured, rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up from a nightmare-filled nap, "I really, really hope that… Oh my God… that sentry. I hope she is okay!"

August nearly tripped as he turned around to run back down the hall. But before he could even get to the stairs at the end of said hall, a massive explosion echoed outside. It was Pictor.

"Explosion? No… my friends! Nononono! Blue! You… are not… taking… me… this time!" growled August as he forced down the rising cloud of Blue's influence that threatened to envelop his brain in the face of danger.

With a yell he pushed Blue's conscious away. But the moment he did that he tripped and fell straight down the stairs. Fortunately the armor protected him as he fell, and the stairs suffered the most damage of the two.

August straightened up and looked about frantically. With Blue no longer controlling his mind, he could not utilize his Inquisition instincts effectively. In short, he was lost.

"Well, I know one way to get out," sighed August. Whipping out his Inquisition Blaster, he shot the wall, blowing a hole in it. Through the gaping hole he could see an all-out war tearing apart the mountaintop below.

Down on the ground, Jefferson and Gene were basically holding on to their lives by a thread. The only plausible reason they were still alive was that Pictor was finding the battle amusing.

"So, tell me, where is your friend, August, anyway?" laughed Pictor. He quickly diverted a hail of throwing knives and a bolt of plasma with a simple gesture. Then with a snap of a finger he commanded the earth to rise up in clawed hands to crush his gnat-equivalent adversaries.

"Maybe we should tell him!" shouted Jefferson. He pulled out a magically-charged sticky bomb as he dove under a massive rock hand. He then flipped over another before tossing the bomb. It landed on the rock hand he had jumped over and detonated, blowing the thing to smithereens.

Gene simply vaporized the rock hands attacking him with a shockwave of seismic power. At this point, Pictor had grown impatient. He had had enough.

Pictor snorted and gestured quickly again. Time froze for a moment. Then, an instant later, the entire area was flash-fried with countless blasts of lightning. With time frozen, Jefferson and Gene could not dodge the attack. Lightning lanced through them, searing their flesh terribly. With that, time unfroze and the two dropped like rocks, stunned.

Pictor laughed sadistically. Then he conjured up two long lances of pure energy. He hoisted them above his head and prepared to stab the unconscious forms Gene and Jefferson.

During these events, August was standing in the fortress, looking through the hole in the wall. He had not yet jumped because he feared he could not make the jump, for he was rather high up. But the moment he saw Pictor standing over his fallen friends, Blue emerged with a will, and August was lost in the tide of consciousness.

August stiffened, then, without a nanosecond of hesitation, he threw himself from the building. He landed with an explosion of frozen earth, but was unhurt as the dust began to clear. Even before the clods of earth had fallen from the air, August had readied his Inquisition Blaster and fired two shots within nanoseconds of each other with perfect accuracy. The attacks blew off the hands of Pictor which he was using to heft the lances of pure energy.

Pictor roared with pain and reeled away. In a second he had recovered, though. Holding up the stubs of hands that were now oozing Dimensional Lord lifeblood, he sneered at August defiantly. In another moment new armored hands had grown in place of the ones that had been destroyed.

"You are going to have to try harder than that to kill me, Blue," snarled Pictor.

By this time, Gene had recovered. His flesh still smoking, he sat up slowly. But no matter how battered he was now, he could not help but yell, "He's August! Blue no longer exists!"

Pictor ignored him. "So, Blue… Tell me… Are you as great as they say? I know I was alive during your first reign of terror, but I never truly saw you in action."

August was completely gone now. Blue had completely taken over.

"Pictor," murmured Blue, his voice barely audible above the crackling of the flames, "It is not wise to fight me. Return from whence you came. You were once an E.D.D. Dimensional Lord, and I am somewhat averse to kill you."

Pictor laughed. Then he hurled a massive blast of energy he had been charging up especially for Blue. The terribly powerful beam of power bent time and disrupted space as it seared through reality towards Blue. Blue simply turned his shoulder to the attack. The blast struck the shoulder plate and dissipated without even a shockwave of rebounded power.

Blue then ran towards Pictor, firing with perfect accuracy the entire way. Pictor held up his hands, rerouting the kinetic energy of the Inquisition Blaster's bullets and sending them spinning away from him. Explosions tore through the ground all around them as the bullets struck patches of earth. Pictor then clapped his hands together, causing a shockwave of dark matter to ripple towards Blue. Blue deftly leapt over the attack with a tremendous leap, still shooting as fast as he could. Pictor shimmered in nothing as he teleported out of harm's way. A moment later he teleported in behind Gene. Holding Gene with one hand, Pictor conjured up a poisoned dagger with the other and held it to Gene's throat.

"If you move, Blue, Gene gets it," hissed Pictor.

Blue shot without a moment of thought. The bullet blew apart Pictor's right shoulder. With a yell, he stumbled back. Blue kept firing, the bullets striking the same bullet hole over and over again. Soon the damage was too great and he could not heal the damage in the shoulder quick enough.

With Pictor distracted, Gene hurled a light energy flare into Pictor's eyes. Shocked, Pictor dropped Gene. The Dimensional Traveler hit the ground running. Dashing over to the sentry, he dragged the unconscious women out from under the fortress's gateway. Just in the nick of time, as well, for the gateway collapsed with a roar, the battle between the travelers and Pictor having destabilized it beyond any bearable point.

With the sentry now safe, Gene attacked Pictor again. With a yell, Gene hurled a long streams of lightning. Pictor bobbed his head slightly, causing the streams to whirl around and lance away harmlessly. Jefferson had recovered now as well, and he followed up Gene's attack by unveiling a steam-punk like handgun with an outlandishly large barrel. Holding the weapon with both hands, Jefferson fired massive flaming balls of iron. Pictor snarled as he found himself under attack from three sides. He even started to feel nervous as the attacks came in thicker and harder. But, in a hideous epiphany, he decided to press the one weakness of his enemies: the sentry.

Ducking under an attack from Jefferson, he threw a thick globule of plasma at the sentry who was still lying, unconscious, on the ground. Neither Blue nor Jefferson flinched when they realized what was going on and did nothing to stop the attack, but Gene hurled himself in front of the blast to protect the sentry. The blob of superheated matter blasted into his chest and sent him spinning away. The sight of this caused Jefferson to pause, but this was still not enough for Blue to even come close to flinching. However, it was enough to get him to speak.

"Jefferson," said Blue calmly, "You have throwing knives. Use them all."

Jefferson did not even question the command. Grabbing handfuls of his slim throwing daggers, he hurled at least a dozen into the air with a single movement. Pictor deftly negated the attack's usefulness by reducing his density. The knives passed through him harmlessly. With that by him, Pictor began to return his density to normal. The moment he did that, Blue fired. The bullet passed through him the instant he became solid once more. It became lodged in his midriff… then it detonated.

Pictor gasped softly as his nigh-invincible insides were bathed in Dimensional Energy, causing everything to disintegrate.

Slowly he fell to his knees. Then… he fell to the earth, losing all use of his limbs.

"Harold… you… you knew this was going to happen… didn't you?" murmured Pictor. That was as far as he got. Blue fired once more, blowing his head open and splattering Dimensional Lord lifeblood across a massive radius. Pictor was dead.

Blue stood there for a moment, looking over his handiwork. Then, with that, August returned. Falling to his knees like Pictor, August vomited onto the ground. For several minutes, he simply looked at the ground, still in too much shock to even move, let alone speak.

Even Jefferson was speechless for a moment. But it only lasted for about a minute.

"Well… that was brilliant, Blue… Oh, er… August is it now?" said Jefferson awkwardly.

August slowly got to his feet. Then he screamed.

"DAMN YOU BLUE! DAMN YOU!"

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><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: Clockwork valley, northwest of Wardrem's Army Base_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer_

A gentle breeze blew over a quiet field. Strange birds twittered, and alien insects buzzed.

However, the serene spell of quietness that resided over the field was broken as a portal suddenly crackled into existence.

Strolling through the hole was Doxia, armed with his longsword. Beside him was Derpy, who had convinced him to allow her to come along.

"So what we are going to do, Derpy, is walk through this portal like this, and then I will attack whatever interdimensional monstrosity we find before us. Are you sure you cannot throw razor-sharp letters and packages? You are a trained mailpony after all! What, that doesn't come with ninja training or something?" said Doxia animatedly, totally disregarding the possible danger he could be in.

Derpy hid behind Doxia a little bit, not sharing Doxia's disregard of danger. "No," she said, "But what are we looking for?"

"Well, we're looking for…" Doxia's voice trailed off. He looked about, his practically omnipresent senses scouring everywhere for a telltale sign of the unknown enemy he was seeking.

Then he saw it. Right at his feet was a plaque of beaten gold. Written in fancy script were the words:

"Dedicated to Doxia, the first Dimensional Lord ever to be outsmarted. Plaque and engravings courtesy of H.D. P.S. Pictor was just killed by August."

Derpy gasped, and her eyes practically widened to the size of dinner plates. Doxia was in shock for a moment as well, but, being Doxia, it did not last too long.

"Well that is not entirely true!" he exclaimed, "I've outsmarted Mattimeo before! And Mattimeo is a Dimensional Lord too! This Harold guy clearly wasn't there when I used to play Capture the Flag with him."

"What are we going to do now?" asked Derpy.

Doxia swept around purposefully. "We return to Rerenhaw and rethink our strategy. We are clearly dealing with an incredibly powerful being. Even we cannot create fake Imagination Energy signatures, so whoever we are facing must be beyond any scope of power we have considered so far."

"But what about August?" persisted Derpy, "Will he be okay?"

Doxia froze. "Oh my golly. August! Quick!"

Doxia swiftly held out a hand. Derpy took it, and then Doxia rocketed into the air towards the Scriptorium.

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><p><strong>Note: Yes... that just happened. Pictor is no longer with us, and I am pretty sure everyone just mentally celebrated one way or another. However, the bad news is that, yes, Doxia was just outsmarted by Harold. What will happen now? You will simply have to wait to find out. Now I would like to take a moment to thank you all for reviewing so often! Reviews are most certainly the most efficient way to keep me inspired to continue my writing. Speaking of which... please review! If you give me a review (A.K.A. FEEDBACK) I will give you a 12X12 Swimming Pool! Yes! That's right. However, I did not specify specifically the units of measurements of the dimensions. Thus... 12X12 could just mean 12 nanometers by 12 nanometers. Maybe...<strong>


	123. Chapter 123 - Standing Alone

**Note: Hello! How are you all? Well, it is time to spend a chapter with Discord, Twilight, Rarity, and Flaming Star! To Austin, I bike and play golf, so I really have no idea what dimensions a swimming pool should be technically. However, it does not matter really, because if it was in nanometers, you would not be able to see it! Anyways, here is the latest chapter.**

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><p><em>Dimension: Dishonored<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Dunwall's East Bay Industrial Zone_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer_

Discord looked up at the massive lighthouse. It stretched high into the sky, however no light shone from the top. It was abandoned, like most of the other buildings in the vicinity.

"Ooooohhh… If I had no idea what dimension I was in, I would be shouting unintelligible things about Bioshock Infinite right now," he chortled, "So, teammates, I suggest we begin our investigate forthwith!"

"Wait a second!" exclaimed Rarity, "We have to scope out our surroundings first. We must 'get the lay of the land.'"

Discord snorted. "Did you just say 'get the lay of the land'? Who had the time to even explain to you to the meaning of that?"

Rarity glared at Discord. "I know a whole lot about field work, Discord! And considering the fact that I learned what I do know from Doxia, I would say that I know more than perhaps even you!"

Discord rolled his eyes. "Of course Doxia would be your teacher! Since he is technically immortal, he has plenty of time to explain to you what the phrase 'roughing it' means! Heaven knows how long it took for you to pass that one lesson."

Rarity tossed her head. "The phrase 'roughing it' means to do something without regular comforts. To embrace nature, if you will. It only took me a fortnight to understand that! Beat that!"

Discord was about to coyly remark on the definition of the word "fortnight" when Flaming Star interrupted sharply, "How can we be a team if we keep arguing?!"

Discord scratching his beard. "We were a team in the first place?"

"Please everypony!" cried Twilight, "I know you all aren't the best of friends, but that does not mean we have to constantly fight! Doxia entrusted us with a mission, and we must carry it through. If not for ourselves, then for the rest of Equestria and the multiverse!"

"I had no idea that Equestria was equivalent to the multiverse," commented Discord wryly. He would have gone farther, but he caught the eye of the disgruntled Flaming Star and decided that it would be wiser if he kept quiet.

"Now that we have that out of the way," said Flaming Star after quickly clearing his throat, "I think we should go and investigate."

Discord nodded. "Fortunately for us, this place and areas surrounding it are most abandoned. Thus we do not need to do too much sneaking around."

With that, Discord flashed out of existence and then immediately reappeared dressed as a fireman, totally standing out from his surroundings with the colors contrasting harshly.

"You always certainly do take things to the next level," grumbled Rarity under her breath.

Flaming Star strolled up to the boarded up door and vaporized it with a well-placed blast of crackling fragmentation energy. Despite the fact that the lighthouse was abandoned as Discord had said, the group could not help but crouch down and shuffle along as they crept up the rickety, dusty, old staircase that lead to the top.

"Discord, activate your traveler database and begin scanning for any form of cloaking devices," whispered Flaming Star.

"Why are we whispering?" whispered Discord back.

"If not for the sake of covertness, Discord, than for the fact that any sudden, loud sounds could cause this ancient stairwell to collapse," snapped Rarity in hushed tones.

Discord simply chortled, but then complied with Flaming Star's command.

"I don't see anything so far," murmured Twilight, pressing closely to Flaming Star.

"And my scanner does not see much as well," added Discord, "Whatever we are looking for must be higher up."

Flaming Star nodded and picked up the pace ever so slightly. The staircase groaned despondently in protest, but did not break apart… yet.

Twilight let out an audible sigh of relief as the team reached the top of the lighthouse. The glass casing that surrounded the ancient (and horribly cracked) electric light bulb was grimy, but they could see the smog-blurred skyline of the great city of Dunwall.

"I still do not see anything…" sighed Twilight, "Perhaps…"

"Wait a second!" exclaimed Discord suddenly. He transformed his firefighter outfit into an outfit akin to the classical Sherlock Holmes' style of dress. Holding up a conjured-up magnifying glass, he leaned close to the ground on the other side of the giant dead light bulb and tapped the ground in a specific corner. A strange "boing" sound resonated from the spot and a distorting ripple effect shimmered out from the contact point.

"A cloaking field!" squeaked Rarity, barely able to contain her excitement, "What is it?"

Discord slammed an eagle's claw fist into the field, releasing a sharp burst of green EMP power. The field shimmered again, twisted and distorted, and then popped, exposing a small USB-like device the size of a dime.

"An Amethyst USB drive," said Flaming Star, picking it up and scanning it with his traveler database.

"It appears so," murmured Rarity who had turned on her traveler database as well and was scanning it alongside him, "My goodness! According to my scans, there is a message on it!"

"Well, well, well, that is a gross misuse of space," snorted Discord who was also now inspecting it with his traveler database, "Look at this! According to this scan, there is 4 million terabytes of data space left! By Equestria!"

The team decided ignore Discord's foolish quip. In a moment Flaming Star extracted the message remotely from the drive and displayed it on a large holographic screen.

The image was of Sunflower. He was leaning against the outside rails of the lighthouse they were standing in even now. He had one of his sniper rifles set up as if he was readying it to shoot.

"To whoever is watching this," started Sunflower, "My name is Sunflower and I am… Oh… wait a second…"

Turning about, the Inquisitor looked through the scope of his sniper rifle and pulled the trigger. Not a single sound escaped the weapon as it blasted a beam of hyper-focused Dimensional Energy at incredible speeds. Twilight gasped and covered her mouth with a hoof. Rarity's eyes were wide.

"Welp, there goes the head of that one traitorous ambassador," murmured Sunflower to himself. He then straightened up and cleared his throat.

"Where was I? Oh, that's right… My name is Sunflower, and I am an Inquisitor. An Inquisitor part of the John 3 Inquisition Chapter, to be exact. I am video-taping this message because I am about to vanish off the map. Blue has vanished, and so has Dark, so I have nothing more to do but do the same. Most probably because… Well… There is an ongoing trial involving our… activities."

Sunflower sighed. He scratched the back of his helmet, and then scuffed his right foot on the ground.

"The truth is… I shot that traitor just now and am video-taping this message because I want to be caught. I want to be found after I hide and I want to be brought to justice. What my team and I did during the Maelstrom War was just wrong. If you look at the statistics, they will prove it… but I guess that Amethyst will alter said statistic after the war because of how horrid they are. Since that is probably what the case is going to be, I will just recite them myself, for they have burned themselves into my mind. Missions accomplished: 500,000,000,000. Targets eliminated: 197,065,215,369,918. Innocents killed: 79,123,687,974,365. See a problem with those numbers? We've killed almost as many civilians as we have killed enemies. Sure we killed almost every rogue Dimensional Lord, high-ranking Maelstrom official, and Arch-demon there is, but that does not eliminate the fact that we have killed almost as many children, women, and elderly. We are genocidal criminals, and we should be arrested or executed. Doxia, Arcturus, and Mattimeo should be prosecuted as well for authorizing us to do what we have. And… and Blue should suffer the most. He… he may be a friend, but I will never forget the faces of those countless mothers and children as he tore open their bodies to get to the targets that were cowering behind them."

Twilight began to cry, and Rarity fainted. To Flaming Star's surprise, Discord gently caught Rarity and began to fan her pale face. Slowly he wrapped a hoof about Twilight and brought her close to him. Sunflower paused for a moment, then he spoke again, his voice tight with sadness and anger.

"Blue, I believe, has already paid the ultimate price. But I fear that his powers have been passed on to another; however, that is not an issue that I am willing to worry about as of yet. Anyway… Back to the topic at hand… I can be found in the Meshe II dimension. If you are coming to kill me… then do it quickly. I will not stop you."

The transmission ended there. Twilight was still weeping silently, but Rarity had recovered.

"Oh Discord…" she mumbled, "What is going on?"

Discord quickly helped her to all fours and backed off, "What? Oh… nothing. Um… nice weather we are having today… yes?"

After a bit of mane-stroking from Flaming Star, Twilight got her emotions under control as well. She turned to look at her husband and mumbled, "Are we going to incarcerate Sunflower when we find him?"

Flaming Star shook his head. "It appears that he has suffered enough already. No. Doxia said nothing of punishment. We are to find him and tell him to return to Rerenhaw. Then we find Dark."

"I am locating Meshe II now," said Discord jovially, trying to lighten the mood, "Oh! I found it! I found the central planet as well… What a nice place it is! I am assuming Sunflower took up residence there."

Discord snapped a claw, and a portal quickly popped into existence. Through the rip in space, time, and dimension the team could see a grassy field and a crisp blue sky.

Flaming Star gently nuzzled Twilight before nudging her forward.

"I'm okay," she mumbled. Shaking her head as if to clear it, she then proceeded to step through the portal. She was followed by Flaming Star, Rarity, and then Discord. The portal then closed behind them with a small "pop."

The field that stretched out before them was lush and serene. However, the most defining element of the environment was the silence. No birds twittered, no bugs buzzed, all that could be heard was the gentle breeze rustling the sea of green grass.

"I have heard tales of Meshe II being an extraordinarily beautiful resort…" murmured Discord, "Incredible…"

"Why is it called Meshe II?" asked Rarity, still a little too much in awe.

"There are three Meshe dimensions. They are named after the main sentient inhabitance: the Meshemedadas. They are incredible beings, but I have only read about them," replied Flaming Star.

Twilight, who was a master of research (as most everypony knows), nodded her head and exclaimed, "Yes! They are unique because they are one with Imagination Energy. Just like fishes in the ocean feed, manipulate, move, and live in water, Meshemedadas feed, manipulate, move, and live within the Imagination Energy streams of the multiverse. Of course you cannot see it with the naked eye, but it has a profound effect on them nonetheless."

Discord's ears perked up with this description. His clothing once again altered from a Sherlock Holmes-like garb to the clothing of a safari hunter. Hoisting an oversized butterfly net over his shoulder, he exclaimed, "Amazing! Where is one?! I want to catch one!"

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Discord, what part of 'sentient species' did you not understand?"

Discord actually hesitated. Then he grinned sheepishly and vaporized the butterfly net. "Ah… that is right."

At that moment, a voice range out, "Halt you four… I can drop you all from where you stand within nanoseconds of each other… or… at least I think I could. I do not know anymore…"

Flaming Star turned around slowly. It was Sunflower. His armor was grimy, battered, and tarnished, and hairline cracks covered his helmet and the eyepieces in the helmet. However, his dual sniper rifles were in perfect condition, and he was still standing strong. Beside him was a small purple Meshemedada. The thing was about the size of his foot. It had ears of a cat, a tail of a mouse, and a small, long, fluffy, pebble-like body with no neck. It had no limbs, but it could glide gently along the ground without any need for such things. Finally, it had small, beady eyes that somehow managed to radiate vast amounts of awe-inspiring gentleness and wisdom.

Sunflower slowly lowered the gun. "Your right," he murmured to the Meshemedada, "They are of no threat."

Suddenly the voice of the small creature radiated throughout the brains of Discord, Flaming Star, Rarity, and Twilight as the Meshemedada spoke telepathically to them. It had the voice of an innocent (yet outlandishly wise) child.

"Who are you four?" the Meshemedada asked.

"My… my name is Twilight," stuttered Twilight, "And… and this is my husband Flaming Star and my friends Discord and Rarity."

The Meshemedada bobbed a bit in acknowledgement. Then it said, "Again, Sunflower, they are of no threat."

Hearing this, Discord teleported over to where the Meshemedada was and exclaimed, "You… are… so… ADORABLE! By Celestia, Fluttershy would have a cuteness-induced stroke if she saw you! How old are you, little friend?"

"900 Billion years old, if you must know," replied the Meshemedada, causing Discord to gag on his own tongue.

At this point, Flaming Star chose to interrupt. "Sunflower," he said loudly, addressing the powerful (yet clearly disheveled) Inquisitor before him, "I have been sent by Doxia and the Rerenhaw Council to retrieve you and bring you back to them."

Sunflower cocked his head to one side and regarded the four beings before him coldly. There was an ominous silence as the lifeless eyepieces of his frightening masked helmet stared at them.

Then he said "Doxia and the Rerenhaw Council sent you? The Rerenhaw Council was disbanded."

"We know," replied Flaming Star evenly, "But it was reinstated along with the rest of the Amethyst Empire."

"It was reinstated?" asked Sunflower, a faint whisper of hope creeping into his tone of voice, "Does that mean High Lord Kytax has returned?"

Twilight answered for Flaming Star this time. "No," she said, rather mournfully, "He had to return to his self-imposed exile. We do not know when he will return."

Sunflower's shoulders sagged, and he sighed, "Whenever Kytax was about, things felt alright, even when they were not. Oh well. I guess there is not much use in resisting, is there?"

"Not really, no," said Discord, "Unless you want to add four more tally marks to the list of innocents killed by your team."

"Discord!" exclaimed Rarity, appalled, "Watch what you say!"

Sunflower shook his head. "No, it's okay. I deserve this. I suppose we must go, then. However, before we leave, I have a question: do you know of who got my Inquisitor abilities? I relinquished the Inquisitor DNA sequences to the Imagination Energy outflow, you know."

"Doxia told us of that you had given away your abilities, but we do not know of the recipient," stated Flaming Star.

Sunflower hesitated. Then he cocked his head to one side again. "That is odd," he replied, "I gave them to one of your kind. I thought for sure they would be renowned throughout your dimension as a great hero by now. Something must have gone awry."

"You gave such incredible powers to one of us ponies? Why?" breathed Rarity.

Sunflower shrugged, "When I found that I could relinquish my powers to a specific individual, I sent it out to one I thought would be the most qualified in mind and soul to handle such intoxicating power. It was a blind filly… Her mane was purple and her coat was yellow. She seemed so full of love for life. I thought for sure she would bring the kind of pure justice my team and I could not."

Twilight's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "That sounds like…"

Flaming Star gently covered her muzzle with a hoof. Then he glanced at her sadly and shook his head. Now was not the time.

At this moment Sunflower seemingly broke out of his trance. Giving his head a quick shake, he said, "Nonetheless, that does not change anything. Let us go."

Sunflower then turned to the Meshemedada that hovered beside him. Getting down on one knee, he looked into its eyes and said, "I will be going now, my friend. Thank you for all the things you have told me. You have been a light of hope in the darkness of my grief."

The Meshemedada blinked in acknowledgement. Sunflower then stood up and strapped his dual sniper rifles to his back.

"Lead on!" he exclaimed, a little bit of the old Inquisitor Sunflower returning.

Flaming Star nodded his head decisively and opened a portal to the Rerenahaw dimension with a swift gesture.

Flaming Star then hopped through, followed by Twilight, Discord, Rarity, and Inquisitor Sunflower.

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><p><em>Dimension: Once Upon a Time<em>

_Planet: Fairy Tale Earth_

_Specific Location: Snow White and Prince Charming's Castle_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer, Twelve years after the Evil Queen Regina's curse_

Orion stormed into the large abandoned dinner hall.

"HAROLD!" he screamed into the darkness.

"What is it? Seriously?" snapped a voice from the shadows.

Orion whirled to face the direction of the voice and hurled a deadly bolt of Dark Matter. The bolt simply fizzled out into nothing before it even reached the shadows.

"Resulting to violence, are we? You must be mad," snorted the voice of Harold, "What is it now? Did I forget to take the car parts out of the dishwasher again?"

"Pictor is dead," hissed Orion, "And I have good reason to believe that you planned it all along."

"Well, someone is getting smarter!" exclaimed Harold scathingly, "Yes. I was planning that all along. The more Blue takes control of August's mind, the more often he becomes Blue and not August. The death of Pictor was just the push toward Blue we needed, I believe. Soon August will be a mere memory, and Blue will have emerged completely."

"How many times must I stress that that is NOT a good idea?" snarled Orion.

"About a billion," chuckled Harold, "But that is not a problem. As I myself have stressed: we must ensure that he becomes Blue."

Orion sighed. "I still do not understand. But it does not really matter now. However… I don't suppose the next step involves my death, does it?"

Harold did not answer this question. Instead he started telling a story. "Once upon a time, there was a Care Bear. His name was Warm Heart. He was a wonderful bear, believing in all that was good and kind. He was a friend to all and all were friends to him. However, one day a terrible signal was sent throughout Care-a-Lot. Dark Heart had undergone a demonic transformation. Now instead of trying to capture little kids to convert them to his cold-hearted ways, he was capturing children so that he could strip them and peel off their skin for decorations. The Care Bears started the greatest mobilization of their forces since the Demon Invasion of 1918. Warm Heart and Tender Heart spearheaded the attack. The battle was fierce, but eventually the incredible powers of the Care Bear Stare decimated Dark Heart's fortress and turned Dark Heart himself into naught but dust. Unfortunately, there was a cost. So twisted was Dark Heart's mind that he devised a last-resort plan that, if he be killed, the whole gorge that his fortress was situated in would be obliterated in one, massive, black magic blast. Though all other plans had been foiled at the paws of the Care Bears, that one plan carried through flawlessly. The whole gorge was destroyed, and countless kilograms of rubble were piled upon many a Care Bear's head. By some miracle, Tender Heart had foreseen the final attack and evacuated most, but at least a score of Care Bears and Care Critters were trapped. One of the beings who was trapped was Warm Heart. However, unlike the others who were buried, he was not dead. All of his ribs were broken, and all of his limbs had snapped, but he was alive. 'Thank the stars,' he said to himself through his tears, 'now surely my friends will come and save me.' But no bear came. The Care Bear corps was gone. He waited a day… then two days… then three days. Sadly, no Care Bear came to even search the debris of war. He was alone. But, luckily for him, on the fourth day, when he was at death's door, another being came: Archangel Bottarr. Bottarr, unlike most of those foolish angels, was not wholeheartedly interested in recruiting the good and the noble. Of course He Who Sits on the Throne had handpicked beings like Doxia, Mattimeo, and Meadolax and he had to comply with those choices, but whenever he got a chance, the Bottarr would do a bit of 'Dimensional Lord shopping' himself. Thus, he decided to restore and recruit the unstable-minded Care Bear Warm Heart for the deep-seated anger that was beginning to boil up. At first Warm Heart went into denial. He tried to kill himself, then he turned to drugs, but his Dimensional Lord body was too strong, he could not eliminate the pain he felt in his heart. Thus, he turned to the only thing he had left: hate. Though he never showed it to those who knew him, he devoted himself to destroying the lives of everyone around him, just like his life had been destroyed. With this new purpose, he took on a new name… Orion… er… I mean Bob."

Orion just stood there, livid with anger. There was a pause, then Orion hissed, "Where did you hear that story?"

Once again, Harold did not reply to this question directly. Instead he said, "All semblances to real-life character living or dead are completely coincidental."

"THAT WAS MY LIFE STORY!" shrieked Orion, "HOW DID YOU HEAR OF IT?!"

"I won't answer that," said Harold smugly, "But, let us say, I am a sucker for the miserable, betrayed, hate-stricken masses. I've been about a bit… I know… stuff."

Orion had now gotten his emotions under control. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"I just want you to remember that no matter who you are, I can see straight into your weak, black soul," said Harold with a wry chuckle.

Orion actually gulped. However he quickly recovered and snapped, "Is there anything else you want to tell me about what the story has to do with anything?"

"Oh, not really," replied Harold in a sing-song voice, "Let's just say it is a little preview of what I have in store for August…"

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><p><strong>Note: You guys would not believe how many different stories weave around A Mending Soul. But, yes, Orion is actually a Care Bear, or, he was. There are many secrets yet to be revealed. Now please review! If you give me a review (A.K.A. FEEDBACK) I will give you a pet dolphin. I've always wanted a pet dolphin almost as much as I've wanted a pet Koala... or Kangaroo. Did I mention that it was invisible? Invisible dolphins are cool too.<strong>


	124. Chapter 124 - Guardian Angel

**Note: It is time to see what Lyric and Summer are doing! I usually say at this point that I really like writing these parts, but I will have to admit that I had a lot of trouble getting through this one chapter, so please forgive me if the quality of this specific chapter does not live up to the general standards. I have been really busy, you must understand; however, I will elaborate on that at the closing author's notes. Now on to answering some reviews. To AdorkableDerpy, thanks! Huggies are on par (if not vastly better than) reviews, and having a huggy IN a review exponentially increases the encouragement value. To Russet Burbanks, how can you NOT think the Meshemedada is cute? Well, you are entitled to your own opinion. But I think it is cuddly. Now on to the story everyone!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Council Room_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer_

Celestia looked about in wonder as she trotted into the Council Room of Rerenhaw. She almost moaned softly in appreciation as she drank in the soft white and light blue lights that illuminated the flawlessly white room. In the center was the beautiful council room table, and at the other side stood Mattimeo, arms crossed, waiting for her.

"Not… not to seem rude of anything of the sort," breathed Celestia, "But why am I here?"

"Princess Celestia," stated Mattimeo, "You are here because I have something personal to ask of you."

Celestia cocked her head to one side, her Technicolor mane flowing majestically. She bobbed her head slightly, prompting Mattimeo to continue.

Mattimeo gestured towards the council room table. A physical cacophony of light sprang to life as several holographic displays flared up. On each display was several views of a blueprint of a nanorobot.

"What strange things are these?" asked Celestia, regarding the devices with curiosity.

"These are nano-devices that specialize in facial scanning, recognition, and cataloging. They are about half the size of the average proton."

"W-why are you telling me this?" said Celestia, flustered by being in the presence of a Dimensional Lord aside from Doxia.

"I have a small container that contains about a googol of those nano-devices. Within one minute of release, these devices can cover an entire major landmass and scan the faces of every being on said landmass."

"What…?"

"Celestia, in ten minutes you are going to have a summit meeting with the Stallion Empire concerning the over-sea boundary treaties."

"What do you mean…?"

"When you get to that summit meeting, I need you to release the container just before entering the main building."

"Mattimeo!" interjected Celestia loudly, "What is going on?"

Mattimeo stared Celestia down for a moment, then he sighed, "Celestia, Amethyst is looking for Princess Twilight Sparkle's daughter."

Celestia did a double-take. Then she said, almost mournfully, "Mattimeo, Summer has been dead for over several years now."

Mattimeo almost chuckled. "We just found that she is still alive. However, she is lost somewhere in the Stallion Empire. In order to find her, we need one of those nano-devices to identify her face – which I have seen in a dreamscape – and then alert us of its position. We find the triggered nano-device, we find Summer."

Celestia exhaled long and loud. "I am so grateful for what you are doing, but are you sure I must do it? Do you truly realize how complicated our political positions are? Equestria, Amethyst, and the Stallion Empire, I mean."

"I have seen 300 billion years of complicated political positions in the form of the Emerald Empire and the Amethyst Empire, Celestia," said Mattimeo firmly, "Think of what you are doing as an adventure."

Celestia could not help but giggle nervously a bit. "You are sounding a bit like Doxia, Mattimeo."

Mattimeo turned about and snapped a finger. A portal opened up beside Celestia. Through the rip in dimensions Celestia could see her royal chariot awaiting her in the courtyard of Canterlot Castle.

Celestia actually felt rather nervous. Of course she had plenty of summit meetings with the Stallion Empire over the past twenty-two years, but this seemed dangerous. However, she felt a little of that nervousness slip away as Mattimeo gently patted her majestic shoulder. She turned and smiled a bit at him through her flowing mane. Mattimeo then gave her the canister.

"Good luck," he said emotionlessly, "Just be covert."

Celestia nodded regally, getting her Princess act back on. "Thank you Mattimeo, I shall do as you say."

She then stepped through the portal. Mattimeo nodded to her once more as she handed the canister gently to one of her Pegasus guards. Then, with a swift motion, he slammed the portal shut.

Mattimeo then activated another holographic projection which he linked to the captain of the A.E.S. Incandescence, which was orbiting a remote galaxy in the My Little Pony dimension.

"Captain," said Mattimeo, "prepare the Phantom Hellfire ATS-9. I need it to go to the skies above the Stallion Empire of Equestria Earth in the Harmony Tree dimension and await my commands. Cloaking for that ship on full power. No sentient being must know of its presence."

"Acknowledged," reported the captain, "Launching now."

Mattimeo disconnected the link.

"Don't worry Summer," murmured Mattimeo, "We are coming."

With that, Mattimeo closed his eyes and entered the dreamscape. In a couple minutes he found the detached consciousness of Summer. With a slight mental push he entered the dream.

Summer was sitting, dejectedly in the middle of nowhere, shivering. Not out of cold, of course, but out of fear of being alone. The moment she detected the arrival of Mattimeo, she leapt up onto all fours.

"Mattimeo!" she cried happily. She galloped up to him and ran straight into his waiting arms. Her blind eyes welled up with tears as she nuzzled Mattimeo's chest.

"Summer, I am glad to see you again," said Mattimeo gently, running his fingertips through her mane.

"I'm so scared, Mattimeo," mumbled Summer, "What is going to happen to me? What if I never wake up?"

"You are going to be okay," said Mattimeo, "We are searching for you as we speak. If Lyric does not save you, we will get you ourselves."

Summer hesitated. "I… I think Lyric will pull through," she stammered.

Mattimeo blinked, there was at least a minute of silence. Finally he said, "You still don't want us to save you?"

Summer looked down at her forehooves. "It's just… It's just… I don't know. I'm still afraid that you might take me away. I know you really want those strange memories in my head – and if I could I would give them to you, honest! – but I also really do not want to spirited off to some strange place, away from the only ponies I know."

Mattimeo cocked his head to one side. There was yet another minute-long pause as the Dimensional Lord thought of his options. "I know you might be wary… but now… but now I only want you safe, and if that means letting you and Lyric go your own way, then I will let you both alone."

Summer nodded her head slightly. Then she looked up into Mattimeo's face with her blank eyes. "Will I ever see you again?"

Mattimeo actually chuckled. "One day little one, one day."

Suddenly Mattimeo stiffened as his HUD alerted him of an important event: Celestia had completed her mission. The devices had spread across the continent of the Stallion Empire, and they had found Summer. "I must go now."

"Why?" asked Summer innocently.

Mattimeo hesitated as he thought of twisting the truth. But he threw aside the idea quickly. Then he said, "We've found you."

"Oh, Mattimeo!" cried Summer desperately, "I'm with Lyric! Please! Let me stay!"

Calling up some more holographic images, Mattimeo looked at the surrounding environment. "I do not see anyone. I think Lyric is gone."

"What?" gasped Summer, "But… but…"

Mattimeo held up a hand, silencing her. "Imagine his voice for me. We can retool the nano-devices to search for his unique vocal signature."

"Nano-what?"

"Can you image his voice for me?"

"Oh… b-but of course…"

Summer proceeded to close her eyes and draw up instances of Lyric talking. Mattimeo swiftly took the instances telepathically. He sent the unique voice signature to central command. Central command at Amethyst HQ quickly distributed the new search criteria to the nano-devices infesting the Stallion Empire. Within seconds the nano-devices retooled themselves and set about their new tasks, searching for the voice signature. A moment later Mattimeo received a hit and it was sent to the HUD. The nano-devices had found Lyric and were tracking him visually.

Mattimeo actually took in a sharp breath as he saw the wounded Lyric work his way through the icy-cold forest. Observing now with baited breath, Mattimeo stood stock still as he continued to watch the poor colt drag himself through the snow. However, his trance was broken by Lyric's voice.

"Did… Did Lyric abandon me?"

Summer's voice was small, meek, and tearful. Mattimeo sighed in relief.

"No, little one, he is practically going through hell to get back to you… and he has a serum that will pull you out of the coma."

Summer literally leaped for joy. "I'm going to be okay! I will wake up!"

Mattimeo felt her joy as his own. "You are going to be okay, Summer. However, I will keep an eye on you."

Summer cocked her head to one side as she thought about that. Then she perked up and said, "Like a guardian angel!"

Mattimeo chuckled. "Yes… like a guardian angel. I must go now, but I will watch over you… always."

With that, Mattimeo teleported back to the Council Room of Rerenhaw. Telepathically he brought up a large holographic live feed of the video that was being taken from the nano-device that was stalking Lyric.

In a moment he had connected via a telepathic link to the pilot of the Phantom Hellfire.

"Hover above Primary Target's coordinates and arm all weapons," said Mattimeo, "You will be on standby until Secondary Target's arrival on the scene. When they are together, go to full protection mode. Anything that is armed that comes within 50 meters of the two is to be eliminated with full prejudice. Understood?"

"Understood Lord Mattimeo," replied a voice over the link, "Pilot of Phantom Hellfire T1879 over and out."

Mattimeo quickly disconnected. Closing down that one holographic projection, he turned his attention back to the live feed of the nano-device that was tracking the movements of Lyric.

Mattimeo crossed his arms slowly as he watched the despondent colt work his way through the freezing forest.

"You must do this, Lyric," muttered Mattimeo, "You must do it."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Stallion Empire_

_Time: Six days after Lyric found Summer_

Lyric grunted in pain as he dragged himself over a rather sharp rise in the snow. Blood trailed behind them like a ribbon of crimson, a streamer of red. With one final gasp of exertion, Lyric collapsed to take a breather.

Muzzle half buried in snow, Lyric snorted sharply as he tried to keep himself from passing out. Slowly sitting up, he looked at the serum in his hoof through sleep-deprived eyes.

"Must… get this… to Summer," gasped Lyric. With another pained grunt, he dragged himself up and looked over his shoulder.

He sighed as he saw the long trail of blood that marked his passage through the forest. However, he quickly shook off the foreboding sense of apprehension and continued to work his way through the forest.

"So… cold…" muttered Lyric, shuddering. He looked up into the cold sky that was peeping through the snowy foliage. Just as he did that, light snow began to fall. "Great…"

Shaking off the light snowfall, Lyric pressed on. As he worked, he talked to himself.

"It's been what now… a week?" he muttered to himself, "And almost every single days I've nearly been killed. So what? I don't know… but I am not giving up Summer."

He paused for a moment, then snorted, "She may seem like a liability or deadweight to some… but she is starting to mean more than anything to me…"

His chattered died away, and soon silence claimed the scene before him. An icy wind gently blew across the forest setting, swaying the snow-laden pines. The snow gently fell from the sky, and the sun shimmered through the treetops on its way to be swallowed by western mountain range of the frozen north of the Stallion Empire.

Several minutes later, he stumbled back into the clearing where Summer was hidden. There she was, a disheveled little filly wrapped in blankets. Lyric sobbed brokenly with relief. He had made it there and Summer was not dead.

Lyric sighed. Now he could give her the serum. However, at that moment he hesitated. Should he be giving her this? What did it even do? Lyric bit his cold, stiff bottom lip as indecision bounced about in his skull. Finally he threw his indecision out the window, knowing that this was his only shot at waking her up. He knew very little about medical devices, but he did know that the drugs that went into the serum should be useful in reviving sleep-locked patients. It was now or never.

Stumbling up to the blind filly. Pulling back the blankets, he rammed the needle point into a blood vessel on her flank. Summer immediately went into spasms as the serum took effect, revitalizing her brain to the core.

Summer shot up, her blank eyes wild. She jolted up, but Lyric held her down firmly. She bucked and kicked as the serum burned through her nervous system like wildfire, searing away the lingering effects of the coma that she had been thrust into. Drawing in another huge intake of breath, as if she had been underwater for a prolonged period, Summer came fully to her senses. The first thing she did was to start screaming.

"Lyric?" she yelled frantically, her blank eyes darting about as if searching for her best friend, "LYRIC?!"

Lyric quickly covered her muzzle with a hoof. Summer broke down crying. Hugging Lyric to her, Summer sobbed loudly. Lyric hugged her back firmly, saying "It's okay… It's okay… We're safe now."

Lyric started to cry a little as well as he rocked Summer back and forth. Summer continued to sob as she clutched at him.

"W-what's going on?" she sobbed, "There was the tanks… then that loud noise… Why?"

Still rocking her back and forth, Lyric replied, "It was nothing. You just took a little nap, that's all. But it is all over now."

Summer sniffled, and then got her emotions under control. He head had stopped spinning, and she no longer felt excrutiating pain lancing through her. However, now she felt tired, very tired. All she wanted now was rest, rest from the coma that she had just escaped. A natural rest.

"Lyric? I'm tired… can I rest?" she mumbled.

Lyric nodded his head vigorously, stroking her mane gently, "Yes. You can rest. We are safe now."

However, just as that phrase drifted into the air, Summer mumbled, "Wait… I hear something… Terrorists?" She attempted to raise herself from the sleep that was inexorably pulling her down, but she only collapsed in a heap. Lyric quickly gathered Summer into his hooves again as his stomach flipped and flopped. What was going on? He had just saved Summer, and he was not allowed even a little bit of peace? It seemed not, for moments after Summer had collapsed, Lyric too could hear the shouts of oncoming hostiles. And from the sounds of it, they were terrorists, not Stallion Empire soldiers on a search-and-rescue mission for the downed medical helicopter.

Lyric looked at Summer, who was still exhausted, drugged, and disoriented, and then at his twisted hoof. They were in no shape to run, and even if they did attempt to run, they would only die tired.

"Lyric?" murmured Summer, "What is going to happen to us?"

Lyric sighed again. "We die."

"Die?" asked Summer, her voice barely above a whisper, "Together?"

A small smile twitched Lyric's lips. "Yeah… Together."

Summer cocked her head back and gently kissed Lyric on the cheek. Then she passed out. The shouts got louder and louder, but Lyric simply closed his eyes and buried his muzzle in her fuzzy mane.

Twelve terrorists stormed in on the clearing. In seconds they surrounded the two disheveled foals.

"Frozen Heart, I think we found your two little targets," said one of the terrorists over a com, "Shall we dispose of them?"

"Yes," Frozen Heart's voice crackled over the radio, "What are you waiting for? Shoot them!"

The one terrorists turned about. "Shoot them now!" he screamed.

The terrorists raised their gun to shoot… then gunshots filled the air. However, the gunshots were not from the terrorists' guns. They were energy blasts from an unknown source. Lyric's eyes snapped open to view total chaos unfolding before him. His eyes widened immensely. Some invisible attacker was firing bolts of glowing power at the terrorists. The blobs of superheated power seared out from nowhere and was blasting the terrorists to smithereens. In moments they were all dead. Suddenly several more terrorists ran into the clearing, and a tank flattened a whole section of trees, and they all started firing into the air but to no avail. They did not stand a chance at all. A hail of dark energy bolts punched holes through the new terrorists, sending them spinning into the frozen foliage bordering the clearing, smoke pouring from their wounds. The tank's turret whizzed and buzzed as it turned this way and that, trying to get its bearing. But how does one target something visually if it cannot be seen? There was a pause, then small missiles hissed out of the invisible airborne vehicle. The three projectiles struck the tank and detonated. Massive plumes of purplish energy blossomed out. The plumes froze for a second in space, then imploded, sucking the whole tank into nothing. The metal giant creaked and shrieked as the turret, frontal armor plates, engines, tracks, and everything else bent in on itself. In moments the whole thing was gone, sucked into the space of an atom by the attack.

Lyric's mouth dropped open as the dust cleared. Silence reigned supreme. Thick smoke drifted through the clearing from the dead terrorists, and several small fires had started from the energy attacks despite the below-freezing temperatures, snow, and ice. The trees surrounding the clearing swayed gently, but many of the nearby trees were bent at odd angels now, and their branches and bark were singed badly.

At that very moment, Summer slipped into consciousness again. "Lyric…? Are we in Heaven?" she murmured.

Lyric chuckled breathlessly, unable to do much else. "No… but I think Heaven might have just come to berth here for a moment."

Summer began to fall asleep again. "It must have been my guardian angel…"

With that, the two collapsed into unconsciousness. Unbeknownst to them, a powerfully armed hovercraft fighter, an Amethyst Phantom Hellfire, floated above them, watching over them and waiting for any enemies that dared draw near.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Okay, now I have some bad news. I will not be posting anything next week, and there is a rather large chance that I will not post the week after that as well. School is starting, and I need to prepare for it. I will be flying to Manehattan soon! Well, technically it is Troy, New York. On the bright side I am preparing a big new story, which I will release in the near future. Now please review! If you give me a review (A.K.A. FEEDBACK) I will give you a souvenir! From Manehattan! Naturally it will be invisible like everything else I've given you, but it is still there technically... Thanks!<strong>


	125. Chapter 125 - Radiance

**Note: Well, hello everyone. It has been a long time, no? So, I have actually been receiving several PMs asking me about where I get my inspiration from, as well as what writers inspire me. Since I have received several of these PMs from a range of people, I have decided to make an official statement. In the case of inspiration, I rarely ever take inspiration from anything for A Mending Soul. However, to get into my writer's frame of mind, I will read books from Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, BIONICLE, Redwall, Warriors, and Seekers. As for authors, my writing style emulates that of Cherith Baldry, Tui Sutherland, and Brian Jacques. There. I made an official statement. Now on to answering some reviews! To Danielle Brookshire 58, thanks! I am glad you do! To Rainbow999, thank you as well! To Guest, what do you mean by "Mary Sue-ish?" Sunset Shadow was a mass murderer. Flaming Star was a egotistic moron who still has girl problems now and again. Wild still doesn't care about who he kills. Those are only a few Dimensional Traveler that had bad pasts. Additionally, Dimensional Travelers only seem powerful because of their wide range of powers. However, if they are not wearing their armor, a child with a fork could kill one of them. In addition to that, I know some Pokemon that could destroy a Dimensional Traveler with ease. To PBJNachos, I don't know about unblinding her... We will have to wait and see. Finally, to RETheUgly, hello! It is so nice to hear from you again. Okay! Finished! Time to get on finally to the story. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: Aldgitess's Fortress_

_Time: About a week after Lyric found Summer_

"Wow," breathed Jefferson, "Pictor is dead. That is pretty cool. I mean, if you really think about it…"

August did not respond. He was breathing hevily, striving desperately to hold in his emotions. There before him lay Pictor. Though Pictor had brought nothing but hell to those around him, August's stomach churned whenever he ended a life against his will, and this one was no exception. And that was not even the worst part. Blue had taken over him with ease, even though he himself had put up every centimeter of his willpower to fight against the submerged conscious of the Inquisitor. If he could take over August now on a whim, what would stop him from simply replacing August and taking over his body altogether?

August's wild train of thought was brought to a standstill by a sound: Gene groaning. Scrambling to his feet, August rushed over to Gene and shook him.

"Gene, are you okay?" August asked gently, doing his best to push the memories of his newest atrocities to the back of his head.

Gene sighed and rubbed the back of the head. "Yeah. I've been bucked in the head by Applejack worse than that…"

"I am sure you have," snorted Jefferson, who still could not bring himself to care about the horrible death of Pictor, "But I have a pressing question: why did you almost kill yourself trying to protect that Bat Lady… Guard… Thing?"

Gene glanced over at the prone body of the once-winged female guard of Aldgitess's fortress. "She was innocent."

Jefferson rolled his eyes. "What is your definition of 'innocent' anyway? It seems to me that you heroes use the word 'innocent' as interchangeably as us mercenaries use the word 'dead.'"

August glared at Jefferson. "He's been through so much already, Jefferson, please don't make this any worse."

Jefferson, still grinning a bit, held up his hands and backed up. "Hey, sorry. I don't want to risk you turning into Blue again. Hey, Blue is kind of like the Hulk in some terms. That makes you Bruce Banner…"

August ignored Jefferson (like usual) and turned to Gene, "Hey… are you sure that you are okay?"

"Derpy is flying laps around my head right now," chuckled Gene weakly, trying to make light a rather dark situation, "But other than that… I am fine."

At that moment, another groan rang out: it was the guard.

In an instant Jefferson had pulled out a sharp dagger, but Gene quickly scrambled up and rushed over to the downed woman.

The guard whimpered a little as she shifted in the dirt, spreading blood from the stubs that were left of her wings across the ground. Her eyes opened slowly, and she saw August.

With a gasp, she tried to scramble backwards, but all she managed to do was fall completely over again with a pained cry. Gene quickly laid a hand over one of hers and said, "Calm down… He is not the same as the one who attacked you. You are safe now. Let us help."

"I don't need any help," replied the guard sharply through clenched teeth. She literally attempted to stand, but flopped straight over again with a cry. Blood oozed thickly from her wing stubs and Gene suddenly noticed that one of her legs was broken. The right one.

"You are completely incapacitated, please, for the love of God, let us help," exclaimed Gene.

"I'd rather burn in hell," was all that he got in response.

With that, Jefferson flipped the dagger he was holding in the air, caught it by the sharp tip, and then stowed it away in his vast pockets of his vest beneath his overcoat. "You hear that? She wants to burn in hell instead. Right! You tried! Let's get skedaddle out of here now."

"Please, see reason," pleaded Gene, who was ignoring Jefferson like usual as well, "You will die if you stay alone here."

"You attacked us," snarled the woman, "You killed the other guards. You are my enemies."

"No, we're not," insisted Gene, "We only attacked because we were trying to defend ourselves. When our friend August vanished, we tried to get into the fortress to find him. Those guards attacked us and we needed to defend ourselves."

"And if we are your enemies, then explain why we haven't killed you…" added Jefferson, speaking reason for once.

Gene nodded wordlessly in agreement, looking at the guard with a strained face.

The guard opened her mouth as if to say something. However, then she hesitated and closed her mouth. There was a pause. Then she said, "Why didn't you kill me?"

"Because we want to help you," said Gene with a small smile.

The smile seemed to dissipate the guard's improving mood. She tried once more to scramble away as she hissed, "Like you helped the other guards?"

"We've gone over this already, moron," grumbled Jefferson, "They attacked us, we fought back, and they exploded. End of story. Nothing personal. I assure you that your 'friends' died painlessly."

Teeth clenched from pain, the guard hissed, "They weren't my friends."

Jefferson rolled his eyes. "Uh oh. Here comes some ridiculously complicated back-story that will explain why she is here and why those fellow guards weren't her friends. I hope it includes at least one sex scene."

Gene would have punched Jefferson, but he was too busy working hard to keep the guard from passing out from blood loss.

"What do you mean?" asked August, who had been staying a respectful distance up to this point.

The guard simply bared her teeth at August and tried to get up again. She collapsed into Gene's arms. Blood soaking into his armor, Gene supported her head and whispered, "What did you mean by what you said?"

Eyes fluttering, the guard replied, "I was drafted into the guard corps after Aldgitess's army razed my town and killed my parents. But… that… doesn't matter… now…"

Gene conjured up a long strip of cloth and wrapped it around her chest, binding up her wing stubs. Then he did the same to her broken leg.

"W-why…?" breathed the guard.

"You deserve a chance to live in happiness like us all. I am here to give you that chance," replied Gene quietly.

The guard slowly turned her face to look into Gene's, she was deathly white.

"I'm… I'm Radiance."

Gene smiled. "I'm Gene."

Radiance passed out.

Gene then straightened up, turned around, and then hoisted Radiance onto his back. The once winged female guard was now riding piggy-back upon him.

"W-what are you doing?" gaped August, staring at Gene in disbelief.

"I am taking her with me," replied Gene promptly.

"But she'll kill us!" exclaimed August, "She'll kill me!"

"August, she will do no such thing," snapped Gene, "First of all, she is in no condition to attempt to kill anything. Second of all, you couldn't get yourself killed now even if you tried. Back down."

August's right eye twitched. Then his right hand slowly crept down to his gun holster where the Inquisition Blaster was lying in wait. He slowly wrapped his fingers around the handle… Then he jerked as if he been electrocuted and he swiftly withdrew his hand.

"Very well," August mumbled.

Jefferson chortled. "That was almost as amusing as the time I saw Traveler Tricost get his ass kicked by Master Chief and his pet Pokémon Gardevoir."

Gene glanced slowly at Jefferson. "Master Chief was a Halo Dimension Spartan. They don't have Pokémon."

Jefferson winked. "Exactly. That is what they want you to think."

Gene turned about and looked at August once more.

"Well, what is our next move?"

August blinked. "You're still following me? Why? I think I don't need to keep repeating myself: I'm a monster."

"Yeah, but you are a monster that killed Dimensional Lord Pictor. I think that equals things out," replied Jefferson in a jocund manner.

"I hate to agree with Jefferson," added Gene, "But he has a point. Pictor's death date was past due. He had ended too many innocent lives to be allowed to continue living."

To Gene's surprise, all this did was cause August to suddenly convulse and then bear his teeth fiercely.

"You don't know what Blue's memories have showed me," he hissed, "I've ended almost as many innocent lives as Pictor. When will I be not allowed to continue living?"

Gene opened his mouth, then closed it. Then he sighed, hitched Radiance a little higher upon his back, and then stepped back.

August sighed as well. "I'm sorry Gene," he mumbled, "It's just that every second… Blue takes me over… Just… Just leave me. I'm not the person you once knew."

Jefferson snorted. "Soooooo… If I turn about right now and stroll away, will I be walking away from Blue, or from August?"

Gene shook his head firmly. "He is August. The being standing before me is August. No matter how many times Blue tries to take him over, I will not lose faith for my friend. August would never abandon be, thus, I will never abandon him."

Gene then looked August straight in the eye, "Where to next, August?"

August looked like he was going to cry for a moment, but then he pushed down his emotions, cleared his throat, and then said, "We are going higher up. There is another piece of armor deeper in Averthon Magnum. I think I know where. Let's go."

With that, he turned straight about and walked off, taking great and purposeful strides north across the land.

Jefferson poked his head out from behind Gene and jauntily said, "I guess the hot bat guard lady is coming too…"

"Just shut up Jefferson," replied Gene coolly. He then paused to shift Radiance higher up on his back again and then set off to follow August.

Jefferson shrugged. "What? She is hot! Don't deny it Gene! Come back here!" Jefferson quickly dashed after the two. As he caught up with them, he switched the subject entirely.

"Okay, are we just going to run off in a random direction until Blue sends August directions?"

"I hope so," replied Gene softly, hoping fervently that August still was only able to retrieve Blue's memories through fragmented visions. He was sadly mistaken.

"No," replied August in hushed tones, "I remember it all now. He placed the chest piece in the Power Garden of the Upper Realm of Averthon Magnum."

Gene sighed in despair. He had worried about this: August could recall Blue's memories as his own. The two had become mixed together. It was only a matter of time before August and Blue's consciousness was mixed interchangeably together as well. Then the friend that Gene once knew and cared for deeply, August, would be lost in the vast writhing sea that was Blue.

Jefferson, however, did not seem perturbed by any of this (like usual). Thus, instead of sighing in despair or something of the like, he said, "Okay… The Upper Realm. Could you explain?"

"The Upper Realm is near the end of the planet of Averthon Magnum. It was the headquarters for the king of this land. It is no longer. The Power Garden is a special location of magic that is in charge of keeping this planet alive. Just live the multiverse depends on Imagination Energy, this land depends on the magic from the Power Garden. Thus, needless to say, it is well guarded. But that will not be a problem."

"Why do I feel like that statement was more foreboding as opposed to reassuring?" muttered Gene.

At that very moment, Radiance gasped deep and long. She struggled with Gene, forcing him to place her down. She promptly kicked him the chin, sending him flying backwards as if struck by a car.

Jefferson guffawed loudly at the site of Gene crumpling to the floor, dazed.

"I'm surprised she didn't end up kicking your ass initially, August, thank your lucky stars Blue had you over or right now you would be mincemeat!"

His laughing stopped short when Radiance cast a baleful glace in his direction. He took a step back and slowly placed his right hand's palm on the hilt of one of his many long daggers hidden beneath his large overcoat.

At that point, Radiance struggled to her feet. She then turned to August and hissed, "You… tried… to… KILL ME!"

August was no longer there. With the violence that had unfolded in the scene before him, August had been seamlessly replaced by Blue once more.

"Hello Radiance," murmured Blue, standing off to one side, looking at her with nonchalant complacency.

"I'll kill you," she snarled, trying to take a step forward. Blue pulled out his Inquisition Blaster and fired it into the air. Then he pointed it straight at her face.

Suddenly Jefferson rushed in between the gun-pointing Blue and the blood-thirsty Radiance.

"Wait a second!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, "I call a time-out."

"Get out of my way," snarled Radiance.

Jefferson grinned sheepishly, "No. Please don't kill me."

"The only reason I myself am not firing through you is because I find your existence amusing, Jefferson," added Blue in hushed tones.

"Thanks," snapped Jefferson, "You're not helping. Look, Radiance, I know he tried to kill you, but he is also one of us. And, like Gene said before, you are like one of us now as well. We are a team, and rule number one for being a team is 'don't kill your teammates.'"

Radiance bared her teeth… But then actually backed down. She then teetered, and fell down hard on her rump, gasping softly in pain. The red splotches on the bandages biding her severed wings deepened in color.

At this moment, Gene opened his eyes and groaned.

"That hurt sooooooo much," he muttered, "Thank God those other guards weren't as vicious… How is it that I am always the one who takes the beatings?"

"The heroes are always the ones who get beat up nowadays. And since this team consists of one heartless murdering super soldier, one witty and strikingly handsome mercenary, one tough and sexy bat guard lady, and only one hero, all the 'hero-gets-beat-up' elements of our adventures will focus on you," chortled Jefferson.

Blue holstered his weapon as he interjected, "We need to keep moving. This land is not safe. We must be at the foothills of the Middle Ocean of Averthon Magnum by next nightfall."

He then turned his deep, remorseless eyes to Radiance.

"I am not killing you now because Jefferson has a point. However, do not think that I will not kill you at any moment. I am leaving you now, but I will be back."

Abruptly, the dark veil of Blue's consciousness lifted from August, and the young adventurous boy returned. He sighed and then shook his head.

He then winced and looked at Radiance worriedly.

Radiance simply glared at him with hate-filled eyes.

"Well! That was interesting!" exclaimed Jefferson, attempting to break the tension once more, "Now let's play the 'don't-kill-your-teammates' game and get a moveon before Blue comes back to punish us for our tardiness."

Radiance held out a hand to Gene.

"You. Gene," she said, "Help me up."

Gene rolled his eyes and then took her arm. He lifted her to her feet and put her arm about his shoulder. However, to his surprise, she turned about, wrapped both her arms about him, and nimbly leapt upon his back.

Jefferson was shaking with mirth at Gene's shocked and helpless expression as this transpired.

Perched upon Gene's back, Radiance said, "Though I hate to admit it, that young demon is right. We must begin to move towards the Middle Ocean. Once we are upon the sea, the jurisdiction of Aldgitess cannot follow us and I will be free from the chains of the military police."

"I'm not a demon," muttered August, "I'm sorry that Blue was a little… rough…"

Radiance just glared at him in loathing.

Gene groaned.

"That's right, we're just one big happy family."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: Aldgitess's Fortress_

_Time: About a week after Lyric found Summer_

Doxia stood alongside Derpy, looking down at the decapitated corpse of Pictor.

Derpy dry heaved, and then pressed her face into Doxia's thigh to block out the sight of the sizzling corpse and the crackling lifeblood.

Doxia just stood there, almost in shock, as he stared at the body. A whole five minutes passed before he could say, "Blue must have done this."

Then Doxia facepalmed. "Of course! This was the plan of H.D. all along! He must be after Blue! The more times Blue emerges in the face of danger, and the more lives Blue takes while he is active, the less August becomes of August and the more he becomes Blue!"

Derpy, muzzle still squished into Doxia's armor, mumbled, "But why? You told us the Blue was powerful! Why would this H.D. guy want Blue back?"

"Lolidunno," replied Doxia mirthlessly, "But if he wants Amethyst's most powerful and active non-Dimensional Lord Fighter back, his sinister plan must be deeper than we could imagine. And to think that he outsmarted me as well… and that he can fake Imagination Energy signatures… this dude has quite the resume now I must say."

There was another long pause. After this one, Doxia sighed and turned his face away from Pictor's dead body. As he did that, he waved his hand in the air. In an instant, Pictor's body, and all the gore from the battle, vanished into nothing. All elements that marked the passing of the despotic Dimension Lord had vanished.

Doxia then sat down, and Derpy sat down with him. Hours passed by as Doxia absent-mindedly ran his fingertips through Derpy's mane. A day could have possibly passed on by if not of a HUD notification that suddenly sprang to life in from of Doxia's armored visor.

Doxia slowly brought it up and considered it curiously. Then he got up and said, "Come on Derpy. It is time to go."

Derpy looked up into Doxia's face with wonder. "Uh, why?"

Doxia scratched the back of his helmet as he replied, "Well… They found Inquisitor Sunflower."

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Okay everyone, I have something to say. Something rather important. What is that, you may ask? Well, I do not believe I will be posting much more of "A Mending Soul" for the rest of the school year. I am simply too busy. If I am lucky, I might be able to squeeze in a new chapter here and there, but, for the most part, I simply cannot go on. On a lighter note, I will be releasing a chapter of a new story that I have recently started tomorrow. This, unlike "A Mending Soul," is a collaboration between some other authors and me, so it will not suffer from lack of attention from me as "A Mending Soul" will. Check it out tomorrow! Anyway, please give me reviews! I love reviews! If you give me reviews, I will give you a handwritten (and invisible) promise that I will get in AT LEAST two more chapters of "A Mending Soul" by the end of this year! I really hope it is not a stretch! Now, farewell 'till another time!<strong>


	126. Chapter 126 - Hammering the Nails

**Note: Hello everyone! By some miracle, I managed to write a whole chapter. I have no idea how I was able to do it, but I did it. Anyway, I really want to thank you all for such amazing reviews! For those who don't know, my happiness is proportionate to the amount of reviews per chapter. To RETheUgly, I would like to thank you especially for that last review. It was absolutely amazing! At this moment I would like to mention that my happiness is also EXPONENTIALLY proportional to the length (and pure awesomeness) of each respective review. Thus, you can most certainly get an idea of how much encouragement I got from that last review. Thank you!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Council Room_

_Time: About a week after Lyric found Summer_

Sunflower, Twilight, Rarity, Flaming Star, and Discord walked down a long, brightly lit passageway to the Amethyst Council Room. Silence reigned supreme as they quietly walked. Tension crackled in the air like lightning, and it got to the point where Rarity thought she would scream from the silence when…

"All travel toward the light, but it will do naught but illuminate the land as fire and brimstone raze. This is reality," muttered Sunflower.

Twilight glanced at Sunflower. "What was that?"

Sunflower shrugged. "That is something Blue used to say. He wasn't much for optimism or movie quotes."

"I'll say," said Discord wryly, "That sounds quotable, but it most certainly has the joy of a rock in a mire."

"What… what went wrong with Blue?" asked Rarity all of a sudden, "Was he always like that?"

Sunflower sighed. "He was. I myself do not fully understand, but then, when Arcturus assigned us three as a team, I did not care. However, as we grew closer than brothers, I simply became more understanding as opposed to curious. I just realized that it was who he was."

At that moment, they reached the end of the hall. Two massive white doors with massive blue veins running like a circuit board across it stood before them. The moment they approached it, the doors began to glow brightly, and then they swung open soundlessly. They were now in the Council Room of Rerenhaw.

It was empty except for two beings: Mattimeo and Doxia.

They had their backs to them, staring at a massive holographic map of the Earth Multiverse. However, the moment the doors widened enough for the group to step into the room, the two powerful Dimensional Lords turned about to face them.

"Sunflower!" exclaimed Doxia joyfully, "It is good to see your yellow mug again!"

"Likewise, Doxia," replied Sunflower. He then nodded his head to Mattimeo, "Mattimeo."

Mattimeo bobbed his head back. "Inquisitor Sunflower."

"Well, that's one of two," exclaimed Discord loudly, "I don't suppose you have a treasure map leading to Dark, now, do you? If by some fortune you do, would you be as kind as to toss it over to us. Then we will be on our way."

"If we had a treasure map, I would have found him already, buddy," snorted Doxia, "However, as of now… nope. We have a general idea, but that is it. That is one of the main reasons we have Sunflower here."

Sunflower held up and armored hand. "I beg your pardon? What?"

"Oh! But of course! What else did you think we had you here for?" asked Doxia jovially.

"So… I'm not here to be incarcerated, like I should?" asked Sunflower, sounding honestly incredulous.

"Well, of course not!" replied Doxia, "We are assembling you all! Return of the Inquisitors!"

"But how will that work?" persisted Sunflower, "I gave up my powers."

"We are working out the details as we speak," said Mattimeo emotionlessly.

There was a pause. Then Sunflower said, hoarsely, "May I… may I see her?"

Mattimeo gave Sunflower a side-long glance. "Who?"

"The being that I gave my powers to… Summer, I believe her name was…" answered Sunflower in hushed tones to Mattimeo.

Mattimeo nodded. "Yes. She is alive and well."

As Twilight and Flaming Star turned to Doxia to ask about why they were not incarcerating Sunflower, Mattimeo gently motioned to the map of the Earth Multiverse. It flickered and was replaced with a live video feed of a yellow and purple filly and dark purple and blue colt, sleeping quietly, in a smoking clearing. However, these two ponies were not Summer and Lyric, they were different. However, the only one to notice was Sunflower. He turned to look ask Mattimeo a question about it, but then Mattimeo secretly sent him a PM to his HUD. Sunflower held his peace. He then turned back to the holographic terminal.

"What happened here?" asked Sunflower, looking at the debris of war surrounding them, "What is going on?"

"They were attacked by terrorists. They were destroyed at no cost to them," replied Mattimeo.

"By Summer?" pressed Sunflower.

"Nah. Summer got amnesia shortly after you gave her the powers. Thus, most of them are mentally blocked. She was unable to access many of them. She was, however, able to ammo rack an armored car with a single energy bolt from over two kilometers. But that was about it," answered Doxia for Mattimeo.

Sunflower sighed. "Perhaps that is for the best."

"I would have to agree, darling," interjected Rarity as Mattimeo turned off the terminal, "A young filly such as that should not be able to harness such powers."

"With that I agree," said Mattimeo with a tad of emotion stirring his usually emotionless voice, "Now that she is under our protection, she will not be in need of such dangerous abilities."

"So I will be at full power again," murmured Sunflower. Then he turned to fully face Mattimeo. "Why?" he demanded, "Why are you doing this?"

"Blue is returning," said Doxia, all of his joviality drained out of his voice.

Sunflower stiffened. "What?"

"Just what I said: Blue is returning. August, who has been carrying Blue's abilities, has been drowned out. Blue controls him now. You have Blue back…"

"Waitwaitwait," interrupted Flaming Star sharply, his face the picture of disbelief as he and Twilight trotted over, "You knew that August had become this… thing… and you never thought of telling his family?"

Doxia glanced (almost nervously) to Mattimeo, "Ummmmm… In short, no."

This brisk answer was not what Flaming Star was looking for, and he broke immediately into a rage. "WHAT?!"

"Flaming Star, calm yourself," said Mattimeo.

"NO," hissed Flaming Star, livid with anger, "August is the son of Luna and Caustic Rain… and now he has been lost to that demon Blue? And you never thought of telling us?! YOU NEVER THOUGHT OF TELLING THEM?"

Mattimeo glanced to Doxia, then looked back to Flaming Star. "Blue may control August, but that does not mean that he is gone."

"Then is there some way to reverse this? Can we… can we fix this?" asked Twilight.

Doxia sighed. "We do not know."

Flaming Star looked Doxia straight in the face. It intrigued the Dimensional Lord as to how hostile his friend had become. Perhaps he had grounds to be so, perhaps he did not.

"Fix… this…" hissed Flaming Star. He then turned straight about and stormed out of the room.

Twilight cast Doxia an alarmed glance before rushing after him. She was followed by Discord and Rarity. As the doors slammed shut, Sunflower sighed and said, "It is not my place to judge you, Dimensional Lords. I will await your command."

He then left as well, leaving Doxia and Mattimeo alone.

"Can what has happened to August be reversed?" asked Doxia after a pause.

"No," replied Mattimeo in hushed tones, "But they need not know that."

Doxia groaned. He then said, "Are we really going to do this? Are we really going to lie to them?"

Mattimeo looked to Doxia, "Is there any other course of action? This H.D. being has now quite the profile. Control of Imagination Energy? Not even the most powerful Dimensional Lord can do that, and now we know for certain that the same H.D. being controls Orion. This threat must be dealt with extreme prejudice."

There was a pause.

Then Doxia backed off, shaking his head and hands raised. "No. No, I will not lie to my friends."

Mattimeo turned to Doxia and considered him for a while. After a moment of silence, he said, "Tell me, Doxia, wouldn't it be a greater crime to let the multiverse fall to H.D.?"

Doxia sighed loud and long. Finally he said, "I will consider it, but I am still against lying."

"You always were, but sometimes we must do it for the good of others," continued Mattimeo.

Doxia shook his head, still reluctant. "Yeah, well, I was never a believer in the 'a small evil for a greater good' spiel. There has to be a way to fix this, and I intend to find it."

Mattimeo shook his head. "Very well. I doubt your efforts will yield anything fruitful, but you have your ways."

Doxia tipped his head amiably to Mattimeo. "You are right as rain, old buddy. I am now off to see if I can get Rarity and company to complete their mission and find Dark."

Doxia flicked a wrist slightly and teleported away.

In a second he materialized in the hallway leading away from the Rerenahw Council Room and almost collided with Flaming Star.

"Out of my way, Doxia," growled Flaming Star, seething with righteous wrath.

"Flaming Star, look, I'm not trying to hurt anyone," pleaded Doxia, "We are just trying to secure the future of the multiverse."

"But the cost…" breathed Rarity quietly.

Doxia nodded, "And I am working to reduce or remove the cost. Look, you two need to keep working at what you set out to do. Dark must be found. If you can worry about that, than I can worry about August."

"Why should we help you?" snapped Flaming Star, "You seemed to have been lying an incredible amount recently."

Doxia sighed dramatically. "I may have bent the truth now and again – and I immensely regret that, mind you – but it has all for the best…"

"Then tell us the truth now," asked Twilight quietly, "Do you think there is a chance August will return to control his body?"

Doxia let his hands flop to his sides. There was a pause, then he said, "No. I believe there is almost no chance. Blue is fighting to control the body of a young, innocent 15-year-old child. Blue is a trillion-year-old being with countless eons of experience with mental discipline. Only a miracle could give August back control."

Twilight's eyes fell to the floor. A single tear dropped to the ground.

"We're done helping you," said Flaming Star quietly, "Right everypony?"

There was another pause, then Rarity spoke.

"I… I… No."

Flaming Star glanced at her in surprise. "What?"

Rarity looked Doxia straight in the eyes. "I trust Doxia with every centimeter of my being. He may have stumbled a couple times, but he, like us all, are mortal in one way or another. He makes mistakes and so do we. I am willing to keep pressing on as long as he does. I say we go find Dark to hold up our end of the mission."

Discord actually seized Rarity in a tight hug. "That's the spirit Rarity! Let's go do something heroically heroic. Mayhap we can even cuddle when this is all complete!"

Rarity pulled a face. "Maybe, Discord. Maybe. Put me down."

Discord set her down and straightened his invisible bowtie. "Righto. Now, Doxia, old pal, what is our next move?"

Doxia looked to Flaming Star. "Are you in?"

Flaming Star sighed loud and long. Then he nodded his head. "I'm in, but I never forget, Doxia."

Doxia looked in no way intimidated by this veiled threat. He then motioned toward Sunflower, "I think he might be able to shed some sunlight on where Dark is. Get it? Sunflower? Sunlight? Eh, never mind."

Sunflower nodded. "Yes. I can tell you of his last known location. Just before he and I split up after Blue's death, he said he was going to the land of Nightmares in the Little Nemo dimension."

Flaming Star glanced sharply at Sunflower. "He did what? That place could consume anyone. No Dimensional Traveler was allowed there due to how monstrous it was."

Sunflower actually chuckled a bit. "Dark wasn't a Dimensional Traveler though, was he? No. But either way, he would have gone. Dark is a fighter. The Nightmare Land of the Little Nemo dimension has always held a name for itself. It is the only non-dimensional-empire to have ever claimed the lives of soldiers from interdimensional empires. Dark wanted to die fighting, and so he saw that as the perfect place."

"Is that it then?" cried Rarity, "He's dead?"

Sunflower shook his head. "I doubt it."

"But he wasn't in the Inquisitor Safeguard Dreamscape," persisted Rarity, "Wouldn't the only reason he would not be there was that he was no longer existing?"

"Not really. You could also keep yourself out of it if you broke free. Dark hated that thing so much that he almost immediately destroyed the protocol mentally. Naturally he could always enter it if he needed to, but that was almost never, since none of us has ever entered into an unintentional coma. Thus, he could still be alive easily."

"Oh dear me, I see where this is going," sighed Discord, "We are going to have to go to that Nightmare Land, aren't we. I have been a Dimensional Traveler for some time now as well so I have heard the tales."

"I was only one for a couple of months, and even I heard a few tales!" exclaimed Rarity, "It is supposed to be full of all sorts of horrors."

"If this place is so dangerous, then why hasn't Amethyst dimensionally nuked it out of existence?" asked Flaming Star sharply, still disgruntled by the previously unfolded events.

Doxia chuckled, "We cannot. The land is on the same dimensional plane as Slumberland, which is one of the multiverse's greatest Imagination Energy focus points, alongside the Reset Dimension and the BIONICLE Dimension. Additionally we could not send soldiers into the land to occupy it due to it being discovered and identified as a threat during the Maelstrom War, when our resources were terribly stretched."

"Well, it looks like we will simply have to power through ourselves," replied Flaming Star curtly, "I am sure we are capable of doing so."

He then glanced to Twilight. "Are… are you sure you want to come?"

Twilight – who did look a little bit scared – straightened up and exclaimed, "If you are going, then I am going."

"We best be on our way then," said Sunflower decisively, "However, remember: I will be unable to protect you all. Even though my sharpshooting skills still reside within me, I gave up my Inquisition Powers, thus reducing my effectiveness by quite a bit."

Discord nodded. "No hiding behind your apron then, got it. I think we can all handle that."

Flaming Star turned to stare Doxia straight in the face. "We are upholding our end," he said slowly, "Now find a way to help August. I don't care if it is statistically impossible… you do it."

Doxia sighed dramatically, not at all peeved by Flaming Star's hostility, "But of course, maestro. Whatever you say."

"If my memory serves me well, I say we jump to Slumberland in the Little Nemo Dimension first, then travel to Nightmare Land," said Discord as he mentally searched for the proper dimension.

"I agree," said Rarity, "It seems the most sensible course of action."

"Did you hear that, eveypony?" chortled Discord as he found the dimension and prepared to open a portal, "She called an idea of mine 'sensible!' That is most certainly a first!"

Rarity just rolled her eyes. Seeing that it was probably not a good idea to goad her further, Discord opened a portal. With a wink to Doxia, Discord drifted through, followed by Rarity, Sunflower, Twilight, and Flaming Star.

The portal closed will a soft 'pop,' leaving Doxia all alone in the immaculate hallway.

"Why do I think we are all playing along to H.D.'s tune?" he grumbled, "But perhaps helping August can slow whatever is being planned. A win-win situation for the good guys I must say. It may seem impossible, but… but perhaps the most impossible things are the most worthwhile things to do."

Doxia then turned about and strolled toward the Rerenahw Council Room once more.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Once Upon a Time<em>

_Planet: Faiy Tale Earth_

_Specific Location: Snow White and Prince Charming's Castle_

_Time: About a week after Lyric found Summer_

Orion strolled into the hallway for the umpteenth time. In fact, it could have been the hundredth time at least, it seemed.

"Harold? Harold! Where the hell are you?" the deadly Dimensional Lord snapped.

"I'm here, sheesh. What's your problem?" drawled the voice from the shadows.

"My surveillance data informed me that a team of Dimensional Travelers jumped to Nightmare Land in the Little Nemo Dimension," Orion reported.

There was a pause.

"Dark…" murmured Harold.

"Dark? The Inquisitor? What? What are you talking about?" snapped Orion.

"Nothing," replied Harold, "I am not ashamed to say that this was not exactly what I had planned. I thought that the fall of August and the rise of Blue would have been more damaging. It seems that, though, they are proceeding with their hunt for the rest of the John 3 Chapter. My plans do not include them…"

"Well, isn't this a precious sight then!" snorted Orion, almost pleased to see his unseen employer in a quandary, "Harold the Great and Powerful is unsure of himself."

"Nonsense," snorted Harold, "I am in no such state. I simply had no major plans surrounded the lesser cast of that special Inquisitor Chapter. Nonetheless it is of no consequence, but it does make me want to hurt something for fun. I generally do not like things to drift away from my set path, even marginally. What to do…"

"Should I nuke Manehattan?" asked Orion flatly.

"Nah, that's already been done before, in a sense…" said Harold. There was a pause, then…

"Ah. I have an idea. Mattimeo is preparing to transfer that filly Summer's Inquisition Powers back to Sunflower. When that happens, she and her little coltfriend will have only her weak and dormant Dimensional Traveler abilities as their last defense. However, Mattimeo remedied this by assigning a defense drone, a Phantom Hellfire, to protect them. I wonder how tragic it would be if I… 'un-remedied' it?"

"What do you have in mind?" said Orion, though he was not really interested in the slightest.

"Well, the drone is on strict orders of complete radio silence. The only reason Amethyst knows it is operational is because of its unique Imagination Energy signature, something I know how to manipulate quite easily. I think I will simply snuff the drone out of existence, but maintain its signature. With that, Amethyst will think Summer is safe when, in reality, she is not. Then perhaps we will be lucky and a couple of terrorist ponies will put a bullet in her brain. That would most certainly be amusing, if not immoral to boot."

"You are a very odd being, Harold," was all that Orion said.

Harold chuckled. "You're one to talk, twisted Care Bear that you are."

Orion hissed. Then he turned about and said, "I'm through with reporting anything of interest to you. Call me when you actually need me to do real work. And by real work, I mean work that doesn't involve hurting innocent children. I may be a hunter, but I am nowhere near as depraved as Pictor was."

"Yes… 'Was' is the key word here," said Harold, mirth dancing just beneath the surface of his tone of voice, "But okay. If I need the big bad scary stuffed bear with a piture on his belly to explode stuff, I will let him know."

Silence descended on the hall, and the shadows deepened.

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><p><strong>Note: Well, that is all for now! I have no idea when the next chapter will be up, so keep a lookout for it. Now please give me some reviews! As stated previously, more reviews means more happiness, which means more writing, which means more chapters! Yeah... Well, if that doesn't motivate you, then I guess we can go back to making trades. Do you want a Harrier Jump Jet? I bought some off EBay for a couple dollars. If you give me a review, I shall give you one of those.<strong>


	127. Chapter 127 - Straight Shot

**Note: Hello! I actually have no explanation as to how I managed to write this whole chapter. I literally would squeeze in five minutes every day to write something... and it eventually added up! I really cannot express how happy I am with the responses I am getting. All of these reviews make it completely worth the work to put out good quality chapters! I know it is extremely important, now more than ever, to make sure everything I churn out for this story is top-notch quality. Now on to answering reviews! To Russet, yes... The season summer has left... But not the filly Summer. She will be here for a little longer. To Austin, I appreciate you being understanding, and I appreciate your encouragement. To Lanklore, I am glad my story has done something worthwhile aside from being entertainment. Your review has made me think over what I have done over the past year (well, I will admit it hasn't quite been a year), and I realized that I have put my heart and soul into this endeavor this entire time. Thus, you do not know how much it means to me to hear that my hard work has done some good. To madmanwithafork, I know of Dark Souls. Quite well, in fact. However, as for ideas... I am kind of full to the brim with them. But enough about that stuff... Let us go to Summer and Lyric!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Stallion Empire, the Frozen North_

_Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer_

Lyric opened his eyes slowly. His pupils immediately began to sting from the smoke that still hung low over the clearing. Coughing, the pony sat up on his rumb and looked about.

Scarps of metal from the decimated tank were scattered about the clearing. Bodies littered the area as well, and small fires were still crackling about in the underbrush.

Coughing sharply once more, Lyric grumbled, "Why? Why is it always us?"

Turning over he gently shook Summer. The filly opened her eyes, almost blissfully, as if she was just being awoken from a peaceful slumber.

Her face lit up slightly as her hoof found Lyric's.

"Lyric, is that you?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm here," he reassured her.

Groaning a little, Summer sat up on her rump as well and stretched her hooves.

"Goodness, I haven't slept like this for… well… for as long as I can remember! Which is not very long, but still…"

Lyric grinned. "I'm sure."

Summer got to all fours and sniffed the air. Her muzzle wrinkled distastefully as she exclaimed, "I smell smoke… Is everything still on fire?"

Lyric couldn't help but chuckle. "Yep. Everything is still on fire."

Summer shook her head a little in disbelief. "And we're still alive! We truly have been fortunate."

Lyric gently shoved her as he said, "You bet! You ready to get a move-on, sleepyhead?"

Summer smiled as she returned the shove. "Whenever you are ready, mister lazy. However… ummmm…"

Summer paused for a moment. She then sat down, looked at her hooves, and fidgeted for about a minute. Lyric was on the verge of asking her to spit it out when she looked up into his face. As her sightless eyes aimlessly swept over his weathered face, she said, "Could we… could we eat first?"

Lyric almost facehoofed. He had completely forgotten about the gnawing pain in his midriff.

"Oh course! I totally forgot! I think we still have some food in my backpack!"

Eyes sweeping the clearing, Lyric located his pack hidden beneath a small (and, surprisingly, unburned) bush. Trotting over to it, he quickly picked it up. He sighed in resignation as he looked it over. It was burnt black in some places, and soaked with ice water in others. The first aid kit he had picked up from the crashed airplane was smashed to shards of plastic, and everything aside from the celery sticks they had picked up at the small town had been smashed to mush.

Returning to Summer, he gently tapped her on the shoulder and said, "I have some celery sticks. The rest has been ruined."

Summer sighed in resignation as well. Then she brightened up and said, "Well, at least we have all these small fires about to keep us warm while we eat!"

Taking one of her hooves, Lyric led Summer to the nearest and largest of the fires still crackling in the smoking clearing. The two sat down by it and Lyric passes out four of the six sticks. Two for her, two for him.

Summer immediately took the two sticks in her hooves and began to gratefully munch on them, her face bright.

Lyric, however, immediately lost his appetite by the spectacle before him: a blind filly, Summer, was sitting, bloody and disheveled, amongst scorched corpses, trying to enjoy a meager meal after almost being shot to death. The pure wrongness of the scene snatched away whatever appetite he had, and forced him to simply quietly put the celery sticks back in the pack.

"Why are you putting your food away?" asked Summer (almost innocently) as she ate.

"I'm… I'm not hungry," murmured Lyric.

Summer stopped eating for a moment. She cocked her head to one side, and her ears twitched slightly. Her blind eyes swept over Lyric as she considered what he had said. For a moment her countenance was darkened by confusion and worry, but soon it was replaced by a smile as she attempted to be cheerful once more. She finished her food and got up.

Still trying to keep the air cheerful for Lyric, she "regally" held out one of her hooves and said, "Do lead on, please!"

A small smile twitched at Lyric's lips. He got to all fours and took the hoof proffered to him. Tugging at her, he led her through the smoking clearing back into the forest. Snow began to lightly fall once more as the two ponies entered the forest, and the snow-capped trees closed around them.

Chewing on the last of her meager meal, Summer said, "Are you okay, Lyric?"

Lyric sighed, and nodded his head slightly. "I suppose. It's just… I mean… Well, I just don't like the fact that you have had to go through all of this!"

Summer's sightless eyes flicked this way and that as she replied, "Lyric, I would gladly go through all that again, just to be with you."

Lyric literally started, tripped, and fell flat on his face when she said this.

Summer's laugh rang like bells in the ice-cold air as she tugged at one of his hooves to help him dislodge his face from the snow-covered ground. "See? It's these moments that make all the others worth it."

"For you, maybe," said Lyric ruefully, as he rubbed the tip of his muzzle, "But what gain do we really get in the end of all these trials save for blood and bruises?"

Summer leaned over and kissed him on the cheek lightly. Though her lips were turning blue, and were freezing, the light brush of her lips sent a fiery jolt through Lyric, warming his body and rejuvenating his diminishing energy reserves.

"I think you know," said Summer softly after a moment of silence.

With that, Summer let go of Lyric and trotted up to the nearest tree. Feeling the trunk and lightly tapping it, she hummed softly to herself. After doing this to the tree adjacent to it, she straightened up and said, "We're still heading east! Do you think we are nearing the Pillar of God?"

Lyric sighed. "I don't know. I never thought of looking when I was free of these pressing trees earlier, and now that we are here, the foliage is far too thick and snowy for me to properly see the horizon."

Summer cocked her head to one side again. Ears lightly flicking back and forth, she listened to something only she could hear. She then said, "I hear winds of an open plane whistling not too far ahead. I think… I think we are almost free of the forest!"

For the first time in days, Lyric's face broke into a genuine smile. "That is the best news I've heard in a while!"

Summer winked to him. "Straight from the lips of yours truly! Let's go!"

Lyric nodded his head readily (despite the fact that Summer could not see the gesture) and galloped ahead. He then stopped in his tracks, whirled about, and galloped back to Summer, where she was waiting with a proffered hoof.

"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed as he began to approach her.

Summer smiled sweetly. "You'll get used to it eventually."

Lyric took Summer's hoof and the two trotted off to the east. Though at first the forest looked to be only getting thicker, the moment they crossed an icy brook, the trees actually began to become sparser and sparser. Then, as they pushed their way through several snow-laden bushes, the duo found themselves out in the open.

Lyric gasped in appreciation as the scene before him met his eyes. A large plane of flawless white snow lay before him. It stretched on for many kilometers, unobstructed for a great distance. But that was not the most impressive part. As the plane rolled on to meet the horizon, the Pillar of God rose from the point of fusion between the ground and the sky. Its name most certainly fitted the spectacle. A massive mountain of sheer, icy rock shot upwards into the sky. The colossal pillar of frozen stone was so large, in fact, that it simply disappeared into the cirrostratus.

"What? What is it? Tell me!" exclaimed Summer, almost irritably, greatly excited by the gasp of awe from Lyric.

"I… I… We made it! The Pillar of God is before us!" cried Lyric, "It's huge! A massive mountain! It's like a colossal pile of snow-laden now, going up higher, and higher, and higher! I can't even see the top!"

"Wow…" breathed Summer, now drinking in the words like it was a refreshing glass of water.

After a moment of awe-inspired silence, Summer glanced at Lyric and said, "Do you ever wish you could climb up there? I mean, what lies at the top?"

Lyric grinned as he replied "Probably just more snow."

Summer rolled her sightless eyes. "Oh, yeah, well, thank for ending my mythical speculation right there."

Lyric continued to grin as he said, "Just keeping you in check. You sounded like you were going to have a stroke!"

"I'll give you a stroke!" snorted Summer playfully. She shoved Lyric sideways, sending him tumbling into the freshly fallen snow. It cushioned him immediately as he plunged into the fluffy pillow of icy whiteness.

"I'll get you for that, Summer!" cried Lyric as he struggled to get to all fours. Leaping out, he seized the blind filly and pulled her into the snow. With a squeak, she toppled in with him, where they wallowed together, in the snow. There they lay, Summer on top of Lyric, laughing breathlessly. Lyric wrapped his front hooves about Summer's chest and squeezed her close to him. Once before, Summer would have squirmed in embarrassment and called him out for it, but not this time. She simply snuggled in closer as she chuckled softly.

However, just as their giggling quieted down, a sharp popping noise resonated through the air, and a slight light-distorting ripple spread through the air.

Both Lyric and Summer stopped laughing for a moment.

"What was that?" asked Summer quietly, ready for another (practically scheduled) vicissitude.

Silence descended on the clearing once more as Lyric waited for more information from his senses. However, his mental danger alert began to die down as he realized that nothing had gone wrong. Finally he made a consensus: all was well. All there was left was to wrap up the false alarm with a witty remark.

"I am pretty sure it was your old bone cracking, Summer," snorted Lyric, "You clearly cannot keep up with my kind of horseplay."

Summer twisted about so that she went nose-to-nose and chest-to-chest with Lyric. He blind eyes twinkled as she exclaimed, "Oh? Can't I? Well try using your level of horseplay to get out of this!"

She began to tickle him. Lyric's and Summer's giggles and cries of happiness rose into the air as their worries died away once more.

However, those strange sounds were far from nothing. They were the sounds of Harold doing his work. Over the course of a second he had vaporized the drone protecting the two, and replaced its unique Imagination Energy Signature with a fake (yet completely identical) one. And, as it seemed, no one would be the wiser, though Summer and Lyric would most certainly be less safe. Harold had worsened their chances of survival by a massive amount without even leaving his lair.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Stallion Empire, the Frozen North_

_Time: A week and a half after Lyric found Summer_

Lyric sat up, shaking off the light doze that had enveloped him. Looking about, his memory returned to him. After playing in the fluffy white snow until they had literally collapsed from exhaustion, Summer and Lyric dragged themselves back past the tree-line where they had set up camp in the outskirts of the forest. Though they had been tired from their romp, they had been asleep, unconscious, or in a coma for so long over the last couple days that their exhaustion only resulted in them lightly dozing for the remainder of the day and the entirety of the night.

Yawning, Lyric turned around to look at Summer. Summer was still curled up, but her eyes were wide open. Her muzzle twitched slightly as her blank eyes stared through her hooves. He ears perked up when she heard Lyric's yawn, and she said, "Awake yet, sleepyhead?"

Lyric snorted. "Asleep? Who? Me? I've been awake for hours! Where have you been?"

Summer pulled a face. "Touché."

Lyric just winked at her (thought she clearly could not see it).

Summer then got up and sat on her haunches. As she yawned and smacked her lips, she said, "So... Can we eat?"

Lyric pulled out two celery sticks. He tossed one to her before he realized his mistake. The thing bounced off her nose, causing the filly to start in surprise slightly.

She then glared at Lyric in mock severity. "Oho! I see how it is now. Tossing dangerous objects at the blind little filly, are we?"

Lyric's stomach had done a somersault when he realized his mistake, but the mock glare pulled him out of his moment of regret and shock. So, instead, he chuckled, "Oh, yes. The celery stick I hurled is most certainly the most dangerous thing in this whole land. It was a miracle you survived my surprise attack."

Summer snorted playfully. "That was the second most dangerous thing. Here's the first!"

She scooped up a snowball with her right hoof and hurled it in the direction of Lyric's voice. Natrually, Lyric saw the whole thing coming, and nimbly dodged to the left. However, for some strange reason, it appeared that Summer had been predicting this development, and, despite her being totally blind, managed to smack him straight in the face. (No doubt Inquisitor Summer's powers at work.) Lyric started with shock as the icy cold particles washed over his face in a sparkling flurry of white flecks. He tumbled straight over, coming to rest with his face flat in the snow. As he pulled his face from the blanket of white, he saw Summer just sitting there, complacently munching on her celery stick, which she had located on the ground near her.

She smiled sweetly as he huffed in surprise. "Had enough?"

Lyric considered tackling her, but then decided against it. Now was not the time to playfully assault a blind filly. Thus, instead he got up, picked up his celery stick, and trotted over to where Summer sat. Sitting down next to her, he began to munch on his meager breakfast.

As he did so, Summer threw a hoof about his shoulder and said, "This isn't so bad."

Lyric grimaced. "I suppose. Imagine, it's been over a whole week since I found you in that plane…"

Summer gave him a peck on the cheek. "A week? You don't say?! Quick! Let's recap! You found me… We were almost killed by an avalanche… We found a town… We were almost killed by terrorists… We escaped… We were almost killed by more terrorists… We escaped… I was knocked out… I talked to Mattimeo-"

Summer abruptly stopped talking, as if she had said more than she had meant to say. Lyric gave her a side-long glance and asked, "Who is Mattimeo?"

Summer looked down at her hooves and mumbled something. Grinning Lyric gently poked her belly. "Come on! You can tell me! We're over secrets, remember?"

"You'll laugh."

"Lies! Of course I won't!"

"But… Okay…"

Summer sighed and turned to face Lyric. Then she continued.

"Well, when I went into a coma… I was met by Mattimeo – in my dream, you must understand – and he told me that it was all his fault for putting me in the coma. Apparently there is this whole argument going in another dimension about these powers that I have. I guess the argument ended up in Mattimeo attempting to take my powers by putting me in a coma, then waking me up after he had them. However, his idea fell through, and I was stuck in the coma until you woke me up! However, he felt so bad for what he had done that he stayed with me the whole time I was asleep. We talked, he told me stories… It was beautiful. I am even fairly sure that that strange invisible creature that destroyed all those bad guys when you woke me up was his doing! He's a good friend."

Lyric actually listened with interest. Most ponies would have scoffed at her, but not him. In fact, he actually believed her. Though the northern parts of the Stallion Empire were most certainly isolated, he had heard the tales of powerful, multidimensional beings that momentarily resided in Equestria. Mayhap this was one of those beings. And the powers Summer was talking about… those made sense as well. After all, he had seen those powers in action himself.

"Huh. That's interesting. Do you think you will meet Mattimeo again?" he asked after processing the verbal information given to him.

Summer shook her head sadly. "I don't know. My dreams were blank and peaceful."

Lyric lightly shoved her. "I hear those are the best, though."

Summer perked up and lightly shoved back. "Mayhap you're right."

Lyric shoved her again. "Of course I'm right!"

After that, Summer just rubbed her shoulder and pulled her face while saying, "Okay, mister know-it-all. So… Tell me… Where are we going now?"

Lyric got up and trotted to the edge of the forest once more. He narrowed his eyes as he gazed out across the massive plane.

"The morning star… Follow it until you reach the Pillar of God, the tallest mountain in the Stallion Empire. Then head straight south…" he muttered to himself, quoting the dying pony they had found in the town.

His eyes raked the plane, finally coming to rest on the massive mountain that erupted from the horizon. After a moment of lingering on this awe-inspiring monument, his eyes turned to the right. His eyes fell upon the beginning of yet another massive forest. However, this was less foreboding in its appearance. The trees were more spacious, snow didn't lie as thickly upon the top branches like a smothering mantle, and it simply seemed… warmer.

Lyric smiled as the next course of action became clear: they would trot across this vast white plane before them to that next forest. Then they would head straight south. Nothing could go wrong with that plan… right?

* * *

><p><strong>Note: Okay! That is it for today! Time to go back and check up on August and his team. Anyway... Who wants a plushie? I saw this absolutely amazing plushie of a cat recently, and it threw me back into the craze. Thus, in honor of that and this chapter... Whoever gives me a review will get an invisible plushie of Lyric and Summer! Hmmmmm... I am almost positive you guys have lost at least a few of the invisible things I have given you over the course of "A Mending Soul." Oh... And one last thing. I have a question for you all. What is the definition of a hero? What is it, truly? Think about that.<strong>


	128. Chapter 128 - Dark Arrival

**Notes: And I am back! I actually would have posted sooner, but I ran into some issues. The major one was that this chapter was initially supposed to be about August, Gene, Jefferson, and Radiance, but I was so unsatisfied that I deleted it, and wrote this instead. Do not worry, even though everything is now out of sequence, for I will try to keep everything else on track. I will say now that we are winding down to the end of this part of the season! Anyway, on to answering some reviews! (My favorite part.) First off, thank you for all of those definitions of heroes. They will all play a major part in season 3. Seriously, I needed those different points of views. Anyway... To FocusedStream, that is a good question! I actually have a different theme song for each season. None of them are set in stone, but... For season 1 it is "Everybody wants to Rule the World" by Lorde. For season 2 it is "Scarborough Fair" by Nox Arcana. For season 3 (a hint here) it is "Gravity Hurts" by Cryoshell. To REtheUgly, I actually wanted to mention that I listened to Waterflame's "Glorious Morning 2." Thanks a lot. Now I cannot get it out of my head. To Rainbow999, your observations were incredibly helpful, and had me scrambling to fix the issues. They are all good now. Now... To the rest of you guys... thanks again. All these reviews really keep me going!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Little Nemo, Oblivion<em>

_Planet: Oblivion_

_Specific Location: The Lone Witness_

_Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer_

The wind moaned with sepulcher tones as it wound its way through the massive ruins of an ocean-side stone outpost. The strange structure (once a grand spire) was splayed out, crumbling, and dusty; and even the odd ocean that it stood sentinel over had an ageing, sickly look to it. The sky was blank, with the low-hanging sun above dead, dark orange, and barely gleaming.

Naturally, all this was terribly hideous to Rarity, who was all about fashion, even when she was having a dimensional-jumping adventure.

"Oh my!" she cried, "This place is absolutely dull! We at least need some drapes, and then a little more décor… Then some…"

"You are nervous, aren't you?" interrupted Sunflower, looking at her.

Rarity grinned sheepishly, "Terribly so, sir."

"No, no, dear old Rarity is right!" cried Discord, who was hovering above their heads, "This place is very lacking in color! Even though the state of this place delightfully cries out the word 'chaos,' everything is so… bleh."

"That is probably the worst way to describe it," replied Flaming Star, who also was very nervous, "But there is no time to discuss that. We need to move out."

"Where?" asked Twilight, trying to sound cheerful and ready, "Is this the Nightmare Land? Do we need to head into the mainland?"

"That's just it, there is no mainland," replied Sunflower, "In fact, this is not even Nightmare Land. Let me explain… There are two major realms: Slumberland and Nightmare Land in this dimension. However, they are actually not directly connected. To get from one land to another, you need to pass through here: Oblivion. It is simply a massive ocean, with this decrepit outpost as the only area with solid ground."

"Spooky," commented Discord, now sounding nervous as well, "Okay, so since we are in the middle of everything, how do we get from this land of Oblivion to this land of… ahem… Nightmares?"

Sunflower scanned the dead, lifeless ocean that stretched out to the horizon before him. As he did so, he called upon the eons of memories stored within his brain. Finally he stretched out an armored hand and pointed to a point on the horizon.

"There is a dormant whirlpool over there. It is one of the few access points from Oblivion to Nightmare Land. In fact, that very whirlpool was the way Lord Nemo the Nightmare-Slayer got from here to there."

"Lord Nemo the Nightmare-Slayer sounds like a very dashing title. Oh! He must be the person this dimension is named after, very posh." tittered Rarity, "Mayhap he is still around… to give us some tips?"

"Lord Nemo has been dead for millennia now. He was naught but a mortal," replied Sunflower.

"But if he was a mortal, then how did he survive the horrors of Nightmare Land?" asked Flaming Star, "As we said before, we heard the tales. We know of the terrors."

"You would be surprised of what pure mortals can do," said Sunflower, his voice laden with hidden meaning, "But it matters not, right now. With him as an exception, we must acknowledge that many, many heavily armed beings have been killed in the land we are about to invade."

There was a long pause, which only served to multiply the tension.

"Well! That is all very well," said Discord loudly, doing his best to break the tension, "But did you not say we needed a boat? I am a sucker for such things myself! Let's see… We need a rudder, water-proof body… sails… No! It is time to have modern feel… Mayhap steam-powered will cut it. Yes…"

Discord gestured slightly, and a large steam-powered ferry popped into existence.

"I would have gone with jet-powered military-grade speedboat myself," muttered Flaming Star as he helped Twilight to get on-board.

"Well excuse me for thinking of beauty as well as functionality," snorted Discord.

"Don't take it too hard," said Rarity, almost sympathetically, "The style is very nicely done I think, if that means anything to you."

Discord seized Rarity in a tight hug. "Oh! It does… So… very… much."

Flaming Star rolled his eyes. He then turned to Sunflower as he leapt into the boat.

"What is our play?" he asked grimly.

"We sail this boat to the coordinates I will give out," said Sunflower, "We will be sucked into a whirlpool and then tossed into the Nightmare Land. From that point, our goal is survival as I set off an Inquisition-Specific Beacon. If nothing hideous kills you while we wait… we will be good."

"Wait… kill us? Me? What about you?" asked Flaming Star, giving Sunflower a side-long glance.

"I am not going to die," replied Sunflower, "It is too difficult to kill an Inquisitor, but the same is not said for you and your friends. I will try to protect you, but I am unsure of how effective I will be in the long-run. Very few scans have ever been run on Nightmare Land, and it is always evolving… always corrupting new and unique Imagination Energy streams that intersect the dimension. Thus… Not even Rerenhaw has an idea of what lies in wait."

"Wonderful," muttered Flaming Star as he trotted off to find Twilight.

In a few minutes all preparations had been made, and they were on their way. The ferry moved swiftly through the sick, becalmed waters. However, every member on the team wished fervently that it had been a hurricane instead of what they were trapped in now because of the sanity-snapping nothingness that surrounded them. The entire ocean echoed of dead silence, and nothing but lifelessness was around for eternity in all directions.

"I think I am going to die," moaned Discord, who was the most effected due to the absolute lack of chaos anywhere, "Tell my mum I loved her." He leaned over the rails of the front of the craft, letting half of his body droop over the side.

"You are not going to die," stammered Rarity, who was also fairly shaken-up, "You just need to… um… not… die…"

"Just think about other things!" cried Twilight, who seemed to fairing the best aside from the lone sentinel that was Sunflower, "I mean, think of all the strange factors that must go into this land! Absolute silence, calm waters. And look at the sun! What stage of decay must it be in? Flaming Star, what does the Traveler Database say?"

"Absolutely nothing," sighed Flaming Star dejectedly, staring into the endlessly becalmed waters, "There is no data. No one ever came here, because no one wanted to risk running into an inter-dimensional pocket portal that would ultimately end up sucking them into the Nightmare Land… and thus effectively sentencing them to the worst death possible."

"Speaking of pocket portals," called Sunflower from where he was guiding the boat in the open-air captain's nest above and behind them, "But we are almost there. Contact in T-minus 60 seconds."

"T-MINUS 60 SECONDS?" cried Rarity, "We are almost out of time! Come dears! We must hurry! Everypony get strapped in!"

"No…" breathed Discord, "Just leave me here to die. I need it."

Rarity simply grabbed the nape of the despondent being by her teeth and dragged him along into the small cabin room. Flaming Star and Twilight followed. The ponies and the draconequus sat down and strapped their bodies to the ground. A deep silence ensued as every being present counted down from sixty.

"Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Zero."

There was a nanosecond pause (that felt like an eternity) and then the whole craft tipped forward as a massive whirlpool of yellowish water opened up from absolutely nowhere, swallowing the bulkhead of the ferry whole. The entire group screamed as Discord's ferry literally began to disintegrate as it moved through the roaring waters that led to the Nightmare Land. Wind howled, waves thrashed, and lightning crackled. All screamed in terror as the vibrations that wracked the ship grew stronger and stronger… expect Sunflower, that is. The Inquisition stood at the wheel of the ship, exposed to the elements. But he never budged. Holding the craft steady, he let the flotsam and broken scraps of the ship shattered against his unyielding armor as he led the ferry through the portal.

And then, just as suddenly as the deluge started, it stopped. Like the eye of a hurricane.

"Well, the worst is over," sighed Flaming Star, holding on to Twilights head.

"I wouldn't say that," called Sunflower from outside, "Look down."

The whole entire group unstrapped themselves from the floor and rushed to a nearby cabin window. Their stomachs turned to ice as they realized where they were: thousands of meters in the air. The land surrounding them down below was dull and foreboding. A colossal forest of twisted and blackened trees stretched out beneath them. To the east was a range of grey mountains that belched smoke and brimstone. To the south was a swamp, where everypony could have sworn they saw a tentacle the size of Canterlot itself sifting through the rotting ooze. To the west was a gorge where strange screams could be heard even from their height. To the north were more mountains. But these mountains were surrounded by a giant canyon, and a single black spire rose above the range like a monument to hell. No doubt the abode of the Nightmare King.

"B-b-but we're not falling," gasped Twilight, hoping that they were safe high in the sky.

"We have not completely entered the realm of Nightmare Land yet, so this land's physics does not yet apply," called Sunflower, "But that will all change in a second. I really wish you four had kept the seatbelts on."

And just as he finished saying that… the broken mass of metal and wood that was Discord's ferry dropped like a rock. The whole thing spiraled down at top speed, shards of wood and scraps of metal detaching and flying off the whole way.

"Not agaaaiiiinnnnn…" screamed Twilight as everyone entered a state of terminal velocity, causing them all to float.

"There is no way we're going to survive this!" wailed Discord.

"Snap out of it!" cried Flaming Star, "You don't hear Sunflower screaming! And we're Dimensional Travelers! We've handled things like this before!"

Rarity clenched her jaw shut to cut off her screaming. Her eyes hardened, and she nodded to Flaming Star in readiness.

"I am going to blow the ferry to pieces using a small kinetic shockwave on the count of three," said Flaming Star, "when I do that, Rarity, I want you to surround us in an energy bubble. Then you, Discord, need to slow our descent using anti-gravity powers until we have reached a comfortable landing speed. Understood? Good! Ready? One… Two… THREE."

Flaming Star slammed his forehooves together sharply, and a blast of kinetic energy bubbled outwards. The explosion of power disintegrated whatever was left of the boat. Sunflower saw that and kicked away. He floated beside the four others and yelled, "I will see you at the bottom."

He then tucked his arms in and shot towards the surface with nothing (not even a form of a parachute) to break his fall.

Unruffled by this, Flaming Star nodded coolly to Rarity, she spread her hooves and closed her eyes. Suddenly the four falling beings were surrounded by an iridescent bubble of pure protection. Discord than raised his forelimbs upwards, and the entire group felt themselves gradually slow down.

Down below, Sunflower smashed into the ground feet first, causing the earth in a kilometer radius to buckle upwards and shudder violently. All the twisted trees around him uprooted and shot backwards from the shockwave, clearing a whole area for the rest of the team to land. Getting up from the kneeling position he had landed in without a scratch, Sunflower smoothly pulled out a small metallic cube and threw it in the dirt. The cube sparked once, and then went dormant. That was all that was needed, the signal had been sent. Sunflower glanced up, and waved at his slowly descending teammates.

Twilight and Flaming Star could not help but wave back as the bubble that Rarity had created came to earth beside the Inquisitor and popped.

"Well now," sighed Discord, dusting himself off, "That was a new experience, wasn't it? So, tell me Sunflower, how long until Dark gets here? In fact, is he even here?"

Sunflower nodded his head slowly. "He is here all right. I feel the Inquisition connection. However, as for how long we have to wait… Well… As it has been stated countless times before, Dark is not like me or Blue. He knew no respect and refused to understand the logic of teamwork. He hated everyone except our team leader. He even hated me. Thus, we can only hope his slight interest in seeing a fellow John 3 Inquisitor will be enough to bring him back from wherever he is. Until then, we have only one mission: survive."

"Survive?" squeaked Rarity, now realizing how very real was the danger that they were in.

"I will honestly say that I am unsure of what monsters lurk around now," replied Sunflower, "During the time of Lord Nemo, there were just goblins and gargoyles… but over time the Imagination Outflow from Earth Prime became more and more corrupt. It is corrupting even more as we speak. The more corrupt the outflow, the more twisted the monsters that will emerge here. We have no idea…"

Sunflower suddenly stopped talking and whipped up his Sniper Rifle. Quickly he pulled the trigger and a bolt of pure death silently hissed out. There was a pause, and then a hideous bipedal monster parted the decaying bushes to the group's right to fall to the ground, dead. Rarity opened her mouth to scream, but Discord shoved his lions paw into her mouth to keep sounds from escaping. The monster that Sunflower just killed was truly hideous. It resembled a pitch-black human (more like zombie), but from its chest sprouted tiny limbs that had spikes on the end. Its face was rotting, and had long dagger-like scythes intersecting its face in many places. It had four pairs of legs, each with claws sticking out of its skin in random places like thorns on a rose.

"Hmmmm," rumbled Sunflower worriedly, "These truly are monsters. Nothing like the bothersome imps during the early times."

Suddenly a large, hunch-back variant of the monster just killed parted the bushes to their left, roaring at the top of its tar-clogged lungs. Sunflower shot it too.

"That yell was no doubt a call for reinforcements," said Sunflower grimly, "Ready yourselves. You are in charge of your own protection."

No sooner had those words slipped from Sunflower's lips than twisted creators from the depth of nightmares rose from the shadows. These constructs of hell stood quietly for a moment, staring blankly at the five beleaguered travelers… then they rushed in to attack.

Sunflower immediately accounted for over half of them. Slaying all nearby with his elbow blade all the while performing no-scope headshots with his sniper rifle. The other half were quickly dispatched by Flaming Star and Discord, with Flaming Star incinerating his targets with dark matter, and Discord turning his targets into ants. There was not even a moment of silence to announce the coming of a second wave. These too were murdered. Then came another wave, and then another.

At first it seemed like this cycle would be endless, with these creatures simply charging to their deaths, but then a lethal factor became apparent during the twentieth wave.

Just as another group of monsters dashed headlong at the team, Flaming Star unleashed a triple-bolt of dark matter. However, everyone (except Sunflower) was shocked to see these globules of pure death being simply absorbed into the flayed flesh of the targets without any apparent damage.

"What… what is going on?!" yelled Flaming Star.

"They are adapting to our unique Imagination Signatures," replied Sunflower, "Nightmare Land denizens do this. Soon they will become embodiments of our worst fears… and then kill us."

Flaming Star bit his lip as he had to fall back, letting Sunflower save them with a triple-headshot.

"Why is it not working against you?" asked Twilight, glad to see that her magic was still working as she levitated a monster and then slingshot it into the ionosphere.

"Because I have nothing to fear… and because my sniper rifle is absolute," replied Sunflower, "But remember… I cannot protect you all."

"We need to switch up our attacks," said Flaming Star, an idea dawning inside his desperate mind as more monsters drew near from behind the dark, twisted trees, "Make them more indirect. If we avoid targeting them specifically, they will be unable to absorb the energies."

Flaming Star compounded his idea by releasing a seismic attack. The earth beneath a dozen of the hideous creatures opened up and swallowed them hole, crushing their desecrated bodies to pulp.

"It's working!" cried Rarity as she turned the earth beneath several more monsters into lava, "It's working! It's…"

A bolt of distorted green energy ripped through the air from the shadows and slammed into her. Flaming Star glanced at her worriedly and was shocked to see her frozen in time, her eyes stretched wide open in fear. It seemed that she was in some form of trance.

"The monsters are adapting again," said Sunflower quietly, dodging another one of those fear-inducing energy bolts, "Now that they see they cannot kill us directly, they are trying to do it indirectly as well."

Sunflower then dove to the side, taking another green energy beam in the chest that was meant for Twilight. However, the attack wore off in an instant, useless.

However, this selfless act seemingly was negated as another bolt simply hit another party member: Discord.

"N-no…" groaned Discord as time froze around him.

Sunflower, Twilight, and Flaming Star were all that was left.

"What do we do?" wailed Twilight.

"We need to keep fighting," said Flaming Star, the light of battle now in his eyes, "There is no way to escape. I would rather die fighting with loved ones than see my friends get picked off one-by-one while retreating."

Almost as if those brave words had a profound effect on the oncoming monsters of despair, there was a pause. All attacking creatures stopped, and then slunk back into the shadows.

"Is that… is that it?" gasped Twilight, tears streaming from her eyes.

"No," said Sunflower, "We are about to see much worse."

As if to confirm those words, a howl of pure evil rose off in the distance. Then, suddenly, the earth beyond the clearing rose up in a hump… and then burst, revealing a true horror.

It was a mass of thick, boiling flesh, oozing tar. Long spindly legs stuck out at odd angles all over its body light a twenty-legged spider. Hundreds of tiny little screaming human faces were plastered all across the front, acting like the multitude of eyes on a housefly. Thick blood and tar slathered down its bubbling flesh. It towered above the small group, a kilometer high and two kilometers long.

Twilight fainted almost immediately, and Flaming Star had to make a visible effort to keep his sanity.

Sunflower actually chuckled. "So… Nightmare King… You have sent the Unholy Construct to face Amethyst again? Do you think because Kytax is not here we will not kill it again?"

The giant hellbeast lumbered forward, using the multitude of faces on it to vomit forward a hail of lacerating, demonic energy bolts. In a second Flaming Star was knocked unconscious from the explosions caused by the missing energy beams. The entire team was down except for Sunflower.

Then Dark arrived. From out of the shadows, the embodiment of Inquisition Wrath strolled in.

"I was wondering how long your team would last," growled Dark, "Sorry I waited until they were all out. I did not want any unfair variables increasing our chances of victory. If I fight, it is going to be this way. Two or three against indomitable odds."

"One of them could have been killed," replied Sunflower sternly, not letting on that he was glad to see his former teammate.

"No loss. We could just add it to our endless tally of murdered civilians."

"I remember why I didn't miss you."

Dark did not reply to that. Instead he pulled out his tri-barreled rocket launcher.

"I am going to take out its face… or faces, to be exact," he said, "Take out its limbs. I am then going to cut its body open. The regenerative properties of the Unholy is extremely high, but I will have its innards exposed for a second. Use a Rupture Round and put it inside its organs. That will win us the day. Or night. I don't actually care. Just kill it horribly and I will feel better."

Sunflower sighed and then nodded. But as he prepped his weapon swiftly, he muttered, "I am glad the rest of the team is not awake to see this."

"They are heroes," snorted Dark, "Weak, pitiful fools who think they can stomach hell because it is for the good of others. We should do them a favor and kill them quickly and quietly right afterwards."

"Very funny," said Sunflower, "I've had enough of killing innocents. Let us do some good for once."

"Whatever."

With that, Dark fired all three rockets with incredible speed and perfect precision. The Amethyst Missiles smashed into the Unholy's face and detonated, ripping and vaporizing its flesh. For an instant an ocean-worth of black, tarry blood spewed into the air from the wound, but in less than a second the skin regenerated, replacing the wound with reddish black flesh. It no longer had energy-shooting faces, but it was a whole lot madder. Long, tendril-like claws shot out from its back like a hail of daggers, slamming into the ground about Sunflower and Dark in an effort to spear them through-and-through.

The two Inquisitors ducked under the attacks and rushed the creature. As they did that, the Unholy unleashed another scream. A shockwave of pure life-draining power rippled outward, turning the decaying trees (and any other monsters) around it to dust. Dark and Sunflower both grunted in pain as the wave of hell washed up against their armor, tearing at the powerful metal… but the attack was not powerful enough.

The Unholy attempted to unleash another scream, but it was too late. Dark pulled out his fold-up hatchet and flipped it open. Then, with a massive leap, he rocketed thousands of meters into the air to land upon the monsters back. In an instant, miniature Unholy's formed (from flesh and shadow) and detached from the back of the creature to accost Dark, but they were all reduced to ash by the rocket launcher. Dark then raised his hatchet high, charged it with pure power, and then slammed it into the Unholy's skin. Then he dashed forward across its back at the speed of sound, ripping through the flesh and bisecting it faster than the eye could move. Seeing his queue, Sunflower leapt even higher into the air. As he shot into the sky, he loaded a single, long bullet. It was purple, and somehow managed to radiate negative light despite having no form of light source.

Just as he reached the maxima of his leap, Sunflower scoped out the Unholy's wound. Even as he did so, the long cut across its body was beginning to heal at an alarming rate… but it was still too late for it to be safe. Sunflower pulled the trigger just as Dark jumped headlong off of the monster, ripping out his hatchet viciously. The bullet practically materialized within its target and detonated, filling the entire form of the Unholy with Dimensional Energy, which was lethal for anything, no matter how demonic.

The Unholy had time for one more shriek of death (which lanced off of the Inquisitor's armor again) before exploding in a blast of blood that soaked the ground to the core in a dozen-kilometer radius.

Sunflower and Dark landed on the ground almost simultaneously.

There was a pause as the two stood side-by-side, soaked in the Unholy's blood.

"Blue is returning," stated Sunflower, immediately getting to the point, "Rerenhaw is calling for our return to eliminate Dimensional Lord Orion and whoever he is working for."

"Very well," was all that he got in reply. In truth, Dark did not really care. If Rerenhaw needed him again, whether to protect innocents or to commit atrocious acts in the name of the Greater Good, he was ready.

Sunflower sighed. "To me, at least, this seems almost unreal. It has been countless eons since we last worked together. Come… let us wake up the others. And, no, we are not going to act on your offer and kill them all. They are… they are friends."

"We are Inquisitors," growled Dark, "We don't have 'friends.'"

"You don't have friends," retorted Sunflower, "But unlike you and Blue… I care about things. I have a heart. And thus… I can have friends. These ponies here... they are my friends."

"You were always the weakest," said Dark.

"No. I simply had hope. And that makes me stronger than you both."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Council Room_

_Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer_

Mattimeo was standing alone, staring blankly at the massive Council Room table. As he stood there, Doxia entered the room and approached him.

"Doxia, do you need something?" asked Mattimeo coolly, without turning around.

"The pictures of Summer you showed Sunflower… they were altered so Twilight and Flaming Star could not recognize their daughter," said Doxia, his voice unusually cold, "Their colors were slightly off and anything else required for recognition was askew."

Mattimeo nodded, "If they knew their daughter was alive, the will to complete our mission would be compromised."

"Is this what this is all about? The mission?" snapped Doxia, "What about Summer being happy?"

Mattimeo turned to look at Doxia. As he did so, he said, "If they found out, the post-death-of-their-daughter world that they built for themselves will crumble. They will then force us on word of honor to send her a message and to retrieve her. That would then destroy her world. I refuse to do that."

Doxia actually did a double-take. "So… wait… Are you saying that this is for the mission, or for Summer?"

Mattimeo continued to stare at Doxia quietly. "What do you think?"

Doxia sighed loud and long. "And here you were, only a couple hundred billion years ago, telling me and Allison that love was for children, and that we were acting like fools. You really have gotten the fatherly-love thing nailed down now, don't you?"

Mattimeo turned away again. "Do not mock me, Doxia. I owe her a debt for making the rash decisions I did."

"Mattimeo… you think of yourself as Summer's adopted father. What would a true adopted father do if he found out her real family was still alive and out there?" asked Doxia quietly.

"I do not care," said Mattimeo, "In fact, in the end, none of this matters. We are borderline gods trapped in limbo, with only fleeting attractions to justify our forced existence. I am answering that question with another question, Doxia: why did we not choose to relinquish our powers and die of old age like the others?"

"You are changing the subject, Mattimeo," said Doxia sternly, "But the answer I responded with for that specific question all those eons ago is the same. We are here because we know that as long as the Earth Multiverse exists there will be monsters. And since we are cursed to be here for as long as the Earth Multiverse exists, we might as well fight the only other thing that will live as long as us and the multiverses: evil. And now answer my question: if you truly consider yourself a loving father of Summer, what are you willing to do to bring her true happiness?"

Mattimeo raised a hand and posed it as if he was about to snap a finger. As he did that, he said, "What would I do? Nothing. If you want to tell them, feel free… But remember: our friendship has been in the balance since the Paradox Crisis… What will this do to it?"

With that, he snapped his finger. In an instant he teleported to the other side of the planet.

Doxia sighed. He knew exactly where Mattimeo had teleported to, but he knew by the time he followed, Mattimeo would have opened to a portal he knew not where. And there was no use in contacting his old friend.

"I guess I need to think about the choices I have now," Doxia muttered, "Is it really worth doing the right thing, and risk losing a friend I have had for a trillion years?"

Doxia then opened a portal and walked slowly through it. He needed to talk to Derpy… and eat some muffins.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes: I have a question, how many of you actually like muffins? I personally enjoy the pumpkin-flavored ones. Now, let's say, hypothetically, that I had a massive surplus of pumpkin muffins. Would you, perhaps, want some? I will cut you a deal, then. If you give me a review, I will give you a hypothetical muffin. It is like an invisible muffin, but not. Smiles all around?<strong>


	129. Chapter 129 - Trapped in the Middle

**Note: Greetings everyone! I am glad to bring you this chapter right after Christmas. I hope Santa Claus (who is real, do not let your cynical peers and elders tell you otherwise) brought you everything you wanted. Anyway, I want to apologize for not updating for such along time. Fortunately, I have a bunch of excuses I can spew into the air. First: there is school. Second: there is more school. Third: I have had so... many... ideas. I mean, truly, I have never felt so inspired in my life. Thus, I have spent almost all my free time writing up outlines and creating sample chapters for a myriad of new stories. If you are interested in all the things I have been working so tirelessly on, I suggest you check out my profile. I updated it and placed a whole bunch of detailed synopses of the many stories into it. I would be really interested (and grateful) for any feedback that you could give me about my new ideas! Now, I would usually spend the next couple hundred words on answering reviews... but it seems everyone is on the same page! So, instead, I will say thank you to all of you out there! I really appreciate your reviews and the support you have been giving me. I must say that all of your support has truly inspired me to keep going and to create more. Now enjoy my latest chapter! And to all those who are fans of August and his team, do not worry. I will have them incorporated back into the cycle without a hitch. Now enjoy!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Stallion Empire_

_Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer._

"So," said Summer in a chipper and cheerful matter-of-fact tone of voice, "Let me get this straight: We walk out onto the field, turn right, and then head into another forest… And there is nothing that is going to try to kill us, or capture us and end up raping me?"

Lyric pulled a face as she stated that last part. "We have had it rough, now that you put it that way… But, surprisingly, no."

Summer's face brightened like the brilliant sun breaking through heavy and dark thunderclouds. "Wonderful! I can actually breathe again!"

Despite the fact that the beautiful face the blind filly had just made had sent a vitalizing jolt of happiness through his body, Lyric could not help but dwell on apprehension. He bit his bottom lip as he said, "Yeah… It does seem a little too good to be true. But that field is so open, anything from any of the tree-lines or the sky can spot us and murder us easily."

Summer sat down next to Lyric and threw a hoof about his shoulder. She nuzzled his cheek in a jocund-ish kind of way as she said, "Listen to you, you big worrywart! Here we are, two foals in the prime of their lives, escaping dangers at every turn and dodging death every hoofstep… and then there is you, complaining that a snowy field is too big! Live a little and take a leap."

The colt smiled a little, absent-mindedly. Lyric's mind was still clouded in worries. "I don't know. I think your heart is so big that it is living life more than enough for the two of us."

Summer gently licked Lyric's frost-covered cheek. "You know what I mean."

Lyric rolled his eyes. "Okay. You win. I mean, we are going to die one day anyway, might as well go ahead and commit suicide while we are at it."

Summer shoved him lightly. "That's the spirit! You only live once, right?"

Lyric nodded a little more energetically. "You're right! Hey… I like that phrase. 'You Only Live Once.' It sounds awesome."

It was Summer's turn to now pull a face. "Mayhap. But I think it is best we don't overuse it. It could just end up being a 'Carpe Diem' for idiots."

Lyric waved a hoof about airily. "Whatever you say. Now let's get this over with, or I might end up changing my mind and end up hiding in this forest for another fortnight."

Summer groped about quickly and then seized Lyric hand. "Then let's do this and cross before it is too late! There could be patrols moving even as we speak!"

Lyric nodded (even though Summer could not see it) and began to lead the blind filly across the field carefully.

Every now and then, as the two took short breaks from dragging their bodies through the snow, Lyric would meticulously scour the sky for any signs of hostile aircraft. So far, there was none. But that could change in an instant.

The sun slowly passed its apex as the two foals moved across the field. As they toiled through the ice and snow, the two foals began to talk of their future.

"What do you think this valley of peace we are travelling to will be like?" asked Summer as they trotted and stumbled.

"I don't know, I would really prefer to leave it to blank imagination until I actually lay eyes on it," replied Lyric.

"I cannot wait to hear and smell it!" said Summer, "I bet it will be as silent as a secluded forest at the break of dawn, just before the birds sing… and I bet it will smell of freshly fallen leaves, with petrichor lingering in the air."

Lyric could not help but smile, almost dreamily. "That sounds amazing. Hey… tell you what… I will describe what I see, but only if you describe what you smell and hear. My weak senses cannot pick up nearly as much as yours can."

Summer nodded her head. "I would love to! It would make me feel more part of the team."

"What do you mean by 'part of the team'?" laughed Lyric, "You were the whole team! I just tagged along!"

"Don't you mean vice versa?" snorted Summer, "Last time I checked, I was stuck in a glowing ball of pure energy before you saved me!"

"Granted it was a very lethargic team before I joined," countered Lyric without missing a beat, "But still…"

"Fine, fine, have it your way, Mister Insistent," said Summer, rolling her blank eyes, "Anyway, back to the subject we were SUPPOSED to be discussing… What do you think of this fabled valley we are going to? What do you think the ponies will be like?"

Lyric shrugged his shoulder slightly as he continued to trot. "I don't know. I think they would be kind, I guess. They live in a valley that is protected from both the despotic Stallion Empire military, and the sadistic Trixie's Hoof terrorists. It is a quiet place, and therefore there must be quiet denizens."

Summer nodded. "I agree. I also think they will be accepting. They must be getting ponies in need from all over, seeking refuge from the chaos around them."

Though Lyric had initially stated that he would not try to determine what destination lay ahead of him, he could not help himself now. "Gold-wrought buildings, stretching into the sky. Towering spires, lined with crystals, reflecting the ever-present sun in cascading beams of brilliance…"

"The air will smell of flowers and freshly fallen rain," sighed Summer, picking up Lyric's narration, "There will be golden silence, scattered only by sweet birdcall."

Summer suddenly stopped, and her bright joyful face went dead-straight. In an instant all playfulness drained out of the air. Another vicissitude.

"What is it?" asked Lyric hoarsely, readying himself for yet another horror.

"A vehicle… coming this way," said Summer. Then her voice rose into a wail. "And we're stuck in the middle of this stupid field! Why?!"

"The snow is just not deep enough to hide us either," groaned Lyric, feeling as if he might vomit, "We're trapped."

Quickly he pulled Summer to the ground in the hopes that the light reflecting harshly off the snow would hide them somehow.

In a minute a large armored vehicle rattled out of the tree-line that they had just exited and began to plow its way through the snow towards the Pillar of God. That brought them close enough to the current position of the beleaguered duo that they assuredly would be spotted.

"Can you hear anything?" asked Lyric in hushed tones.

"No," mumbled Summer, her face pressed close to the snow, "The rumbling engine is drowning out their rough voices."

Lyric slowly popped his head above the snow he was desperately trying to hide under to catch a glimpse of the insignia that should be plastered on the side of the armored vehicle. It was a vivid azure hoofprint. Trixie's Hoof terrorists.

"It's… It's the terrorists," sighed Lyric, almost in resignation. They were unarmed, alone, and trapped. There was nothing they could do.

"How do they keep finding us?" choked Summer, on the verge of sobbing.

Then a gunshot went off. Then another, and then another. Lyric had thrown himself upon Summer, covering her sensitive ears and protecting her body with his own. However, he felt no shockwave of missed shells, or the sound of bullets striking snow and earth nearby. He opened and eye and was surprised to see the vehicle was shooting rapidly into the trees behind it. In a moment he could see why: another armored vehicle exploded from the tree-line hot on the tail of the first. The two were exchanging fire in a heated manner, and bullets were exploding and ricocheting heavily off of the two vehicles' armors. Shells filled the air, bouncing off armor or slamming straight into it, burrowing itself in ear-shattering explosions and sickening crunches. Fire spouted into the air, and smoke poured into the sky, to accompany the sounds of war that already filled it to the brim.

After a bit of squinting, Lyric could pick out the insignia that resided upon the second vehicle. It was the Black Star. The Stallion Empire.

"Summer," he breathed, "I don't think they are after us… It looks like the two vehicles are fighting each other! One is the terrorist's, and the other is the Stallion Empire military's!"

"Then… Then we are not in danger?" asked Summer tearfully and hopefully. She looked as if she was about to perk up, but her ears flattened as a particularly loud explosion tore through the air.

Lyric also winced as the military missed a shot in a spectacular fashion, causing the shell to explode into the ground a score of meters away. "Well… I wouldn't say that."

Lyric then blanched and quickly pulled Summer to earth. The terrorist vehicle suddenly swerved in their direction, attempting to strafe its enemy to death. Lyric then pulled Summer up and shoved her forward roughly and then dove after her. The oncoming armored truck exploded into flames and plowed through the area they had just been lying in. The terrorist vehicle, with smoke and sparked swathing it like a mantle, skidded to a stop in a pile of rapidly-melting snow. The back doors were then flung open, and Trixie's Hoof terrorists rushed out with guns akin to AK-47s to fire upon the military truck. The truck's windshield shattered, and it too came to a grinding halt, its mounted turret firing off shells all the way. Several military ponies hopped out, armed with weaponry akin to AN-94s.

Then, with Lyric and Summer cowering on the ground between the two hostile groups, they all began to open fire on each other. Though the firefight was heated and open, it seemed like an eternity before the bullets stopped flying and the last bloodied body hit the ground. As the last gunshot melted into the air the victor stood (astonishingly) clear: the military.

Lyric let out an almost-audible sigh of relief. Though the military was sadistic, cynical, and rough, they generally left civilians alone. The terrorists would just kill them all for fun after the firefight ended. This was a stroke of luck in a way.

"Is it… is it over?" whimpered Summer, rubbing her sore ears.

"Yeah," breathed Lyric, "It is finally over."

Hoping the military ponies would consider the two foals of too little consequence to even pay them heed, Lyric helped Summer into a sitting position. He gently rubbed her shoulders as she continued to massage her ears.

However, contrary to Lyric's hope, the moment Lyric and Summer came into view, the two surviving military ponies noticed the foals poking their heads out of the snow. One of the military ponies scoffed at the sight, and called his companion over (from where he was shamelessly desecrating and defiling the bodies of the dead terrorists) to stare at the two foals. Then after conversing quietly and harshly for a moment, the two strolled over to where the foals sat, causing Lyric's heart to begin racing in fear and apprehension.

"Hey, you two!" exclaimed one of the military ponies, a dark red pony with a yellow mane with a holster slung about his middle, "What are you two doing out here?"

"We're just wanderers," said Lyric, calling upon his thieving charismatic charm, "We're not worth your while, kind sirs."

"He called us 'kind,'" snorted the other pony, a green and blue pony with his AN-94 hanging around a shoulder, "Hilarious."

"Well, you are kind, correct?" continued Lyric, trying to sound calm and cool, "We will continue on our way, we don't mean any trouble."

The two ponies laughed sadistically. "Give us one reason we should let you on our way," snorted the red pony.

"Because you two idiots are not dumb enough to try and mess with us," snapped Summer, who was realizing the two military ponies were anything but kind, "We seriously mean you no harm, so leave us the heck alone."

The two military ponies began to laugh even more. Lyric blanched and flattened his ears against his skull. He did not like their tones anymore.

"This female is tough," snorted the green pony, "I like tough. It makes the sex more flavorful. Should we keep these two?"

"W-w-what?" spluttered Lyric, whose heart had now turned to solid ice, "P-please, don't…"

The red pony pulled his pistol out of his holster and pointed it at Lyric's face. "Shut the hell up. The grownups are talking."

He then turned to look at his compatriot. "Are you sure? Remember what our C.O. said after raping that one mare to death a couple weeks ago. No more. If the Master Sargent sees us…"

"Are you that dull?" interjected the blue pony sharply, "For one: the Master Sargent is right there, and from the size of the hole in his face I think it is safe to say he won't be figuratively spilling his guts to our C.O. any time soon. And second: who said we needed to finish her at camp? We have a now surprisingly vacant armored vehicle to have the fun in!"

Lyric was trembling. He glanced at Summer. Her eyes with wide with horror, her cheeks were flushed red, and her back legs were slightly bent together. He opened his mouth to protest feebly, but the red military pony simply shoved the barrel of his pistol down his throat, causing him to choke violently.

"What do we do with this colt?" continued the blue pony, ignoring Lyric and Summer's terrified demeanors, "From the way he was liberally running his grubby little hooves over the filly's back I think it is clear that he thinks he is her protector or something stupid."

"Oh, let's just kill him and grab the filly. I think she is blind, and that makes this a whole lot more fun," said the red military pony. He then cocked the pistol.

"Oh Mattimeo," whimpered Summer, "Lyric and I need you… Where are you?"

"Yeah, that is a good idea in a nutshell," said the blue military pony airily, "Shoot him."

Then Lyric acted. He lunged forward and seized the base of the pistol. Roughly he tore it from his enemy's grasp and turned it on the two military ponies. A volley of gunshots went off, filling the air with the sound of pure death.

"Lyric?!" screamed Summer at the top of her lungs, he ears rendered momentarily useless by the gunshots.

She screamed again as two hooves landed on her shoulder.

"Summer! Summer! Calm down! It's… it's me…"

Summer sobbed and buried her face in the coat of the pony holding her. She inhaled. The scent. It was Lyric's.

"W-w-what happened?" mumbled Summer.

Lyric's body began to shudder as he began to cry too. "I… I… I… I killed them."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Council Room_

_Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer_

Doxia and Mattimeo stood side-by-side, watching the events surrounding Lyric and Summer unfold.

"I should have been there for them," said Mattimeo. His voice was as emotionless as a lake in a forest during the middle of the summer, but Doxia felt the fury bubbling beneath the veil.

"You should have been," muttered Doxia, "You had planned it… Where was the Phantom? It was supposed to be there…"

Mattimeo nodded his head slowly. Though he was still sounding calm, pure reality was beginning to distort around Mattimeo's palms, denoting the fact that Mattimeo was madder than he had been in eons untold. "I agree. But it was not. Something destroyed it."

Doxia quickly brought up several holographic projections and ran diagnostics telepathically. He glanced at Mattimeo. "The imagination signature is there. That means it supposedly is there. But…"

Mattimeo glanced at Doxia. "But what?"

Doxia shrugged. "This H.D. guy. Uhhh… Harold. He managed to hoodwink me by creating a false imagination energy signature, as I said before. Is it possible that he destroyed the Phantom and replaced its original imagination energy signature with an identical, yet fake, one?"

Mattimeo slowly nodded his head again. "That must be the case. Either way, we must accelerate our plans to protect Summer, and then remove her powers."

Doxia glanced at Mattimeo. "Good idea. What do you have in mind? Remember, we must ensure that no one, including our Equestrian friends, know of the security measures we are setting up."

"Yes. I am planning to send in more Phantoms, but this time I will have them manned. Regular communications will be set up between this squadron and the A.E.S. Immaculate. That way if Harold strikes again and destroys them, we will know immediately."

"Awesome," said Doxia, still looking at Mattimeo carefully, "Oh… and I have decided not to tell Flaming Star and Twilight about Summer… YET."

"A wise choice," said Mattimeo.

"I am 100% unsure of that," said Doxia, a little sharply, "But it matters not at this time. We must ensure Summer's safety. That comes first. Mattimeo, will you convey our decision to take back Sunflower's powers to Summer?"

"I will," said Mattimeo, "But until then, I shall be at Amethyst Prime."

"I'm against all of this, you know," Doxia suddenly said, loudly.

Mattimeo paused and glanced at Doxia, prompting him to continue.

"No matter how you put it, we are truly pulling out the stops to band together the three greatest murders Amethyst has ever dared to called 'heroes,'" Doxia continued, "I mean, we have corrupted one innocent, and put another in danger. And what for? To call together the John 3 Inquisitors. These men are killers. They have murdered civilians... families... women... children. And we are doing this all because we cannot fight a single mysterious force. Granted, this force has control over powers we have not seen in countless eons, but why does that change anything? We are Dimensional Lords, we are true heroes, good guys. Since when are we unable to combat these threats ourselves?"

Mattimeo stared at Doxia for a long time. Finally, he said, "Since the end of the Maelstrom War and the start of the Romans Initiative... when the term 'heroes' became archaic and meaningless... and Dimensional Lords became naught but a legend."

"No," said Doxia, his voice now full of conviction, "The term 'hero' is not gone. Wherever there is evil, there will be good eventually to counteract the shadow with light. You just wait. When times are at the darkest, the true power of good will rise, and even the long-forgotten Dimensional Lords, the original heroes of the tri-multiverse, will rise again. Good shall ascend."

There was a long pause that stretched on for eternity as Doxia and Mattimeo stared at each other evenly.

Finally, Mattimeo nodded slightly to Doxia and then waved a hand through the air. A volatile portal of light and power popped into existence, briding space and time between Rerenhaw and Amethyst Prime. Mattimeo strolled briskly through, the portal closing behind him with a small "pop."

Doxia sighed loud and long, turning his gaze back to the nearest holographic monitor. Slowly he conjured a mass of sparkling, shimmering multi-colored energy in a balled fist as he looked upon the weeping Summer.

"And now these are the darkest times," muttered Doxia, "There is no grandness, and there is no large scale. It is simply the delving into the remnant shadows… and finding there are hearts of darkness filling the bodies of the innocent. Eons ago, when blatant war was upon us, we tore open the bodies of our enemies and found they bled shadow, but those who truly posed the threat… they bled crimson. Summer, do you truly bleed red? Who are you? Do I still bleed? And if not… then who am I?"

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><p><strong>Note: Ever since I asked you all about your personal definitions of the term "hero," I have had the ideas of it all lying heavily on my mind. You will continue to see my interest in and struggle with these terms reside inside my writing as time goes on. Anyway, I encourage you all to take a moment to look at my profile and the story synopses that lie within. I want to make sure that several others confirm the mettle of my new ideas. And now... please review! If you review, I will make sure that you all receive a magical candy cane that can turn people into peppermints. It is the weapon of ultimate destruction, so I suggest you take up my offer. You don't want someone else to get it before you, or the hope for mutually assured destruction will be gone.<strong>


	130. Chapter 130 - The Skeletal Tower

**Note: Greetings everyone. Thanks to the winter break, I was able to spend a whole day writing, and now I have pretty much completed the first part of season 2! As of yet, I have not much else to say except that I finally managed to get August and his team back into the loop. And now... enjoy!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Council Room_

_Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer_

Doxia stood quietly, watching the horrors that had just occurred to Summer and Lyric repeat over and over again on the holographic video feed. He sighed as he watched Lyric desperately shoot the two sadistic soldiers and get covered in their life blood for the umpteenth time. Then suddenly Doxia gasped.

"Blood… August… I've got it!" Doxia exclaimed as he immediately returned to his old self. He had just received an epiphany for one of his other problems, involving August and Blue.

Sweeping about, he snapped a finger, opening a portal to Amethyst Prime.

"I am so totally a genius," he chuckled happily as he hopped through the crackling hole in space and time.

As he entered he was met by the Dimensional Lord Meadolax.

"Yo, Meadolax, wassup?" asked Doxia while performing their secret handshake with him.

"Cool as a cucumber, I have just been hanging around, giving my ward some space," replied Meadolax, "What are you here for? You usually don't come here anymore."

"Yeah," chortled Doxia, "I actually am looking for Mattimeo. Have you seen him anywhere?"

"Yeah, he is alone at Central Command," said Meadolax gesturing behind him, "Well, I have to go. Catch you later, Pokemon."

Doxia snorted. "Stick with your Frozen quotes, they worked better. See you later."

Doxia immediately teleported away to Central Command. The place was a massive dome, approximately twelve times larger than the Pentagon. The entire room was covered in holographic projectors, all working toward turning the incredibly large room into a perfect digital representation of the Earth Multiverse. Doxia glanced about and then spotted Mattimeo a score of kilometers away. Using superspeed, Doxia shot over to him.

"Doxia," said Mattimeo curtly, "What do you want?"

"I realized a way to help August fight Blue back," said Doxia.

Mattimeo glanced at Doxia. "Are you sure of that? Such a thing seems impossible. In addition to that, if any plan of yours works, will such an outcome be even close to beneficial? If Blue is no longer in control, then how will August be able to operate the Inquisitor suit to defeat our threat, H.D.?"

"My answer will eliminate that problem simultaneously. Two birds killed with one stone, to borrow the colloquialism," exclaimed Doxia, "I am talking about the Dream Bleeding Effect."

Mattimeo looked at Doxia carefully, "You are speaking about placing two beings in a dreamscape, and then using a direct transfusion of memories to infuse the skills of one being into the other."

Doxia nodded his head. "Yes. If we place Blue and August within a dreamscape, August will be able to confront Blue without Blue being able to sneak up on August when he is distressed or in pain. And while that is going on, Blue's skills will be directly transferring to August. If August holds out against Blue long enough, August will be able to use Blue's skills without Blue being inside his head, even if he does not manage to push Blue away for good."

"Blue is unstoppable," replied Mattimeo, "And he will know very well that we are attempting the Dream Bleeding Effect. He will counteract the measures, and he might even harm August in the process simply because he can."

"No," stated Doxia firmly, "It is my belief that Blue will do nothing to stop him."

Mattimeo cocked his head to one side, considering Doxia. "What do you mean?"

"Blue is tired," said Doxia, "I have watched him for quite some time now, and Blue just seems… off. Something happened to him before he committed suicide, something huge… Something that even his fellow John 3 Inquisitors could not reverse. He will not fight this, I am sure of it."

Mattimeo actually started to nod his head. "You are right. Perhaps he will not. Your plan may just work."

"And that leaves us with one last component," stated Doxia, "You. Mattimeo… I need you to perform the Dream Bleeding Effect. Aside from the High Lord Kytax, you were the best at working the mind in the realms of dreams. I could not instigate the proper dreamscape for an encounter such as what we need to occur between August and the consciousness of Blue."

Mattimeo looked at Doxia quietly. Then suddenly he said, "I will. But only on one condition: you swear to never tell Flaming Star and Twilight about their daughter Summer being alive in the Stallion Empire."

Doxia voice tightened. "Are you… Are you blackmailing me?"

Mattimeo shook his head. "I am doing what is best for Summer. I know her better than you, and I know that she wants nothing to do with her past life."

Doxia shook his head. "No. That is a lie…"

Mattimeo remained unmoved. "Do we have a deal? I will ensure your plan is enacted flawlessly, and you ensure that Flaming Star and Twilight never find out about their daughter from you."

Doxia sighed. "Mattimeo… What happened to us? What happened to us after the war? Why are we like this now? We used to be the knights in shining armor, standing at the head, clearing whole dimensions in glorious combat… We used to be the brilliant and just strategists, outflanking and outmaneuvering countless enemies with ease. We were the heroes… and now we have been reduced to this. I don't know…"

Mattimeo stared quietly at Doxia, still completely unmoved. "Do we have a deal?"

Doxia finally nodded. "Very well. And I will mention that I am not too put out by you forcing me to not reveal that Summer is alive to her parents… after all, you will find that it is the right thing to do yourself, and then you will personally see to telling Flaming Star and Twilight about their daughter."

"Perhaps," said Mattimeo emotionlessly, "I shall prepare the dreamscape, and then wait for the perfect moment to freeze time and instigate the sequence. Then I will return to Summer and perform a similar ritual, taking Sunflower's complete abilities back from where they are stored dormant within her."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: The Upper Realm, north of the Middle Ocean_

_Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer_

Jefferson peeked over the rock the team was hiding behind and shook his head. He had been through many dimension and done many things, but nothing quite like this. Jefferson, Gene, Radiance, and Blue had a fairly much uneventful time crossing the Middle Ocean, but the moment they had arrived at the Upper Realm – the land that lay beyond the Middle Ocean – their journeys became a little more interesting. The Upper Realm, unlike the Middle Ocean and the other lands behind it, was fairly much the most unusual place Jefferson been to, he had to admit. The land was basically a massive warehouse, packed with scattered metal struts, poles, ingots, and sheets. Smoke hung heavy in the air, all pouring from countless smokestacks lining the horizon. On top of that… the entire realm seemed completely and utterly abandoned.

"Nothing but rusting metal and huge steel and wooden storage containers," muttered Jefferson, "Okay. I will say this right now: what the heck was the people here trying to build?! Is this seriously the hallowed 'Upper Realm'?"

"It is," replied Radiance, who seemed to know more than the rest aside from Blue. However, Blue had been silent the entire day, so it was up to their newest member to supply answers, "Many years ago the ruler of the Upper Realm became mad, obsessed with the Power Garden."

"Okay, people keep mentioning this stupid Power Garden thing, what is it?!" snorted Jefferson, not in the mood to be confused anymore.

"Shut up and I will tell you," said Radiance, her voice somehow even despite the fact that she was still in heavy pain from the wounds Blue had inflicted upon her, "It is a strange floating island that has been hanging vigil over the Upper Realm for countless centuries. Many, many rumors of riches and ultimate power had always surrounded the island as well, and the thought of ultimate power drove the Upper Realm's ruler mad. He was obsessed with the prospect, but the island was too high in the air, too high for him to ever reach, and that drove the king even more insane."

"Lust for something just beyond your reach has always historically caused trouble," sighed Gene, "So this is another example. What happened?"

"The ruler turned his entire real into an industrialized land, devoted to building a tower that would reach into the skies… allowing him to reach the fabled land he had only heard tales about," continued Radiance, treating Gene to a rare smile.

"And so… The project failed, the realm was ruined, became uninhabitable, and then the ruler committed suicide?" asked Jefferson briskly, "Yeah, that sounds about right…"

"The king was murdered by a rogue, actually, but everything else you said is correct, surprisingly," said Radiance, "And now nothing is left, with only dust left within this accursed land to gather undisturbed amongst the walkways…"

Suddenly August spoke for the first time, obviously possessed by Blue currently. "There is more than dust out here…"

Immediately the rest quieted down and looked to Blue. The possessed teenager pointed his armored hand off to his right, towards a massive stack of metal shipping containers stacked higher than the average skyscraper. Through the gloomy and dusty air the team could see a shrouded figure patrolling the very top.

"W-what?" breathed Radiance, "People?"

There was a pause…

"No," said Blue quietly, "Narvix Cosmospredominate, this realm's ruler, was always worried that his obsession would end up with his people rebelling… And thus he made mechanized enforcers to ensure obedience."

Jefferson groaned. "Wonderful. Sooo… What are we dealing with? Terminators or Vahki? Are they like Stormtroopers or like badasses?"

"The answer is 'the latter' to both of those questions," murmured Blue, "They are deadly, and not to be underestimated. But it matters not, we must move forward."

"Okay, awesome, wonderful, great," said Jefferson, still unsure about moving on, "Before we throw ourselves into the great unknown like idiots, just answer this last question: what do these mechanized enforcers… look like?"

Blue stared at Jefferson, regarding his comrade's confused face. "They look like massive metallic praying mantises, armed with razor-sharp blades, and shoulder-mounted rocket-launchers."

Blue then leapt over the rock and began to stride forward into the ash-choked unknown.

Jefferson chortled nervously. "Metal… mantids… Yeah, that is really funny. So, seriously now, what do they look like…? Ummmmm… Really? No? You were joking right? Why is no one answering me?"

Gene helped Radiance to her feet, and threw one of her arms about his shoulder. The two began to slowly make their way after Blue.

Jefferson grimaced. "Okay, so there are giant killer robot mantids… Yeah, nothing I haven't seen before… heh… Okay seriously, I need help. Wait up guys!"

He leapt over the rock and quickly caught up to Radiance and Gene.

"Soooo… You guys haven't ever fought giant killer insects in your life, have you?" asked Jefferson, still nervous.

"I can't say that I have, Jefferson," chuckled Gene, amused to see his comrade so disturbed, "But I can tell you that if we do in fact end up facing these robots, we will feed you to them first."

Jefferson glared at the in mock severity, and then strolled past them, entering into an alley, flanked by sky-scraping towers of abandoned metallic resources and huge rusting containers. Blue was standing alone at the other opening, staring at something lying beyond him.

As Jefferson walked between the containers and metal pylons, he muttered to himself, "Stupid teammates. Stupid Blue. He knew I hated insects. He must have just made that tale up to scare me. I swear…"

Jefferson's voice slowly trailed off into silence as he exited the alley to stand beside Blue. The landscape now lying before him was completely awe-inspiring. A massive valley stretched out before them, dotted with abandoned construction machines and scattered metal plating, piping, and support beams. But that was not the part that took Jefferson's breath away, that element was what was standing in the very epicenter of the valley.

A colossal skeletal tower of metal beams and rusting pylons stretched up into the smoggy and gloomy sky. The top was not visible. The skeleton of a tower was taller than anything Jefferson had seen in his life. And what's more, it was, like everything else in the Upper Realm, totally abandoned. Wind howled in sepulchral tones as it wound its way between the towering forests of metal.

"Soooo… I guess I was wrong in my guess after all to some extent," breathed Jefferson, "The ruler may have died and everything may have been abandoned… but the project sure as heck was finished."

"Perhaps I should have mentioned it," murmured Blue, "But it matters not. My armor – the Inquisitor Chest Piece and the helmet – is at the top. I shall leave you now, I suppose August deserves a little more time with you all before I remove him for good."

Blue's posture slumped a bit, denoting the fact that Blue had left, allowing August to return to his body. At this moment Radiance and Gene arrived.

"My goodness," muttered Radiance, "The rumors were wrong. The tower was indeed built."

"Blue, is your armor up there?" asked Gene, glancing a little begrudgingly to Blue.

August rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "I g-guess… But it is me, August. Blue said I could be with you guys, one last time…"

Gene's eyes hardened. "HE said that? August! This is still your body! You cannot let Blue tell you what to do!"

"I don't know anymore, Gene," sighed August. His voice was tired, and his eyes reflected complete resignation. He had stopped fighting. "I feel like I am the visitor now, and that he is the owner... Come on, let's go find that last piece of armor."

August began to walk down the steep slope toward the monstrously-tall tower, but before he could go more than a couple meters before Gene roughly grabbed one of his shoulders.

"Stop, August!" exclaimed Gene, "You cannot keep doing this to yourself! If you find yet another piece of armor, then Blue will assuredly take control, and the body that you once called your own will be his. Come on, August, let's just go home and call this thing over. I cannot afford to lose you to that sadistic murderer that Amethyst has foolishly called a hero."

August gently brushed off Gene's hand as he muttered, "I was given a mission: to return Blue. I can feel in my bones that Sunflower and Dark have returned, and they are pining for their leader. If the Inquisition is to rise again, I must let Blue come back. There is a great evil that threatens to destroy us all… Harold, he cannot be stopped by anyone but the Inquisitors, and I am the only thing standing in the way between them and Harold's defeat. And thus I must sacrifice myself. The need of the many outweigh the need of a few. I am sorry."

Gene's face was the picture of grief, and even Radiance looked saddened by the complete despair and hopelessness that reflected from August's tired, tired eyes. August turned about and began to slowly make his way to the tower in the distance. After staring worriedly at the receding back of August for at least five minutes, Gene began to follow his former friend at a respectful distance, helping Radiance all the way.

Jefferson frowned. He also felt bad, but he could not let himself get depressed. Whatever came out of this situation, he needed to take it as a grain of salt, otherwise risk losing himself far away from the place he called his true home. After thinking about what August had said, he shrugged and began to walk after the other three.

"Perhaps the greatest way to be a hero is to let the villain win," he muttered.

The next couple of hours were spent in silence, with everyone keeping themselves company with their own thoughts. However, such peace (or torture) could only last for a little while, for they eventually reached the foot of the massive skeletal tower of iron and steel. From this perspective, the magnitude and height of the structure was only magnified infinitely.

"I have never had troubles with heights," sighed Jefferson, "But I do believe I might have just experience vertigo by looking up at this thing."

"August, is there an access point to begin climbing?" asked Gene glumly, still completely against August's wish to complete Blue's quest, "I do not see anything."

"There is a working elevator around there, I think," said August in a monotone voice. He pointed an armored hand off to the side. Through the dust-clogged air the team could see a rusty door, and a flickering, cracked light. It was an elevator, and it miraculously had power flowing through it.

"Well, I must say the guys who were in charge of durability certainly got their job right," chortled Jefferson, trying to keep the mood lighter than it had been for the last few days.

He strolled up to the dust covered door and used his hand to smear away some of the grim from the rusty steel. After several minutes of brushing away dust, ash, and cobwebs, Jefferson was able to find what looked to be a button adjacent to the elevator. It was flickering with barely-visible orange light, and was heavily cracked; but it seemed to be intact.

"One ticket to the very top of this behemoth of a structure: found," exclaimed Jefferson.

He hit the button. A loud buzzing noise emanated from the elevator, and it loudly echoed in the heavy silence. Jefferson winced painfully, and Radiance practically buried her face in Gene's shoulder from shock. The painfully loud buzz slowly died away, but the echoes could still be heard, bouncing around the landscape.

"Well, if there was anything else living out in this wasteland, then they know we are here now," snorted Radiance, "I hope you are all ready."

Jefferson grinned sheepishly. "I am always ready. I hit that loud… buzzy… thing to issue a challenge! Uh… yeah…"

Jefferson turned back to the elevator. There was the sound of rusty gears attempting to turn (but failing) now emanating from the large metal box. It was clear that the door to the elevator was trying to open, but obviously dust and dirt was preventing such a thing from happening.

Sighing from longsuffering, Jefferson pulled out a dirk and jammed it into the crack that represented the separation of the two sliding doors of the elevator. He gave the dirk a hearty twist, forcing the doors apart slightly, and giving him a large enough room for him to place his fingers in there. With his hands now grasping one of the sliding doors, Jefferson grunted in exertion as he wrenched that sliding door back. Dust abruptly fell in billows as he slammed the sliding door open, obscuring the team's view.

As the dust swirled thickly in the air, a single red light flickered to life from inside the elevator. It was soon accompanied by a second red light, a little to the left of the first. They were eyes. A mournful, screeching, clacking sound emanated from the metal room… and then, suddenly, a massive metallic limb covered in serrated blades shot through the dark to strike at Jefferson. By some miracle the limb only bluntly struck the man, sending him flying into Gene and Radiance painfully.

"Well," groaned Jefferson, trying not to sound terrified, "That was weird… Hey, Radiance, now that I can get a look at you closely… you're hot."

Radiance shoved him off of her and exclaimed, "Gene! Look out!"

From the shadows emerged the gigantic, rusting metal praying mantis. Its dull, broken red eyes were leaking a black fluid, and its limbs were serrated and coated in rust, making it only more hideous and dangerous. August attempted to lunge forward to protect his friends before Blue could take control of his body, but that only led to him being rammed backwards by a limb. Blue's armor prevented August from being bisected, but the force of the attack sent him crashing into a pile of metal pipes, burying him beneath the abandoned resources in seconds.

The giant robot slowly positioned itself on its four lower limbs, raising its body high into the air and tucking its frontal limb-blades close to its body. Screeching hideously, it looked down at its prey with malicious eyes. Abruptly a large rapid-fire rocket launcher rose from its back and poked over its right shoulder. An aiming laser beam shot from the tip of the new weapon, pointing straight at the dazed pile of tangled limbs and sore heads that was Gene, Radiance, and Jefferson.

* * *

><p><strong>Note: I cannot help but feel somewhat satisfied in how much lore "A Mending Soul" has. The robot praying mantises actually play a major part in some past stories (and graphic novels) I have created, and I was quite happy that I had an excuse to bring their terrifying faces into existence here. Anyway, it seems that only a few of you will be officially armed with the Candy Canes of Ultimate Destruction. To everyone else: don't blame me when you wake up one morning and find half of the human population turned into peppermints. Anyway... I have an interesting question for you all: If you had a choice between happiness (but constant uncertainty and danger) and complete security (but unhappiness), which would you take? Would you regret that decision later on? Let me know...<strong>


	131. Chapter 131 - Two Down

**Notes: Hello everyone! I am really happy to see so many unique responses to my question. I have taken them into consideration, and you will see why I wanted you guys to ponder such things in a chapter to come. For your time, I will give you all those magical candy canes of ultimate power I talked about a couple chpaters back. Why? Because I don't think it would be a good idea to let Russet Burbanks and FocusedStream get away with being the only ones armed with such dangerous weapons. Now, onto answering reviews! To combee77: Thanks for pointing out that error! I fixed it the minute I saw your review. To austin: Happiness and worry (and security) cannot really coincide. If you are happy, then you generally are not worried. No doubt you could be stressed, but you have no fear of what is to come. And what makes you think there cannot be things worse than Harold? I can think of two other beings from eons long past that could veritably cast the whole Tri-Multiverse into chaos! To Minebrine: As I said previously, happiness and security are not really proportional to each other (inversely or otherwise). You can find peace in the most dangerous of places, simply because you do not fear death or what is to come. To Echo Off: Perhaps they don't, but it is all in the mind! I have know quite a few people who risk their lives everyday, but are at complete peace about it! And they are some of the most joyful people I know. To madmanwithafork: knowing that stormtroopers couldn't hit a Star Trek Red Shirt even if they tried, I wouldn't exactly say having them as an entourage is security at its finest... but I understand what you are trying to say. To FocusedStream: Yes, happiness is most certainly a win! A new story, eh? I like the idea, but it would take forever, since the upper realm comes from graphic novels I made many, many years ago, and translating from pictures and speech bubbles to text is not my forte. But I shall consider it! And now... Behold the final chapter for Twilight, Flaming Star, Rarity, and Discord! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Little Nemo, Nightmare Land<em>

_Planet: Nightmare Land_

_Specific Location: Dark Forest_

_Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer_

Sunflower and Dark stared at the pile of unconscious (and time-frozen) ponies.

"How are we going to get Discord and Rarity out of that frozen state?" asked Sunflower.

Dark shrugged. "It is indefinite. The only to give them relief is to kill them."

Sunflower glanced sharply at Dark. "What is with you and killing innocents? Now, seriously, I know you have a spellbinder shocker. If you hit them with it, it should jolt them out of that state, since they are really only trapped within their mind."

Dark chuckled darkly. "Very clever. I don't recall you being this bright when we used to be part of the team."

Sunflower leaned close to Dark and muttered, "I have matured during my eons of exile. Clearly you have not."

Dark ignored him. He quickly tapped his right wrist, causing a small metallic device to appear. It began to glow blue, and strobe lights of shimmering energy exploded from it, bathing Rarity and Discord. In an instant the two let out distressed yells, and then collapsed in a heap.

Sunflower rushed over to Discord and Rarity and began to gently shake them, bringing them to.

Rarity let out a piercing scream as she became conscious. She shot up, her eyes wide. Sunflower held her down on her back, standing clear of her flailing hooves.

"Rarity! Calm down!" yelled Sunflower as he shook her again, a little more roughly that time.

Rarity gasped, breathing in long and deep after screaming for at least two minutes straight. Eyes focusing on Sunflower, Rarity coughed and croaked, "It… it was terrible! I saw my boutique! It was full of all the designer clothes for the royalty of the Galloping Gala… and it… it burst into flames!"

Rarity began to sob, as she began to mutter something about lace not going well with open flames. Sunflower gently patted her head, and then went over to Discord, who was quietly staring at the dark sky.

"Discord, I need you to focus," said Sunflower slowly, "Where are we?"

Discord pulled a face. "Nightmare Land. Not exactly someplace I want to remember… or be in."

"You look rather pale," said Rarity, "are you okay? What did you see?"

Discord shook his head. "Nothing. There was no chaos, there was no color, and there was no excitement. There was just nothing. Pure order, all in the form of nothingness."

Dark chuckled harshly. "You both thing those are nightmares? I have spent millennia here, and I have seen things that would make you both unintentionally urinate."

Sunflower got up and stood directly in front of Dark. Their helmets were almost touching as Sunflower snapped, "Dark. Back down. We need to start working together."

"We do work together," replied Dark, sharply, "We just don't get along. I do what I want when Blue is not around."

Rarity looked over worriedly at the two arguing behemoths that were the Inquisitors. She then slowly crawled over to where Twilight lay, still in a daze. She shook her friend lightly and said, "Twilight? Are you awake?"

Twilight nodded, her eyes now wide and in shock. "I saw… I saw a monster… I saw THE monster…"

Discord floated over to her and gently patted her cheek. "I must say that I am glad I was already down and out before what you saw came into existence. You poor pony!"

Twilight shuddered, and then held out a hoof, allowing Rarity to help her to all fours. Twilight looked around blearily, and then saw Flaming Star, still in a heap. She rushed over to him and began to shake him lightly.

"Flaming Star? Flaming Star!"

The bright yellow pony opened an eye groggily and looked fondly at Twilight. "Dear… are we in heaven?"

Discord snorted. "I should say not. I am an avid believer that such a hallowed place as heaven is not full of twisted trees, splattered blood, and Inquisitors named Dark."

The name "Dark" immediately brought Flaming Star to his senses and returned his strength. He scrambled to all fours and looked around wildly. His eyes landed upon the black-clad giant, Dark.

Dark turned to looked at the wide-eyed pony. He began to laugh. The sound was grating, and full of malice. "Well, Sunflower, I can understand how you made friends with these things. Look at their adorable eyes. It makes me want to bundle them in a fluffy blanket, put them in a basket, and then hurl that basket into an automatic meat grinder the size of a small moon."

Sunflower stood in front of Dark and kneeled down until he was eye-height with Flaming Star. Then he murmured, "Ignore him. However, we do have a problem. We may have Dark, but we are not free yet. Our teleportation and portal-jumping abilities have been disabled. That means the Nightmare King has several other things he wants to test us with until he becomes annoyed or tired of our presence."

Suddenly, the sky somehow managed to darken even more, and everyone present felt as if their souls were crying out in pain. The only one who seemed not to be clearly affected was Dark. However, his voice sounded interested.

"Feel how the very soul cries out in horror? The Nightmare King has decided to call upon another pawn to test us."

Pitch black smoke exploded from the earth and boiled around the team, obscuring their view. Dark and Sunflower stood back-to-back while Twilight buried her face in Flaming Star's mane. Rarity and Discord huddled close together.

A voice weaved it way through the shadows, tearing at the tender ears of all listening.

"A grave lies open, silence has been kept, the worms await its host… Come home, my friends, today or ten centuries time… you all will eventually come… home…"

The shadows suddenly turned into tangible tentacles of blackness. These tentacles slowly began to caress the terrified face of Twilight, and wrap around the limbs of Discord. Dark straightened up and laughed outright. "You do not scare me. I have no fear of anything, and that you should know."

The tentacles relinquished Twilight and Discord and turned to face Dark.

"Ahhhh… The warrior. You have been a plentiful source of amusement for my master. In all of the eons since sins induced darkness in the mind and in the dreamscape, no one has seen a being such as you. Your tactics and so… unorthodox. A warrior for good, defeating evil by releasing more shadows from his heart than his adversaries, drowning the dark in the shadows with his bare hands…"

Dark whipped out his hatchet, which sparked to life with unholy power. "That is right. I am the only one able to stare into the abyss, and never blink… EVER."

Dark rushed the tentacles with inhuman speed. In less than a second over a score of the shadow tentacles were smashed into dust.

The voice did not sound even close to pained as it laughed, "You have sealed your own fate then, Dark. Come and joint me in your true home: a shallow grave."

The black inquisitor did not even flinch. "My heart is too drained of light to even deserve a grave. I will lie slain on the battlefield and rot… and I will be content with that."

The darkness dispersed exposing the owner of the myriad of tentacles of blackness: a huge mass of rotting organic material, looking somewhat akin to a cross between a squid and a leech, stood high above the twisted treetops.

It let out a mournful wail, and then the voice spoke within their heads again. "Dark is the only one fit to be here, children. But now I shall let you all rest in the land of oblivion and void."

The tentacles rose in a mass, to strike at the harrowed team, and then another fight began.

Flaming Star slammed two hooves into the ground, pulling up a giant curved wall of stone to protect himself, Twilight, Discord, and Rairty. Rarity the darted out of cover and threw bolts of pure energy (that looked suspiciously like hairpins).

Dark saw this pitiful attack from Rarity and shook his head. "I take it back. I don't want to die here. I want to die alone."

Sunflower pulled out his sniper rifle and fired off a score of perfectly-aimed shot in less than a second. He just glanced at Dark and nodded his head significantly. Though the two hated each other, they could always count on each other in combat.

The two rushed the monster together with Rarity, Discord, and Flaming Star providing cover. The two inquisitors then broke off, flanking the monster. Immediately the nightmarish construct attempted to crush the gnats with hundreds upon hundreds of blade-like tentacles, but the two weathered fighters slipped through its offensive with ease. At that instant Flaming Star superheated the stone wall that was protecting him into lava, and then hurled that lava at the monster. It splashed against the construct of hell, causing a large radius of it to burst into flames, but all it seemingly did was fill the air with the smell of burning flesh.

An extra-large tentacle then exploded from the earth beneath Twilight's hooves, sending her and her friends reeling back. That moment of confusion was all the monster needed: in an instant they were seized by tentacles. However, Sunflower quickly whirled about and released a snap-shot, severing the tentacle binding Flaming Star. Now free, the yellow pony took advantage of his unfettered hooves to unleash a lightning blast that turned the other offending tentacles into charred sticks. In a second Rarity and Discord combined their powers to hurl a blast of water charged with electricity. It splashed against the construct of hell, sending spasms along it. The leech-squid head howled in protest, but the voice that continued to echo in their heads remained calm and sickly-sweet.

"Your home awaits… If I am defeated then time will bring you to me nonetheless…"

The tentacles increased in multitudes, striving to bury the beleaguered heroes, but were driven once more by fire and ice. At this point Dark was standing upon the head of the creature of tentacles, emptying explosive rocket after explosive rocket into its head. However, every time a rocket struck the monster's head, the explosion simply fizzled into sparks… useless.

"This is a first!" exclaimed Dark, leaping off the head, dragging the hatchet across the enemy's head. The leech-squid face spit right in two, exposing pulsing innards, but in a second the thing regenerated almost as if it had never been hurt in the first place.

"And that is a first as well!" exclaimed Dark. He ducked under a bunch of tentacles and severed a hundred more with a shockwave attack from his right fist. "I did not think that was possible! My weapons have no effect!" He did not sound worried. In fact, his voice had an undertone of amusement.

The tentacles rose high into the sky, blocking out the gloomy light emanating from the sickly clouds. They rushed down upon the two inquisitors, a solid wall of doom. But neither Sunflower nor Dark were scared. They quickly fired a focused volley at a specific spot, clearing an opening. As they leapt through the army of tentacles, Dark pulled an Inquisitor Grenade from nowhere. As they dodged the practically undodgeable attack, Dark dropped the grenade. In a second the bomb detonated, consuming the thousands of tentacles in pure destruction.

"You are preventing the inevitable. I am undefeatable in your minds. Come home…" murmured the voice in their heads, still sounding unbothered.

Sunflower suddenly stiffened. "Come home… Undefeatable in our minds… I understand now. Stop fighting."

Dark glanced at Sunflower. "What? I can keep this up for eons, and I have. This thing is too weak to take me down, even if I cannot hurt it myself."

Sunflower shook his head. "We need to give up. We need to let it consume us."

Discord's jaw literally hit the floor. "I… I beg your pardon?! Last time I checked, good sir, giant tarry black tentacles were not on the 'good' list of huggable things!"

"I agree with Discord for once!" cried Rarity, "I refuse to let my mane be mussed up by such fouls appendages!"

Flaming Star said nothing for a moment. Then he looked Sunflower straight in the eyes and said, "Do you know what you are doing?"

Sunflower nodded. "I do."

Flaming Star turned to Twilight, Rarity, and Discord and said, "We need to stop fighting. Let it take us. Do as Sunflower said."

Twilight looked at Flaming Star with wide, questioning eyes for a second, and then nodded wordlessly. She huddled close to him as more tentacles rose to block out the sky. There was a moment of silence that seemed to go on for an eternity… and then they struck. The tentacles buried the team, consuming them all…

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Little Nemo, Oblivion<em>

_Planet: Oblivion_

_Specific Location: The Lone Witness_

_Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer_

Twilight's eyes snapped open, gasping raggedly. She looked around… Her friends… They were all alive. She almost sobbed with relief as she then realized they were all on the shore of that small island in the middle of the Ocean of Oblivion. They had escaped. She then realized that Dark and Sunflower were standing side-by-side off to her left, conversing in hushed tones. She trotted up to Sunflower and gently tapped his armored hand with a hoof. Sunflower glanced at Twilight and said, "Are you okay?"

Twilight nodded her head. "I am! But I have to ask… h-how did you know that was going to work?"

Sunflower shrugged. "When I saw that Dark's hatchet had no effect on that unholy monster, I could not believe it. There is nothing that can stand against that weapon, forged by the Holies. Then I realized that if there was nothing that can stand against that weapon, then what we were fighting must be nothing… It must be an illusion that our minds made real. Then it struck me that if we stopped fighting and let the thing win, it would dissolve when our minds registered its inability to truly harm us. All went according to plan, but all of you passed out from sheer terror. But the Nightmare King became bored after he realized we had escaped the paradox he had set up, and returned us to here."

Twilight sighed. "That's… that's good. Can we go home now?"

Sunflower nodded. "Yes. Let's wake everyone up."

Dark stood to one side as Twilight and Sunflower woke up their friends.

"By my auntie's apron! I'm still alive!" exclaimed Discord joyfully hugging his own body, "I swear never to mess with Princess Luna's dreams ever again!"

"… Or mine either," added Rarity, a little severely, "I hope you remember that one dream with the clown and the tennis ball you gave me. It wasn't funny."

Discord grinned sheepishly. "O-oh! That? I don't remember that at all! You must be hallucinating again…"

Flaming Star coughed loudly. "I think we should save such upcoming arguments for another time. Let's go to Rerenhaw."

Sunflower turned away and activated a portal that led to Rerenhaw. Slowly, the whole group walked (or trotted) through. They were met by Doxia, who was sitting in Mattimeo's chair at the head of the council table.

"Hey! Everyone's back! And look! My least favorite Inquisitor is with them! I hope he didn't accidentally kill anyone!" exclaimed Doxia, getting up and shaking hands (or hooves) with everyone except Dark.

Dark crossed his arms solemnly and said in a gravelly voice, "It matters not. Where is Blue?"

Doxia looked a nearby holographic screen. "You will know soon enough. Sunflower, in a moment you will be returned to full power. Mattimeo is just setting up some things with Blue… Then he will attend to Summer."

"You mean August," snapped Flaming Star, remembering the anger he had been harboring toward Mattimeo and Doxia, "And what's more, you promised to help August, not give him up to Blue."

Doxia suddenly realized that a conflict would soon be rising, but he could do nothing about it. So instead he sighed and replied, "I… am. Mattimeo is giving August a chance to eject Blue from his body and become himself again."

"Wait," Dark interjected abruptly, "You mean that this weakling I am looking at in this screen right now, August, is trying to escape Blue? Fool. He will never be able to do such a thing."

Flaming Star whirled on Dark. "You're the fool. You underestimate the goodness within August. Blue and his hideously evil impulses will not prevail."

Dark laughed. "Goodness? Evil? What filth are you spouting? This is not about good or evil. This is about Rerenhaw assembling the most capable force to eliminate a threat, and that would be us. We greatly apologize that we are not benevolent and righteous like the knights of old, but last time I checked my team and I were the most powerful beings ever to enter into combat aside from that idiot Kytax."

"You think you are powerful, but that is only because people fear you. These is no love, only fear. And thus… you will NEVER be as powerful as beings like Sunset Shadow or Twilight," snarled Flaming Star.

Dark leaned in close. "Let me take my hatchet to Twilight, and then we will see who is truly powerful."

Flaming Star let out a yell, and unleashed a blast of energy powerful enough to vaporize a small planet, all focused in a small burst. However, the moment the energy struck Dark's armor it fizzled away, with no damage done. Dark reached forward and seized Flaming Star by the neck, hoisting him high into the air. Twilight screamed.

Dark was seconds away from snapping Flaming Star's neck like a brittle toothpick… when he was stopped by the tip of a blade pressing into his back. Dark began to chuckle when he realized whose sword that was: it was Doxia's, the most powerful non-angelic weapon in the tri-multiverses.

"You break Flaming Star's neck, and I gut you," muttered Doxia, his voice terrifying in its sternness.

Dark did not relinquish Flaming Star's neck as he replied, "And then what will you do? Find a being to replace me? I am irreplaceable, and even Sunflower will admit that. You are bluffing."

Doxia tightened his grip about his almighty sword. "Try me."

Dark's chuckling turned into a harsh bellowing of laughter. He hurled Flaming Star against a wall and turned to go nose-to-nose with Doxia.

"You fear me and my valuableness, Doxia," said Dark.

"You fear my sword, Dark," replied Doxia, "I am more powerful than you, and you know it."

Dark motioned to the holographic image of Blue and then to Sunflower. "But as a team… We could smite you, Doxia."

Doxia sheathed his blade. It an instant the weapon of power shimmered out of existence. "You forget that you are not the only one with a team."

Doxia then turned to Twilight, Flaming Star, Discord, and Rarity. "You four… I cannot thank you enough. You have done incredible things. I am sorry that we have to part in this manner."

Rarity actually gave Doxia a huge smile. "Oh, don't worry your head about it dear! We shall just be running along! I postponed all of my other responsibilities indefinitely, but I do believe it will be for the best if I run along now. Farewell, my love!"

Flaming Star looked at Doixa and murmured, "Thank you… for trying to save August."

Doxia looked to Flaming Star. His voice was quiet, and drained of all joy. "You make it sound like August has already failed… But he has yet to face him internal demon. August may be victorious yet."

"I will not be led by a foolish boy, wearing Blue's armor as a mockery of our past," snarled Dark.

Sunflower turned on his comrade as well. "You respect power Dark. And if August wins, then Blue has given August back his body because he respects the boy's power. And if Blue respects August's power, then you will as well, and you know it."

Dark stepped back into the shadows.

Doxia then turned to gently pat Twilight's head. "Right, I suppose you all need to get going. I understand that this was not really the climatic revelation you were hoping for… But that is how real life generally is. I appreciate all that you have done for me, but, as I said before, it is time for you to go. I do not know when I will be back to visit you guys… if ever. But I want you all to know: I am looking out for you four. In fact, I am looking out for everyone in your dimension."

Twilight smiled brightly, now recovered from the shock of Dark attacking her husband. "Thank you Doxia."

Discord just winked, and then snapped a finger. A portal back to the My Little Pony dimension opened up, and he hopped through. He was followed by Rarity, Twilight, and Flaming Star. The portal closed with a "pop" and silence regained control of the empty halls of Rerenhaw.

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><p><strong>Notes: I will mention that I initially was not satisfied with the ending... but then I realized that the second season never really revolved around this team. It was always about Summer, Lyric, August, Gene, and Jefferson. And thus, I will say that it most certainly came full circle and exited the loop with style. I hope to employ even more ponies in the next part of the second season (and I do believe many of you will be happy with who I bring). Now the end is near! Once again I will mention my appreciation for all of your support! I really need it. Again, thank you! Now, I will mention that I have actually written all the chapters from here to the finale for this part of the season. So, I have a question: do you guys want me to update twice every week (Tuesdays and Fridays) until we reach the end, or do you want me to continue with posting once every week? Let me know!<strong>


	132. Chapter 132 - Into a Lake

**Notes: Hello everyone! I suppose that we will be staying with the post-once-a-week schedule. Anyway, I assume that all of you can see this whole section winding down. What will happen? Read on to find out!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Stallion Empire, The Frozen North_

_Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer_

Summer desperately felt around with her hoof, looking for a familiar feeling: Lyric. Tears almost immediately exploded from her eyes as she felt the warm feeling of Lyric's mane come in contact with her muzzle. She quickly wrapped her hooves around Lyric and burst into tears. He ears were still ringing from the gunshots, and her nose was clogged with the smell of spilled blood and fevered sweat.

"Lyric!" she sobbed, "I was so scared… I AM so scared!"

Lyric gently stroked her mane. He was absolutely terrified, and was trembling all over like a leaf, but he tried to sound strong all the same, "It's… It's… It's okay…"

Summer tipped her head upward, her sightless eyes scouring Lyric's face. "Will it?"

Lyric suddenly broke down sobbing as well. "No!" he cried, "I killed those two in cold blood! I'm so sorry!"

The two foals broke down in tears, surrounded by dead bodies bleeding out into the once white snow. For a whole hour the two ponies cried their hearts out, releasing their pain and trouble in a constant flow of salty tears. Even after they had cried all that they could, the two foals remained huddled together, hugging each other as if they never wanted to let go. Snowfall began, and drifts of frost began to build up around the two before Summer finally spoke.

"Lyric… I… I hear something."

Lyric would have given a sob out of pure frustration, but he had cried his last. "What is it?"

"It's an engine. I hear rough voices too. I think they might be more terrorists or soldiers," Summer replied meekly. Her voice was drained of strength and joy.

Lyric sighed in resignation, he too was just as tired. "Summer… Do you want to give up? We can just lay here any let them shoot us. I mean, it won't hurt. And even if it does, it will only hurt for a little while. Then we can be happy together in a different life."

Summer nuzzled Lyric's mane even more. "Happy… That word sounds so foreign now. But Lyric… I… I think we should keep fighting."

Lyric opened an eye and looked at Summer curiously. "You want to keep fighting?"

Summer nodded, and though her voice lacked all strength, her words were strong. "Yes. We cannot give up. We are so close. But I think it is all up to you. We can either lay here and wait for death to come to us - I will follow you to death's door - or we can get up and try racing for a haven… one… last… time…"

That last phrase suddenly sent an incredibly powerful jolt of power through Lyric's veins. He struggled to all fours, but then toppled over. However, an instant later he shoved himself up and wobbled over to where the Stallion Empire Military's abandoned armored vehicle lay. He slowly opened one of the heavily dented doors and crawled inside. He gently turned the key (which some idiot had left in the ignition) and was shocked to hear the rumble of the engine sparking to life. A miracle to say the least, since clearly the duo had never known anything related to good luck.

Summer poked her head in, her hooves feeling around the interior so that she could get an idea of what the inside looked like. "Ummm… Lyric? What are you doing?"

Lyric turned to Summer, a new spark of hope in his eyes. "You said there were more ponies coming up behind us in a vehicle, right? Well, we could never hope to outrun them, so why not use this?"

Hope suddenly lit up Summer's face. "You are right! This could work!"

However, the moment the word "work" left Summer's mouth, a gunshot went off, echoing through the wind-chilled sky. Lyric glanced in the vehicle's rear-view mirror and saw the armored car that Summer had heard several minutes ago rushing past the tree line into the snow-covered field where Lyric and Summer were. From the looks of it, the newcomers were Trixie's Hoof terrorists, and the sight of two living ponies sitting inside a Stallion Empire Military car was more than enough cause for them to completely open up fire.

Bullets whizzed around Summer and Lyric, and several thudded (almost harmlessly) into the metal plating that surrounded the duo.

"Go! Go!" cried Summer, adrenaline pumping through her veins once more, "We can take it through the forest and head towards the valley!"

"R-right!" exclaimed Lyric. He slammed a hoof down on the gas pedal, and the care jerked away with a roar of the engine. The vehicle skidded, slipped, and bumped roughly as Lyric attempted (horrendously) to perform a zig-zag maneuver.

"Y-you know how to drive right?" shouted Summer, trying to be heard over the wind that was pouring through the massive shattered windshield.

"Sure! I mean, yes! I mean, maybe! Probably! Not really! No! I don't!" shouted Lyric in return, "The steering wheel and the steering hydraulics system must both be damaged! I cannot hold it straight!"

Summer leaned over until her head was resting against Lyric's exposed chest. She then reached forward with her frontal hooves and seized the steering wheel as well.

"I'll help you hold it!" she cried.

"What?!" roared Lyric, still struggling to be heard as the wind and the gunshots from the enemies increased in decibels, "You're blind!"

"I can see that!" exclaimed Summer, no longer in the mood to stall or argue, "We cannot argue right now! Just tell me what direction to turn and we can force the vehicle to perform as it should!"

Lyric bit his bottom lip hard, but it was practically frozen from the icy wind blowing in his face and kept it from cracking and bleeding too bad. "A-alright! On my count, we are going to turn left, and then right again! One… Two… Three!"

Summer and Lyric wrenched the broken steering wheel left and then right in perfect unison. The armored car they had commandeered skidded past two trees, narrowly missed a third, and shot straight into the forest. The pursuing car shot straight into the tree line as well, not wavering, and firing bullets all the way.

"Hey Summer! I take it back! This is totally how I want to die!" shouted Lyric, "Not lying in the cold waiting to be executed… But here! In a hot care chase! Turn left!"

"I kind of preferred the quiet death myself!" exclaimed Summer, feeling excited for the first time in quite a while, "But I digress… Just make sure you don't get yourself all over me when this car explodes and blows you up! I prefer to be beside you when I die, not covered in you!"

"Thanks for that image, Summer! I could say the exact same about you! I've heard rumors that the passenger seat is the most dangerous seat to be in during a car ride! Turn right!"

"That's hilarious, and I don't believe you! See this face? This is my 'I don't believe a word Lyric says' face!"

"I can't see it! But I bet it looks exactly like your 'my backside is caught in a narrow space and I need Lyric's help to push me out' face! Okay, hold! Now! Turn left!"

"I thought you promised to never bring that one incident up again!"

Summer moved her head back lightly, bopping his chin. Lyric grimaced and said, "Very well! If we don't die within the next ten seconds, I will hereto never mention that one incident ever again."

"That's a very specific number of seconds," said Summer, twisting her head to give Lyric's features a sweep with her blind eyes, "What is straight ahead of us?"

Lyric gritted his teeth. "A huge fallen tree! TURN LEFT! NOW!"

Lyric and Summer wrenched the steering wheel left with all their might. Though they were just foals, their united strength was enough, and the front wheels of their disheveled and bullet-filled car whipped to the left. The car skidded, fish-tailed, and the shot off to their left.

"We're still not out of the red yet!" cried Lyric, "Turn right!"

Lyric and Summer did so, and the car pulled a sharp right, continuing on its original path to the valley that the two foals so desperately sought. Lyric took a moment to glance in his rear-view mirror.

"A missile launcher?" he cried as he saw what was being loaded on to the top of the vehicle that was still in hot pursuit of them, "Where did they get that!? Sharp right!"

Summer shook her head, still too much in the element of the chase to be worried. "I agree. That's cheating." She then wrenched the steering wheel to the right with Lyric just as the terrorists fired a missile.

The projectile struck a tree and exploded into a fiery plume of red and orange. Splinters flew every which way, and the tree toppled to the ground in sparks with a resounding crash. A second earlier and that devastating aftermath would have ended up occurring in the interior of Lyric and Summer's getaway car.

"They have to load the missile manually," reported Lyric, "That buys us time. Their driver sure as heck knows what he is doing… We need to find a way to shake them!"

"I agree!" gasped Summer, her head sore and buzzing from the loud explosion that had occurred behind them, "But how?!"

"If we can get them to think we died… Or cause a distraction… We can get away!" mused Lyric loudly. He then glanced behind him and blanched. "Second missile loaded! We are going to skid around this tree ahead on my mark! Three… Two… One… TURN LEFT!"

The two foals quickly did so, and then just as quickly turned right. The vehicle fish-tailed once more as it shot around the extra-large tree with surprising ease. A moment later the second missile was launched, and it struck the tree that two foals had just skidded around. The explosion blew the trunk of the poor tree clean away in fire and sparks with a resounding bang. The tree began to smoke and then tottered, and then began to fall slowly down in the direction Lyric and Summer were driving. In short, in a few second the getaway car was going to be crushed.

"Lyric! Look behind you!" yelled Summer, "I hear the tree falling and I think it is falling this way!"

Lyric glanced behind him and saw their impending doom moments away. No words were spoken… for they were too late. The tree rumbled in defeating tones as it tumbled earthward to crush the car into a pulp. Then it stopped. Lyric (who was actually still steering their car) opened one eye slowly and saw a miracle: The tree, it was hovering in the air. Still doing his best to drive like a maniac and look behind him, Lyric gasped. "Summer… Are you…?"

He glanced at Summer. Her front hooves had left the steering wheel and were now glowing with power, and her eyes were closed. Her powers had kicked in one more time to prevent their death at the hands of nature. Summer then opened her eyes and let out a long breath just as their car shot out of the range of the huge falling tree. No longer impeded by the powers of Summer, the tree finally did fall… Crushing the entire pursing terrorist vehicle beneath it. The only pony to escape from being crushed to a pulp was the terrorist driver, who shot out of the windshield and smashed into a nearby snow-covered rock. He slid to the ground, dazed. Summer actually gave Lyric a satisfied smile, before going back to assisting him in holding their course steady. Lyric had managed to find a somewhat clear pathway amidst the thick trees, and he was now sending their car careening down it.

Lyric glance behind him and chuckled in relief. "Their car is downed. I can see the driver getting up and scrambling to save some of the weapons from it! Just look at his face! That is most certainly a picture of frustration! I haven't seen such a frustrated face since you were…"

"Um, Lyric?" interrupted Summer, quietly, "I hear water ahead. A lot of it. I think we are heading straight for…"

It was too late. Lyric and Summer had been so caught up in their escape that they did not see they were approaching a small cliff that dropped off into a huge tree-protected lake below.

Lyric had enough time to turn around and see them rapidly running out of ground to drive on.

"Oops."

The car shot straight off the edge and fell a hundred meters through the air before coming to rest with a resounding splash in the icy-cold lake. In an instant Lyric and Summer were tossed through the broken windshield and into the water, with the shock of collision of flesh with water knocking them both out cold. No pony was there to watch as the disheveled ponies floated in the water, unconscious, as their trusty vehicle gave one last bubbling sigh before it was consumed by the freezing depths below.

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><p><em>Dimension: Dreamscape<em>

_Planet: Dreamscape_

_Specific Location: Dreamscape_

_Time: Unknown_

Summer opened her eyes sharply and sat up. She gasped softly as she realized that she was in a dreamscape. She had almost forgotten what one felt and smelled like. Her heart began to beat rapidly as she suddenly remembered that she had to be placed into a dreamscape by another being, and generally that being was…

"Mattimeo?" asked Summer quietly, moving her head side to side as if visually searching for her "imaginary" friend.

There was a pause, then…

"I am here, Summer," came the voice of Mattimeo.

Summer let out a cry of joy. She then rushed towards Mattimeo's voice to nuzzle her friend. She wrapped her hooves around one of his legs and pressed her cheek against the cold metal protecting Mattimeo's limb. Mattimeo gently stroked her mane as he sat down and placed Summer on his lap. The next twelve minutes were spent in complete silence, with Summer hugging Mattimeo, and Mattimeo stroking Summer's mane.

Finally Summer spoke. "Last thing I remember… I was in the water. Then everything went black. Mattimeo? Am I going to be okay? Is Lyric going to be okay?"

Mattimeo patted her head solemnly. "It is indeed. There are ponies rowing out to save you two right now."

Summer gave Mattimeo's hand a gentle lick. "Oh good. I was worried about that. Now that I know I am not going to end up a frozen ice cube at the bottom of some random lake… How are you? I know that the rest of the Rerenhaw Council has been giving you a hard time… but… Mattimeo?"

Summer looked upwards at Mattimeo's face, her blank eyes full of questioning. "Mattimeo? Are you okay?"

Mattimeo sighed loud and long. "I suppose. Summer, I have something to ask of you."

Summer cocked her head to one side. "Okay… What is it?"

"Summer… Your abilities… Inquisitor Sunflower's abilities specifically… I need them," Mattimeo said, his voice tense.

Summer considered what Mattimeo said for a bit, then she said, "Will me losing my powers push me away from Lyric?"

Mattimeo patted her head. "No."

Summer nodded. "Then I do not know why you sound so tense! I do not need these strange things muddling up my life. All I want to do is settle down in peace, preferable really close to Lyric."

Mattimeo began to chuckle lightly, for the first time in several days (since his last dreamscape meeting with Summer, incidentally). "I understand. Then I have your full permission to draw them from your DNA sequences and restore them to their original owner?"

Summer gently tapped Mattimeo's arm. "Of course. But Mattimeo… What happened? When those military ponies were going to rape me, I thought for sure you would come and protect me like last time! What happened?"

Mattimeo sighed again. "I am powerful, but there is an enemy that is just as powerful that wants to stop me. He managed to do just that that time. But it will not happen again. I will be sending you a fleet of the most powerful of my ships, cloaked in invisibility and wrought with power... they will ensure you are never in danger again."

Summer thought about what Mattimeo said for a very long time... and then she looked up and said, "No, Mattimeo. I do not want them."

Mattimeo looked at Summer curiously. "Summer?"

Summer shook her head. "I... I... I don't want any more protection. Just the thought of these invisible flying... things... Looking over my shoulder every second of the day. I... I don't want that."

"Summer, I understand what you are saying, but are you willing to give up this protection in the face of danger?"

"I suppose... I suppose so. Undoubtedly you saves us... and I know if time really calls for it you may save me again... But Lyric and I have proven ourselves capable of protecting ourselves against the worst of the worst. We need to learn to make the best out of what we have been given. Please Mattimeo... This is what I want. Jut Lyric and I working together to survive. It may sound so strange to want this kind of life... But it is the only life I remember, and it is how I want it."

For at least five minutes Mattimeo looked upon Summer in silence. Then, finally, he said, "Very well. I will respect your wishes, but I will never sever my communications from you. And now... I must leave you, for you are about to be awakened in the real world."

Mattimeo set Summer down, ran his fingers through her mane affectionately one last time, and then gently tapped her nose. Summer felt a small part of her mind suddenly jolt, and clear, as if a corner of her mind that had always been shrouded by a heavy veil had been exposed to sunlight. Sunflower's Inquisitor DNA sequences had been drawn out of her very body via a dreamscape transaction. Mattimeo patted her cheek and then got up to leave. However, he only had gone forward a couple steps before he froze, and then slowly turned about to face Summer again.

"Summer," he murmured, "I know where and who your parents are. Do you want to know who they are?"

Summer gasped softly, and her mind began to boil with a multitude of thoughts. Her parents? Who were they? Would they want to meet her again? Did they love her? Would they love her when they saw her…?

Summer looked down at her hooves, then up at Mattimeo. There was a moment of silence…

"No."

Mattimeo slightly cocked his head to one side. "No?"

Summer nodded, and then sighed, her face the picture of confusion. "I mean… I mean… no."

Mattimeo slowly walked up to Summer, got down on one knee, and held Summer's chin in his right palm. "Summer… These are your parents we are talking about… I cannot take you to them because of the sanctions placed on this dimension, but I can give you their identity, and then aid you in returning to them."

Summer sighed once more, loud and long. "No Mattimeo. I don't want to know about them."

"Why?"

Summer looked down at her hooves, her mind muddled. Then a single resolution sparked within her brain. "I don't want them to see me as what I have become. If you were watching me in that car chase, I crushed all those ponies to death with a tree. And before that… I used an energy beam to destroy another group of terrorists. I've killed ponies and never given the ramifications any thought."

Mattimeo shook his head. "It matters not. Your parents will love you no matter what. I have indeed seen the things you have done, but I love you nonetheless."

Summer nodded. "Perhaps, but I do not think I can love myself now, knowing that I have done this. Perhaps they will love me, and perhaps we will be happy together, but it all counts for nothing if I cannot be happy with myself and find forgiveness. I may be interested in finding out who they are… after this is all over. When I have settled down in these northern mountains and found myself, then maybe I will hear what you have to say. But until then… well… this is my home. Lyric is all I need. Let us be happy together for a little bit longer. Together. Just the two of us."

Mattimeo got up. "Your decision is yours. I understand perfectly what you want to do, and I will respect that. Goodbye Summer… I will not return for some time. But remember this: I care for you."

Summer nodded her head. "I know."

Mattimeo turned about and began to walk off, but before he had gone more than a meter he was stopped by something again. This time it was Summer's voice.

"Mattimeo!" she cried.

Mattimeo paused and looked over his shoulder, prompting her to speak.

Summer fidgeted a bit, and then looked up at Mattimeo with huge, round, sightless eyes that sparkled. "Did my parents… did my parents love me?"

Mattimeo chuckled. "More than you can even comprehend. Goodbye."

Mattimeo opened a portal out of the realm of the mind and hopped through. The instant the portal closed the dreamscape was terminated, and Summer was shoved roughly back into the harsh reality that was the northern mountains of the Stallion Empire.

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><p><strong>Notes: Personally, the story surrounding Lyric and Summer is my favorite by far. The connection they share, and the personal developments they have been experiencing is the type of quality work I love to churn out. That's not to say that I do not enjoy writing the other parts (especially considering how awesome the August-Jefferson-Gene-Radiance fights are) but Lyric and Summer's adventures is what I like to see in a story currently. Anyway, please leave a review! I would be interested to see what you all have to say about this. And here is something I would like to know: which team was your favorite? Lyric and Summer? August, Gene, Jefferson, and Radiance? Twilight, Flaming Star, Rarity, and Discord? Let me know! And if you do let me know, I shall give you a voucher for a free air-bending lesson, because Heaven knows there are not enough air-benders in this world.<strong>


	133. Chapter 133 - The Last Artifact

**Note: Hello again! I am pleased to bring you another chapter. Two more and this part of the season will be completed! I will say now that though this section of "A Mending Soul" was not my favorite of them all, it was definitely the deepest. The personality-developing of the characters in this part was wonderful, and I reveled in being able to work on each character so intricately. Now on to replying to some reviews! To Super Vegito: I think I may have squeezed in some "over 9000" jokes in there somewhere. The main reason I have not referenced Dragon Ball Z is because I have only seen a dozen or so episodes of the first season. I need a more extensive understanding before I drop some random beings in the Dragon Ball Z dimension. It will happen sooner or later though. Keep an eye on it! To Salvadorian Moose: Ahhhh... Regal Crescent. The only guy to get immediate fame... And I killed him. Just my luck, right? To madmanwithafork: yes! Clone Troopers would work. They always knew what they were doing. To FocusedStream: I am glad you love Summer, I do , and then there's Lyric. He's cool too. You are the Avatar? I thought I was the Avatar! Well, that is all for now. I hope you enjoy this chapter! It is especially long.**

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><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: The Tower, Upper Realm_

_Time: Well over a week after Lyric found Summer_

The metallic mantid fired a rocket from its should-mounted rocket-launcher. The red-hot bolt of explosive destruction rocketed forward to snuff out the lives of Gene, Radiance, and Jefferson. However, Gene abruptly shoved a hand out from the pile of dazed bodies and snapped a finger. A wall of earth rose in front of them, and the missile struck it and detonated. The explosion tore the wall apart and sent the beleaguered trio tumbling backwards from the impact of the blast. The mantid screeched again and shot forward with terrible speed. Jefferson managed to scramble to his knees (with one of Radiance's legs still pretty much wrapped around his neck) and hurled a couple throwing knives. One of the blades was shattered into metal shards by a sweeping attack from the mantid, but the other speared a servo that connected one of its bag limbs, causing the metal horror to stumble. It was perfectly timed, for the instant the machine stumbled was the exact moment it fired off another rocket. This one spiraled off and missed Jefferson's head by a centimeter, causing his top hat to blow off. The missile spiraled wildly and then struck a pile of shipping containers. The explosion sent flaming scraps of metal high into the air with trails of dark smoke, and caused the entire tower of containers to sway with ominous creaking.

Despite its stumble, the mantid was nowhere near put out by the damage it had just received. After regaining its balance, the machine rushed forward, covering the gap between itself and Jefferson and his friends in seconds. August was still buried beneath a pile of heavy metal pipes. Jefferson threw another knife, but it was batted out of the way. Then the praying mantis was on top of Jefferson. The mantid struck at the man's face, seeking to tear it off, but Jefferson whipped out a long dagger, blocking the attack. The mantid immediately followed up by swinging its other serrated frontal limb in the other direction, but Gene called upon his Dimensional Traveler powers, causing a nearby pile of metal plating to contort and transform into a tentacle that then proceeded to harshly wrap around the mantid's free tibial spines. This impeded its movement for only a second, for the mantid ripped through the metal with ease, but the iron medium managed to slow the attack just enough for Jefferson to flip his head backwards, dodging the attack. Jefferson then flicked a foot upward. A small steel blade shot from the sole of his shoe, spearing the mantid in its chin. The mantid's eye lights flickered, but kept lit. The attack only managed to make it madder. The rocket launcher turned to shoot Gene, who was struggling to untangle himself from Jefferson and Radiance without hurting them. It fired. With a yell, Gene created an energy bubble around the missile, causing it to detonate within the small shield. The bubble of power cracked and dissolved in the subsequent blast, but it prevented the attack from doing serious damage aside from singing the group's faces. The mantid attempted to slice Jefferson's head off again with its free limb, but Jefferson had pulled out his dirk with his free hand as well and managed to block this attack as well. Jefferson grunted as he dual-wielded his blades, desperately trying to fight off the killer machine. The rocket launcher began to glow as it charged up for another attack. Radiance suddenly jerked up and dashed forward with inhuman speed. She leapt forward and shoved the rocket launcher back, forcing it to look skyward. The missile fired and shot into the air. The explosive projectile shot into the air in a shower of sparks. It rose at least a couple kilometers into the air before exploding in the sky, filling the air with a large firework of flame and sparks. The reddish glow from the blast illuminated the dark surroundings, showing the group their surroundings.

August (or perhaps Blue) was up, and he was firing his Inquisitor Blaster expertly at some shadows that were racing down to consume him. MORE metal praying mantises were on the way to murder them.

The mantid assaulting Jefferson smashed its face into the mercenary's, dazing him. As the man fell back the mantid rushed Radiance, who had prevented it from blowing Gene's face away with a rocket. In a second it had her on her back. It raised both frontal limbs to gut her. Gene (who was now under the mantid, having been trampled by it) took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then his eyes snapped open and a long stream of fizzling energy exploded from his irises. The twin beams sliced through the metathorax, superheating the armor plating and sending sparks sky-high. With a chittering shriek, the metal mantid collapsed into a pile of useless electronics and metals.

"I know it is too late to say this," groaned Jefferson, rubbing his bruised face, "But you probably should have started with that."

Gene clawed at his eyeballs, which were pouring out stinging smoke. "Heat vision is literally the most stupid power to ever give a human," he replied groggily, "I cannot see at all for about a minute, and then it takes at least five more minutes for my vision to correct itself."

Radiance struggled to her feet and ignored the searing pain in her back as she helped Gene up on her own volition. "We need to move," she breathed.

Jefferson glanced behind him and blanched. Hundreds of those killer praying mantis robots were scrabbling across the piles of abandoned resources to get at them. In a couple minutes they would be overrun and dead. "I cannot agree more. We need to get to the elevator."

Jefferson then turned to where August (who was clearly transformed into Blue now) was tearing the heads off two robot mantids near the base of the giant skeletal tower. "BLUE! ELEVATOR! NOW!"

Blue glanced at them, actually acknowledging a request from his "allies." He shot another assaulting mantid at point-blank range and then dashed over to the elevator. He ripped out the other half of the twin sliding doors that protected the interior of the elevator with ease and stood there like a sentinel. Jefferson scrabbled over to the opening, supporting the wounded Radiance and the momentarily-blind Gene.

"August," gasped Gene, "We need to go up. Hurry!"

"August is gone," stated Blue in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, "You have seen the last of him. But nonetheless, my armor is up there, so I see some use in taking this path."

Gene eyes were burning, and he was in too much pain to reply. All he gave was a strangled sigh. Blue tore out the interior control panel of the elevator and fiddled with the wires. His armored fingers flew across the wires and circuit board. Just as a mantid readied itself to lunge at the huddled group within the elevator a small spark shuddered through the whole structure of the metal box. Then, with a grinding roar of gears, the elevator rocketed upward at ridiculous speeds. Jefferson fell to his knees from the acceleration, but managed to drag his body over to the elevator door. Scrabbling at metallic wall to prevent himself from being sucked out by the air rushing past, Jefferson looked out. To his dismay he saw the metal praying mantises were scaling the building face below with ease, and their rate of ascent matched (or perhaps was even greater) than Jefferson and his friend's rate of ascent.

"Hey! Guys! I think we have a problem!" yelled Jefferson over the wind howling outside, "I may be hallucinating – which could definitely by a completely viable explanation for this, mind you – but I do believe that those giant bugs are gaining on us!"

Blue suddenly produced an Inquisition Grenade from the palm of his hand. "This grenade will most certainly destabilize a section of this tower, but no one will notice I am sure."

"No!" cried Gene. If he could not see anything but big blue dots he would have tried to swipe the weapon away from Blue, but in his current state all he could do was protest. "If you destroy the tower you eliminate the only way for us to get down!"

"Yeeeahhhh… Great plan, Blue. I never knew you were one of those 'one-way-ticket for the win' type of guys!" snorted Jefferson.

Blue looked at the protesting group quietly. "I never was putting my course of action up to debate."

Blue then primed the grenade and tossed it gently out of the elevator. In an instant the planetary gravitation and the air resistance from the rushing wind slowed the relative velocity of the device leaving it far behind in the wake of the elevator. Blue had calculated all of the variables perfectly, and device detonated just as the metal mantids were rushing past its path down in their race to ascend beside the getaway elevator. A bright blast of blue energy rippled outward from the grenade, consuming a huge amount of the attacking robots and a large portion of the support beams that lined the elevator that Blue and his team was riding to the sky above. The rippling bubble of blue light grew to a formidable radius, froze in space for an instant, and then collapsed inward, crushing anything surrounded by its blue aura into a space the size of a proton… this included said support beams. With an ominous groan, the entire skeleton of the building the elevator was scaling began to sway. Jefferson blanched as a mass of twisted metal and wires that fell in an avalanche passed the open doorway of the elevator to shatter into metallic shards on a large pylon below. The skeletal tower swayed once more, contorting the form of its body and causing even more support beams to be destroyed via snapping, breaking, and bending. The rumbling noise that denoted the structural failure of the tower became accompanied by snapping, shattering, twanging, and breaking sounds.

However, none of this was what truly concerned the team (aside from Blue). The true component of this massive disaster that was most prevalent was the fact that the elevator was speeding up even more, forcing everyone to their stomachs, and causing Radiance to black out in her extremely strained state.

"Why… is… the… elevator… still… speeding… uuuuupppppp…?" gasped Jefferson, who could barely be heard over the howling of the wind outside.

Blue (who was still standing straight and tall) looked down at his compatriot. "This transportation device we are currently riding is not just an elevator. It is a rocket-powered slingshot."

At that very moment a distorted, corrupted electronic voice crackled out from the rusty speaker system overhead. It was so grimy and full of static that it could not be determined whether it was a male or female speaking.

"Optimal slingshot velocity reached. Prepare to activate rocket boosters for exiting sequence in three… two… one… go."

Blue calmly reached into the exposed panel beside him and twisted two broken copper wires together. A spark danced along the length of the conjoined wires… and then…

A massive plume of fire and thick smoke erupted from beneath the elevator, causing every single conscious being (aside from Blue) to gasp in pain and then black out. Blue looked carefully out of the opened doors of the "elevator" to see the transportation device he was riding reach the very top of the immensely tall skeletal tower… and then shoot straight out of it. With the velocity it had reached from the rocket boosters, the elevator practically soared from its slot in the tower like a bullet from the barrel of a gun. In less than a second the tower was obscured by a heavy mist. Blue glanced upward, and then cocked his head to one side. His inquisitor intuition was telling him something approached. In an instant he recognized what it was and took a knee, bracing himself. The elevator smashed into something earthy and plowed straight through. Loose dirt and roots tumbled around the open door of the elevator and covered the unconscious bodies of Radiance, Gene, and Jefferson in a fine dust.

Abruptly the sound of gears grinding together emanated from above, and the sound of drilling soon accompanied it. For a whole minute this cacophony echoed in the elevator. Then there was silence. Blue reached up and gently tapped the roof of the elevator. A loud hiss, followed by steam, shot from the roof and the top opened up to reveal a metal ladder that lowered itself to the ground. A little bit of loose dirt tumbled after it.

Blue glanced at his downed friends and then climbed the ladder. In a second he found himself in a beautiful garden… that was floating high in the air. Blue realized what had happened with the elevator. The device he and his teammates had gotten into to escape the robotic mantids was not just an elevator, it was a personnel-transporting rocket. The rocket had used the elevator to accelerate itself to maximum velocity before using rocket fuel to give itself a final boost. The elevator then shot out of the tower like a bullet to smash into the underside of the Power Garden (which, incidentally, was an actual garden). A drill that had been mounted on the topside of the elevator then activated, which then drilled through said underside of the Power Garden until the personnel within the elevator could climb through a hatch and climb onto the top surface of the floating island. The most prominent feature of the Power Garden was a massive tree, easily the width of the Taj Mahal and the height of the Shanghai Tower. Aside from that… there was pretty much nothing aside from crisp, fresh grass stretching in all directions. The only other defining feature was a small elm tree all alone to Blue's right.

Blue quietly looked around, and then froze. His instincts were bothering him again, but this time he felt it was a whole lot worse than an unexpected collision. A metallic mantid exploded from the earth with a screech and attempted to grab Blue's leg. Blue smashed its head in with a foot with ease. As the lightspark died from the robot's eyes, Blue inspected his assailant. This mantid seemed different from the others. Its face was disfigured, and was covered in even more grim, dirt, and rust than those that attacked him far below. Then he realized something: these mantids had been on this garden long before his comrades and he had. They must have been part of the initial invasion force, preparing to attack any defenders of the garden, only to finally get shut down on the last leg of their journey. They must have lain in the very spots they had fallen for untold years, slowly getting buried by the ever-shifting earth, but somewhere along the line of the decomposition they must have reactivated… Ready for a victim for them to kill.

In an instant six more of the disfigured and dismembered metal mantids rose from the earth, screeching their defiance to the skies. Blue quickly smashed the first two with a fist. Blue then flipped high into the air, dodging a rocket blast that had sought to blow a hole in his back. In midair Blue fired his gun, decimating the rocket-firing mantid. Just as he hit the ground three more mantids rushed him with shocking speed. But none was quicker than Blue.

Blue shot one and then grabbed another with alacrity, tearing off its head and one of its frontal limbs before tossing it away. The last mantid shrieked and then fired a rocket. Blue literally caught the rocket and snapped it into two, disarming the explosive package inside. The mantid did not care. With a hiss it rushed Blue. Blue dodged its swinging attacks and then rammed the frontal limb he had ripped from the attacking mantid's fallen comrade into the enemy's chest. The mantid sparked and sputtered and then fell to the ground. It shrieked weakly and turned its rocket launcher slowly towards Blue's face. Blue roughly stomped down on the weapon just as it began to glow. The rocket inside the rocket launcher detonated, blowing the mantid up and detonating the robot itself simultaneously. The result was a humongous explosion that tore through the earth and scorched the grass to nothing. However, the momentary inferno did nothing to faze or harm Blue.

Blue straightened up and looked around. There were no more enemies alive to attack him. Slowly Blue strolled away from the elevator (and the smoking crater that marked the last resting place of that foolish robotic mantid) to find his chest piece and helmet. However, he had only gone a couple steps when someone called out behind him.

"H-hey! Blue! Wait up!"

It was Jefferson. Rubbing his sore head, Jefferson stumbled towards Blue and collapsed on the ground.

"Someone should have told us that that elevator was a freaking rocket ship," he grumbled, "Would it have been too much trouble to simply put up a small warning sign?"

"Go back to your friends," said Blue, "Let me collect my armor."

"Radiance and Gene are fine," replied Jefferson, "Sleeping like babies. Come on Blue, I need to ensure I see this all to journey's end."

"This journey was never yours to begin with," murmured Blue, "In fact, you have never truly dispelled the reason why you chose to accompany us."

Jefferson shook his head. "I am a mercenary! In fact, that is the very reason why I wanted to help. Being a mercenary means I have done some things I am less than proud of… I have done some things I have sworn never to tell my daughter or my wife about… Those regrets tear at me. I want to help alleviate some of those regrets by helping someone rise to fight for the greater good: you."

Blue looked at Jefferson quietly. "I have murdered countless innocents in pursuit of Amethyst's targets, and I have never harbored regrets once. You are weak Jefferson."

Blue turned around and strolled off towards the lone elm tree, standing sentinel above a sea of grass. Jefferson looked down at his feet for a moment, and then followed from a respectful distance. Blue walked up to the tree and strolled around where he found something interesting lying in the grass (just as his instincts had told him): his chest piece, helmet… and a rotting, bisected skeleton.

Jefferson slowly peeked around Blue. "That is a skeleton. Oh my gosh… Could that be the ruler of the Upper Realm?"

Blue gently tapped a finger bone of the skeleton. It crumbled to dust. "Undoubtedly. This is the last resting place of Narvix Cosmospredominate."

Blue then looked at the tree trunk that the head of the long-deceased king was lying on. There were words carved deeply and cleanly into the trunk.

"Power always ends this way. ~Blue."

"I remember this now," whispered Blue, tracing the carving with his armored fingers, "This was a message to myself in case I came back. And what was odd is that I carved that into the tree eons before the Upper Realm Ruler died… I knew Narvix would meet his end here, at the height of his power."

Jefferson reached forward and took the masked helmet of Blue in his hands. He looked at the deep, acute, black T-visor and let out a breath. "So much power…"

Blue turned to Jefferson. "Give me the helmet."

Jefferson turned to reluctantly hand off the piece of equipment… then the ground began to shake. The massive combustion of that last robot mantid has somehow tipped the balance (to borrow the colloquialism) of structural integrity, and now half of the power garden was slowly falling apart. Only seconds had passed, but already massive chunks of earth were breaking away from the floating island and falling far, far, far below. The only thing that was not affected by the destruction was the massive tree in the center of the power garden.

"Oh my God," breathed Jefferson, "The elevator is still stuck on the underside of this thing! If we don't rescue Radiance and Gene from it, it will fall… taking them with it!"

Jefferson dashed forward to without another moment of hesitation to rescue his friends, but he had only gone several meters forward when he tripped… and the earth below his feet gave way. With a startled yell Jefferson tumbled through the yawning hole and was gone.

Blue just stood there, staring at his helmet and his chest armor. All he needed to do was grab it and then go off to the elevator. Though Jefferson was gone, he could still rescue the two "acquaintances" trapped in the elevator after he retrieved his armor. However, just as took a step towards the armor, a massive chasm appeared at his feet, blocking his approach. Blue shrugged; it was large, but he could cross it. But just as he prepared to leap across the void, more rumbling filled the air. Blue glanced behind him and saw another mass of earth and grass begin to buckle downward. That specific strip of land held the elevator, Gene, and Radiance.

Blue looked back at his armor. His helmet alone was clearly more important than those two lives. If they fell, they would die and ascend to a better reality, but if the armor fell… there was no telling where it could go, or whose hands it would end up in. Another ominous rumble, accompanied by the sound of tearing roots, echoed through the air, as if to tell Blue to make his final decision. Blue took a step towards the armor, and then froze.

"My… friends…" came the voice of August, just managing to slip between the lips that were controlled by Blue.

Blue turned around and dashed for the elevator just as the elevator gave way. However, the acceleration of gravity was no match for the acceleration of Blue as he thundered back to the starting point. But just as he reached the spot that the elevator was at, the earth gave way and that portion of the floating island dropped, falling down, down, down where the ground was far below.

Time seemed to slow down as Blue reached down at the last moment (as he entered Freefall at the same time as the elevator) and tore off the earth, the drill, and the roof surrounding the elevator in a single movement. He reached down and snatched the unconscious forms of Radiance and Gene and hoisted them on his back, then he looked upward. He was just in time to see the small elm tree, the skeleton of Narvix Cosmospredominate, and Blue's Helmet and Chest Armor fall through a gaping hole. Light glinted off of the armor as it disappeared below. However, Blue did not hesitate. Looking skywards, Blue crouched just as the elevator reached terminal velocity on its descent… and then jumped off of it. While travelling downward at terminal velocity, there generally is no way to escape the pull earthward… But Blue is an Inquisitor. He defies such laws. Blue shot upward at breakneck speed, heading straight for the massive tree in the epicenter of the (former) Power Garden. He had powered straight forward with such strength, in fact, that Blue had no need for levitation or anti-gravity. The momentum of his leap carried him all the way to the massive exposed roots of the giant tree. With a single movement Blue seized a long strange of root and swung about it, slingshotting himself higher into the roots. With a deft somersault he landed on an extra-large root, clotted with dirt and smaller roots, a perfect natural platform.

Blue stood there for at least five minutes, with Radiance and Gene slung upon his back, staring into the mists below, contemplating the fate of the armor he had traded in for Gene and Radiance. Or… truly… the fate of the armor AUGUST had traded in for Gene and Radiance.

"The boy is strong," Blue murmured, "His love for his friends, no matter how new, is great. I have seen greater… but his is so pure… Interesting."

Blue then flung Radiance and Gene down. This second jolt shocked both unconscious beings into wakefulness.

"WATCH OUT!" yelled Gene as he shot up. Then he realized he was no longer in a careening elevator attempting to break the sound-barrier. He looked around, and then looked at Radiance.

"Radiance," he muttered, "Wake up."

Radiance groaned and sat up. She winced as she sat up and rubbed the soar stubs of her wings. She then looked around as well. "We were in an elevator first," she said slowly, "We are here now… while the Power Garden falls apart… But… That means…"

Gene looked up at Blue, who was silently staring down at them. "The elevator made it to the Power Garden, but it began to fall apart, didn't it? But when that happened… You came for us."

"August made me come for you," replied Blue curtly, "My armor was lost in the process. However, I will not make either of you suffer for something you had no hand in. It is lost, and I must begin searching for it."

"August…" sighed Gene. A small smile crossed his face. He then closed his eyes and lay back. However, suddenly his eyes snapped open again and he shot up. "Where is Jefferson?!"

"He fell to his death," replied Blue briskly, not one to mince words.

"He's… gone…" breathed Radiance, her face the picture of horror. She had never liked him (or any of them, really) but they had travelled together for several days, and she could not help but feel attached to them somewhat. She owed them her life, after all.

"He has probably not even hit the ground yet," added Blue.

"Well, you got that part right!" cried a voice.

Blue pulled out his Inquisition Blaster and whirled around to face the voice. To everyone's surprise (except Blue's), it was Jefferson. He was gliding upon his Tron Hang-Glider, with Blue's Chest Armor and Helmet under one arm.

"Jefferson!" cried Gene and Radiance in unison, both clearly happy. As he landed Gene ran up and patted his back.

"I will admit it… I was worried. It is good to have you back," said Radiance, somewhat begrudgingly.

Gene nodded. "Indeed! How did you survive?"

Jefferson shrugged. "The moment I fell through the earth I activated my glider. I attempted to fly to your guys' aid, but a freaking robot mantis fell from the sky! I swear I will hate bugs for the rest of my life. Anyway, the mantid activated the moment it hit my glider and attempted to tear me to pieces. I dove into the mist and then smashed it against the skeletal tower – which is still intact, by the way – and then proceeded to climb back to the disintegrating Power Garden, dodging blocks of earth all the way. I was just exiting the sky mists when I saw Blue's new armor pieces falling. By some miracle I managed to dive again and grab them! I will admit I was tempted to put them on, and I kinda did… But the robot voice in the helmet rejected my facial scan and DNA scan… Sad. Anyway… Blue… here you go."

Blue slowly reached forward and took the helmet and chest armor. The armor immediately snapped to his chest. Like water it spread, connecting to his shoulder pads and gauntlets, and then flowing downward to form the lower-abdominal armor, leg armor, and foot armor. With a silent click, all the armor snapped into place. The body of August was covered in the full body armor of the Inquisitor. He had also grown. He was at least half a meter taller than Gene, and it was probable that the Inquisitor DNA would cause him to grow even more eventually. The helmet, however, did not leap to cover the face August had once called his own. It just sat in the armored palms of the hand, waiting to be placed on the head.

"All I need now is the wristblade. The most powerful non-angelic weapon in the tri-multiverse," said Blue quietly.

Blue then began to slowly place the helmet on his head, but just as before the masked helmet covered the entirety of his face, Radiance darted forward and landed a light kiss on his right cheek.

"That is for saving me," she said, her eyes still tough and hard to read, "I believe in you August."

The masked helmet fell over August's face. However, as the helmet confirmed his identity as Inquisitor Blue and began to feed him every piece of information a heartless warrior like Blue would need to know about the dimension he was in, a small smile twitched at Blue's lips. August was smiling.

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><p><em>Dimension: Once Upon a Time<em>

_Planet: Fairy Tale Earth_

_Specific Location: Snow White and Prince Charming's Castle_

_Time: Well over a week after Lyric found Summer_

Harold was all alone in the dark hallway. Orion had left, he had gone far, far away. As far away as a Dimensional Lord could possibly go. Orion had fled. Fled because he knew the true extent of Harold's brilliance and power. But Harold was not worried, he did not care. Orion had served a purpose, and Harold would reward that usefulness by not killing him yet. He would save that for later. All that mattered now was Blue and his Inquisitors. Blue… Harold could not remember a time he had not obsessed over that being.

"So… Blue… My old friend… You are back," said Harold, almost gleefully.

The shadows shifted, and corrupted imagination energy began to bubble from the shadows like steam boiling over from a cooking pot.

"But methinks you are not ALL back," continued Harold, talking to himself out loud as if he hadn't a care in the world, "But I do believe that can be remedied. A small test ought to do it. Yes! A small test that threatens the thing he holds dearest… That will most certainly eradicate any bit of August that is left. All I need to do now is wait."

The shadows deepened.

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><p><strong>Note: The end is nigh! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. At this point, I think it would be best that I mention that after this part of the season comes to a close, I will take a hiatus for a bit. I have a lot of stuff, and (probably) a lot of other stories to attend to at this time. I will post the very first chapter of the second part of the season though as a "teaser" for what is to come. Now please review! I cannot express how grateful I am for all of the feedback you all have been giving me. More reviews means more inspiration and energy, and more inspiration and energy means more chapters! If you review, I shall give you a to-scale chair, desk, and desktop computer all made out of snow. I made one just recently, and I am sure that my magical abilities (that I wish I had) will allow me to mass-produce them and give them to you!<strong>


	134. Chapter 134 - Haven

**Note: This, by far, is my greatest chapter. Well, for me, personally. I have never felt so satisfied in my life (aside from the time I beat Gywn, Lord of Cinder alone with no summons in Dark Souls). Either way, I am very proud of this chapter. I really wanted to end the season on this, but it does not have the required cliffhanger to transfer over to the next season. I will, however, not update next week so this chapter has more time to settle. It deserves it. Now on to answering reviews! To Super Vegito: Oh, I know you are not nagging, do not worry about it. Dragon Ball Z is popular, and I personally know I need to properly reference it. I am just somewhat reluctant, as I need to ensure I know the character I have an eye on (that is a secret) well enough before anything happens. To Minebrine: Thanks! To austin xj lui: Iron Man...? Where? I mean... I totally meant to reference whatever you said I referenced! Anyway... Enjoy this chapter! I enjoyed writing it!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: A random lake in the middle of a random area_

_Time: Two weeks after Lyric found Summer_

"Are they still breathing?"

"I cannot tell, Harmony. I-I cannot find a pulse!"

"Seriously, River? You're not supposed to check for a pulse in this situation! Just put an ear and cheek next to their faces and watch their stomachs! If you can hear breathing, feel their breath on their cheeks, and see their stomachs rising and falling… then they are alive!"

"Oh yeah… I forgot."

Lyric slowly opened his eyes to find himself staring nose-to-nose with a frosty-blue-colored stallion (a Pegasus) with aquamarine eyes and a dark blue mane. The stallion blinked once. "Uhhhh… Hey, Harmony! This one has his eyes opened, and he is blinking… Does that mean he is alive?"

A bright red mare (a Unicorn) with amber eyes and a yellow mane shoved the stallion aside. "Yes! That means they are alive!"

The mare held out a hoof, her eyes a picture of concern. "Are you okay there?"

Lyric suddenly rolled over and vomited out water all over the rowboat that the whole group was taking refuge on.

The stallion River wrinkled his muzzle. "So that is a… no? I mean, yes! Or… is it no…?"

Lyric coughed wretchedly, the air-deprived hacks wracking his body. The mare patted his back firmly as she said, "You swallowed an ocean's-worth before we rescued you! Just get it all out. Do not worry about this boat, it will be fine with a little water at the bottom."

Lyric heaved a huge gasp, and then slowly rolled over to face the mare. "T-thanks," he croaked, "Is… Is Summer okay?"

The Stallion River blinked. "Summer? Like the season summer? O-oh! You mean your fillyfriend over here! Oh yeah, unlike you, her breathing stayed level the entire time! It's almost as if drowning in an ice-cold lake was like a naptime for her!"

Lyric looked at his surroundings. He was in a medium-size rowboat. He lay at the very edge of the boat, with River and Harmony sitting in the middle. At the very far end, balancing out his weight perfectly, was Summer. Lyric attempted to scramble to all fours, but Harmony held him down.

"Just stay calm," she soothed, "Your friend is fine. You need to rest."

"And besides," interrupted River, "If you try to get up, the boat will become unbalanced, capsize, and send us all in for a drink. Despite my name being 'River' I do not fancy taking an ice-cold dip in one currently!"

Lyric groaned and lay down. "I need to be with her," he murmured, "She needs protection."

"She is perfectly fine, even more so than you I would say," exclaimed River with a wink, "Why ever would a strong filly like her need protection from anyone other than me?"

Harmony shoved River roughly. She then turned to Lyric and said, "Forgive my friend. Clearly I'm not enough to keep his hooves full. But anyway, what do you mean by 'she needs protection'?"

"She's a very special filly," Lyric replied, his voice barely a whisper.

Harmony glanced at River. River blinked. Then he grinned roguishly. "Ooohhhhh… Gotcha. Got the wedding all line up already, eh?"

Lyric coughed up a little bit of water again and then shook his head vehemently. "No! Nothing like that! She's special. She's blind."

River and Harmony stiffened. They then glanced at Summer and Lyric in shock. They then proceeded to hold a whispered conversation together. It went on for at least a minute, before River nodded and leaned over to where Summer lay. He gently shook her. Summer opened her eyes, almost blissfully. However, her eyes narrowed a bit, and she said, "You're not Lyric. Where is he?!"

"Hey, dude, calm down," said River, "Lyric is safe. Isn't that right Lyric?"

"I'm here," gasped Lyric, surprised that Summer sounded so energetic despite having been thrown off a cliff into a freezing lake at 190 kilometers an hour.

Summer sighed, her breath forming a thick cloud of steam. "Oh good."

"Okay, Summer, or whatever season-y name it is, I need you to answer a question," said River slowly, still shaking her gently to keep her from drifting into a slumber, "How many hooves am I holding up?"

Summer pulled a face. "Well, assuming you have two back hooves to keep you upright, and you have one more hoof needlessly stroking my mane like an over-confident stallion… I would say one hoof."

"Woah!" gasped River, "He said you were blind! That's amazing! Clearly you are not! Praise the sun y'all!"

The only one who was not amused by this was Harmony. Her face the picture of seriousness, she pushed River aside and said, "Summer, you hear my voice? What color is my mane?"

Summer shook her head, a little annoyed at how interested these two newcomers seemed in her disability. "How should I know? I can't see anything!"

Harmony pulled away. "Okay," she said quietly.

Summer's eyes narrowed again. There was something in that tone of voice…

"Well!" interrupted River loudly, "Now that we have gotten that over with… Let's go back to the town!"

Lyric slowly sat up and said, "Town?"

Harmony gave Lyric a small smile. "Of course! Did you think we rose out of the water to save you? We came from a town not too far from here. It is on the other side of the lake!"

"Okay," said Lyric slowly, "We cannot stay there for long though. We need to keep moving. Do you know of a valley that is supposedly protected by sworn oath from the Trixie's Hoof Terrorists?"

River and Harmony glanced at each other and began to chuckle simultaneously.

Lyric blinked. "What is it?"

"Well… That valley you are talking about… you're in it!" exclaimed Harmony.

"And I must say you arrived in spectacular style!" added River, "Welcome to the only valley in the Stallion Empire that is completely free of Trixie's Hoof Terrorist influence!"

A pit that had been in Lyric's stomach probably since he and Summer had fled from that one razed town suddenly dissipated. A wonderful feeling swept from his tail to the tip of his muzzle. Lyric blinked slowly. He then leaned a little to one side to see past Harmony and River and look at Summer.

"You hear that?" he said, his voice hoarse, "We made it."

Summer looked a little less relieved than he. In fact, her blank eyes was actually somewhat clouded in worry. Nonetheless, she gave Lyric a huge smile. "We did…"

Lyric attempted to get up again, but Harmony shook her head and bade him to sit down.

"Just sit there for a bit longer," she said, "We are going to start on our way!"

Harmony and River settled down in the middle of their rowboat, facing Lyric, with Harmony on the left part of the middle bench and River on the right. The two ponies grabbed their respective oars and began to pull with ease. Summer turned to face they were heading and let the cold wind blow through her mane. Her face looked somewhat tense.

"So… Tell me," said Lyric, who was completely at ease, "What is the town like? Oh! What are the houses like? Oh! I mean, what are the ponies like? I mean… I should probably first ask… What is the town called? The valley?"

Harmony chuckled. "Slow down! Okay, well, the valley is called Star Circle, and the town is called Haven. The town is quite tranquil, with many houses built into the very trees that surround them. Then ponies are just like the town: peaceful."

"Incredibly so," added River, "You will never meet nicer ponies! And the town is wonderful and safe! There is a catch though…"

Harmony bumped River in the ribs sharply to silence him. She then turned to Lyric and said, "We'll tell you about it later."

Lyric nodded. "Okay. I really am just looking forward to a safe place to rest."

River winked. "If it is rest that you want, then you have come to the right place."

"I agree," said Harmony, nodding, a happy smile still upon her face, "I can see that you have come far to find security. I am overjoyed that we can provide it."

At that moment, the mist that hung low over the lake from the cold began to part, giving the ponies riding upon the rowboat an unobstructed view of Haven, the lone town in the isolated and completely protected valley of Star Circle. Night had just fallen, and even though this generally was the time that made all things surrounding duller than usual, this time it did naught but illuminate the awe-inspiring town. Giant, grand, frost-covered trees rose through the air, filling Lyric's view. These trees were beautiful and lush despite the freezing temperatures. Tiny pinpoints of lights decorated the trunk and branches like a mist of iridescent gold, denoting the fact that there was indeed beings residing within the trees themselves in cozy bliss. There were so many of these house-trees, in fact, from Lyric's point of view, he was staring at a new star-filled sky, a second cosmos and horizon. A gentle wind blew in from the town, bringing with it the light jingle of majestic wind-chimes, and the smell of petrichor and freshly-fallen snow.

"It's beautiful," sighed Lyric, drinking in the intoxicating view, and reveling in the feeling of complete security.

Harmony's face lit up at seeing his face light up. "I am so glad you think so."

Lyric leaned over and looked at Summer. Her eyes were closed, and it looked as if she too was enjoying the wind, and all of the pulchritudinous sounds and smells. However, there seemed to be a smidgen of worry that continued to dance across her face.

But it mattered not, Lyric supposed, for they were safe now. He looked at Harmony again. "Haven is a beautiful town. You are so blessed to be able to live in it."

Harmony winked. "Well, Haven has one more citizen now! And I am pleased to welcome him to it!"

Lyric's throat caught. A home? It had been countless seasons since he had been able to call anyplace his home. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he looked to Harmony. "T-truly? I can stay here?"

River grinned wildly. "Of course! You can even stay with me – or Harmony, if you like that sort of thing – until the head of the town can sort out a living space for you!"

At that moment, the boat bumped up next to the giant docks that bordered to town of Haven. Harmony helped Lyric out while River pushed the scrabbling Summer onto the pier as well.

"River just wants a new friend who is a stallion, really badly," said Harmony, "However, I think his house is a little crowded with him and his four sisters. I will let you stay at my place. There is an extra spot."

Lyric nodded slowly, but then froze. "Wait a second…" he said, "What… What about Summer?"

Harmony glanced at River, and River nodded to her. "Don't worry!" he exclaimed, "I've got that covered! We actually have somepony who will want to meet such a special pony as her before anything else gets done. I will drop you a note tomorrow after she too is situated."

"B-but… But I always am with Summer," said Lyric, a little slow to catch on, "She will be given a safe place to sleep, correct?"

Harmony nodded vehemently. "Of course! Remember: All of Haven is safe. She will just have different accommodations until all the housing is sorted out for you!"

Lyric glanced at Summer, who was staring quietly at him. "Okay… I'm sorry Summer, but River will take you someplace safe. I will leave you with him… but only for today! Bye!"

Summer's eyes deepened in sadness, but Lyric shook that sadness off. She was only sad to see him go for the rest of the day, he reasoned, for she had been by his side even in slumber as far back as she could recall. She would be okay without him for a day.

"While River settles Summer down," said Harmony, leading Lyric away from the pier, away from Summer, and into the town, "I will show you around!"

Lyric nodded, and followed her with wonder in his eyes. For the next several hours Harmony led him about, showing him the amazing heaven that was the town of Haven of the valley Star Circle. The tree-houses that made up the town stretched high into the air, adorned with lanterns and beautiful lights that shown brightly, blending in with the proud constellations that decorated the inky black-and-blue sky above. Even the streets below looked to be a very part of nature, with the light dirt paths being overlaid with soft green, yellow, and red leaves. For as far as the eye could see, there were nothing but safe, happy, healthy, and strong ponies of all types, standing tall and proud… In short, they were perfect. In fact, everything was perfect.

Lyric could not shake the overwhelming feeling of happiness. "I… I have no words," he breathed, "For as long as I remember, I have been searching for a home to call my own. For as far back as I can recall, I have been looking for someplace that could offer me shelter and security from the dark forces that wrack the Stallion Empire… And now I have found it."

Harmony grinned. "Yes you have! As you can see, there are no impurities of the Stallion Empire here. So, tell me, are you ready to go home?"

Lyric just shook his head slowly in disbelief. "Home… That word sounds so foreign! But yes… Yes, I would like to go home now."

Harmony patted him on the back. "Right this way, brother!"

Lyric winked. "Got it, sister."

The two ponies broke off from their tour of the wondrous town to go "home." At the edge, on the opposite of side of town from the pier, was Harmony's abode. It, like all the other houses, was a large tree-like house, adorned with shining lanterns, glowing bright with homeliness. Sitting on the porch of the tree-house was a couple of other mares (Unicorns, as well), with brightly-colored manes and coats. The moment they saw Lyric they broke out giggling.

"Harmony brought a stallion home! Praise the sun!"

"Oh my… look at those muscles… I have some extra space on my bed, you could share it with me if you are indeed staying the night!"

Harmony winced in embarrassment at these jabs and glanced at Lyric, who was grinning awkwardly. "Sorry about those two," she said, "They are my sisters, Song and Sky. They are going through that 'I am completely obsessed with colts' stage."

Sky smiled in a somewhat sexually aggressive manner. "Don't let Harmony trick you, colt! She never left that stage either!"

Lyric began to blush. "Well… Uh… Okay… But none of that really matters! I already have a really close fillyfriend! Her name is Summer!"

Song, Sky, and Harmony all frowned slightly.

"Oh," sighed Song, "Well… You are a pretty big and strong boy, she cannot possible be able to have ALL of you! Couldn't she share?"

"This Summer pony must be an awful amazing pony to be able to win the heart of such a strapping young colt as yourself," added Sky, "Mind telling us about this special somepony?"

Harmony interrupted Lyric before he could prattle on about Summer and shook her head, "I will give you any details you girls need later. Lyric literally just entered Star Circle by driving a heavily damaged armored vehicle off of a cliff. He needs rest!"

The sound of the phrase "driving a heavily damaged armored vehicle off of a cliff" simply made Song and Sky swoon slightly. It only had aroused them more.

Harmony pulled a face and shoved Lyric inside. "Sorry about, truly!" she exclaimed, "Sometimes I just run and hide in a corner and pretend I was an orphan… or an only child… it generally makes the rest of my day a little better."

Lyric, his face still burning red, just shrugged. "I am an orphan, and I can tell you that being one for even a second should truly have no ability to make a day better in any form."

Harmony blanched. "Oh… I-I'm sorry."

Lyric shrugged again. "That is okay."

Harmony's face returned to being bright and happy. "Thanks. I will show you to your bed. And don't worry, I will try to keep Song or Sky from getting their sticky little hooves on your. You need to get sleep! Haven of Star Circle is all about perfection and purity! No imperfection or impurity here. And we cannot have you imperfect from lack of sleep!"

Lyric nodded and then looked around the ground floor of the house-tree-building. Like the outside, it was a simple work of art. Curved archways were adorned with colored lanterns, and soft moss rugs lay symmetrically upon the ground. Small colored glass windows were sit in the wood, revealing the starlit sky. Even the furniture was elegant, with curves and polished edges.

Harmony proceeded to lead Lyric down a flight of spiraling steps, carved from the very roots of the great tree they lived in itself. The floor below, like the one above, was a work of art, illuminated warmly with all the colors of the rainbow. It was somewhat small and circular, but had a nicely furnished bed covered in moss in one corner, and a small rounded table with a chair in another. A mechanical clock of mahogany and brass lay on the table.

"I-I hope it is adequate," said Harmony, almost apologetically, "If I knew we were going to have company the day before, I would have worked towards fitting this specific room with a door and key and lock."

"Adequate…?" breathed Lyric, tears forming in his eyes once more out of joy. Suddenly he whirled and seized Harmony in a tight hug. "It is beautiful. It is cozy, appealing, and, most of all, safe."

Harmony's smile widened. "I am glad. I will… I will let you sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day for you I think."

She then slowly turned around, swished her tail at him, and then trotted upstairs. Lyric slowly lay down on the bed that had been provided for him, and closed his eyes. For many hours, though, he felt like he was unable to sleep. Joy, peace, excitement, and a sense of security ricocheted around in his chest, and butterflies fluttered about in his stomach. However, as time slowly ticked by, and the clock struck midnight, Lyric finally drifted off to sleep.

Lyric opened his eyes and blinked. He was in a pitch-black box, about the size of an average suburban house. There was no light fixtures anywhere, but every corner of the obsidian box was illuminated nonetheless.

Lyric rubbed his eyes slowly. "Am I… Am I dreaming? Where the hell am I?"

"You are indeed dreaming, and this is a dreamscape," came a voice from behind him.

Lyric whirled around to face the source of the voice. What he saw shocked him. Before his eyes was a towering, powerful bipedal being. This creature was tall, majestic, and covered in full white-colored body armor that practically screamed "pure power." Upon the creature's head was a masked helmet that had a visor shaped like a diamond, and there were triangular markings on either side of its helmet. In its right hand was a sword that was wondrous to behold. It was so angelic, in fact, that Lyric could feel the energy radiating from it tearing at his sanity.

"W-w-w-who a-are y-you?" gasped Lyric, almost shocked beyond words. He was completely positive that not even his imagination could create such a fantastical creature like the one that stood before him.

"I am Dimensional Lord Mattimeo," said the being, his voice was stern… and… and furious.

"Mattimeo, I have heard that name mentioned before," murmured Lyric, "O-oh! Summer mentioned you! You were her guardian angel or something!"

"I am indeed that," said Mattimeo, his voice terrible in its power, "And now she is in danger."

Lyric's jaw practically hit the floor. "In danger? Impossible! We are in the safest place in the entire Stallion Empire! We are totally free from danger! Forever!"

Mattimeo reached Lyric in one step. He leaned over Lyric, his shadow blotting out the omnipresent light. Lyric felt frozen to the spot.

"Free from danger? Only for you, Lyric the Stallion," said Mattimeo slowly. His voice was emotionless, but his undertone boiled with wrath, "Think about all the things that mare Harmony said as you traversed Haven of Star Circle."

"I told you exactly!" cried Lyric, terrified for his life despite the fact he knew he was in a dream, "We are in Haven! The place is completely safe from any kind of danger! It is secure, happy, bright, and perfect!"

Mattimeo nodded his head slowly. "That is the word: perfect. The town is perfect. It is lacking all impurity. And you know how that is possible? It is because all impurity that finds its way to Haven of Star Circle is destroyed."

Lyric blinked. "Y-yeah! So…?"

Mattimeo leaned in closer, and the shadows about him darkened. "That precious little filly Summer is blind. She has a disability. And apparently… all of Haven believes that is an impurity. Impurities must be snuffed out."

Lyric's mouth went dry, and he felt as if his stomach had just been punched in. "Oh God no…"

Mattimeo straightened up, but the light that had been blocked out by his shadow did not return. "Summer is minutes away from being murdered by the pier… all in the name of purity. The beings that control Haven believe it is their right to determine what is perfect and what is not in order to maintain a perfect and safe society… and they are committing genocide while doing so. Lyric, if you care half as much for Summer as she has personally told me you do… You would stop at nothing to save her from being the latest impurity to be stamped out in the name of perfection."

Lyric almost broke down crying. "But… But… Why?! Why can't my life be normal?!"

Mattimeo did not answer. He simply pointed the sword straight at Lyric. He then raised his free hand and then snapped a finger.

In an instant the dream was terminated, and Lyric shot out of his bed in a cold sweat. He glanced at the mechanical clock told him that he had been asleep for about an hour. It was one in the morning.

At first Lyric thought what he had just experience was a nightmare, but then all of the feelings and sensations that Mattimeo had forced through his body shot from his memories. And now Lyric was one-hundred-percent sure of one thing: Summer was in trouble, and she needed his help.

Lyric galloped upstairs and looked around desperately. No pony was there. Harmony, Song, and Sky were all gone. Lyric rushed into the kitchen to double check. Nothing. No pony was there.

"Mattimeo said something about a location," muttered Lyric, his eyes wild with fear, "Oh! The pier! She's there!"

Lyric whirled to leave, but just as he did that he used his magic to grab a large cleaver knife from the knife rack. He might just need a weapon. And why not? Though his brain had been intoxicated by the pulchritudinous of Haven, he realized he cared vastly more for his companion, and was willing to go to any lengths to protect her.

With cleaver tight in his magical grip, Lyric rushed out into the cold night air. Breath already coming in steaming puffs from his nostrils, Lyric turned a full circle to get his bearings. Though the streets had initially held small groups of jocund ponies in several areas, the streets were now abandoned, and several unattended bonfires had gone out.

In a second Lyric's mental compass had pinpointed the location of the pier. With a grunt, Lyric galloped off in said direction at top speed. He rounded several tree-houses… and then galloped straight into a living nightmare.

Summer was lying tied-up on an ornamental raft, drugged and senseless. Beside her lay an absurdly large and ornate mechanical time bomb. Candles were lit all around her, and it looked as if she was ready to be pushed off into the lake, where the bomb would detonate and she would be incinerated. Clearly her powers were not functioning at this time.

However, this was not the worst part of it. The worst part was the ponies who were preparing to instigate this deed: Harmony, River, Sky, Song, and three hooded ponies.

Harmony turned to face the source of the racket coming from the town, and her face turned ashen when she saw the arriving pony, Lyric.

"Oh Lyric," she groaned, "I… I wish you had stayed at the house."

Lyric's eyes were wild as he took the whole scene in. "What… What the HELL are you all doing to Summer?!"

One of the hooded ponies turned his head to look at Lyric. A sickly-sweet, almost kind voice emanated from the void that the hood cast upon its wearer. "This pony possesses an impurity of sight that cannot be remedied with magic or medicine. She must be eradicated from this town to prevent imperfection from poisoning Haven and all of Star Circle."

"Imperfection?!" bellowed Lyric, who felt his entire world crumbling beneath his hooves, "What?! Summer is the most perfect, beautiful, kind being I know! And this is what you due to her? Why? Because she simply does not have the ability to see the world like us?!"

The hooded pony stared at Lyric in silence for a moment. Then he turned back to look at the unconscious Summer bound upon the raft.

Harmony bit her bottom lip until it bled. "Please, Lyric! Listen to me! Summer doesn't belong here! I would have personally seen her off the land and out of the valley safely, but the elders will not allow it. She has seen the town and all of its perfection and beauty, and we cannot let toxin that has gazed upon us endure!"

"Listen to yourselves!" cried Lyric, "You all sound like lunatics! Please! I'll go too even! Just let us go in peace!"

"No," murmured the second hooded pony, also a male, "You are of perfection, my son. You must stay here with us and thrive. It is only your companion that must be cleansed."

With that, the third hooded pony (apparently a Unicorn) activated the mechanical time bomb and pushed the raft off via magic, letting the momentum carry the small ornamental pile of sticks drift off to the center of the lake. As this happened, all three ponies began to chant.

"Impurities cannot reside within. Fire and brimstone must cleanse all sin."

"NOOOOOOOO!" screamed Lyric. He lurched past Harmony, River, Song, Sky, and the three hooded ponies to the end of the pier. However, just as he prepared to leap off into the water, he felt a metallic clamp seize a hold of his right back leg, preventing the dive. He whirled to see what was preventing him from saving his friend. A large bright steel chain was wrapped firmly around his leg, bound to his flesh. Harmony had magically bound him with it just before he could make the dive. Lyric immediately attempted to sever the chain with his cleaver.

As the cleaver struck hard down on the chain and sparks flew, Lyric yelled, "Let me go! I need to save Summer! She is all I have!" The cleaver had absolutely no effect on the steel chain, and Lyric only managed to chip the once flawless blade.

"No!" cried Harmony, tears now flowing down her cheeks. "We are what you have now! Let Summer go! Look around you! Look at Haven! Look at Star Circle! We are the very representation of security! You will be safe here! Safe from the Trixie's Hoof Terrorists! Safe from the Stallion Empire Military! Safe from all the evil that crawls from the dark crags of this world! You will have a whole town that loves you! You will have me to love you! Please! Just stay with us!"

Lyric stared at Harmony, tears streaming down his face as well.

"Please," whimpered Harmony, "We would be perfect together. It would be a perfect life, free of disabilities, free from impurities."

There was a pause.

"Please," murmured River as well, "Please do not struggle. The chain that holds you in place is impervious to magic, and the metal links are too strong for a blade such as that to shatter it."

"River is right," sobbed Harmony, "Stay with me… Let the blind filly go... The chain cannot be broken."

Lyric looked down at the chain, and then at up at Harmony. Then he looked off to Summer, who was slowly drifting closer to the center of the lake, where the raft she lay bound upon would undoubtedly detonate. This was it. A choice. Safety or love. He had a single decision to make, and only seconds to make it… and whatever decision he did choose would have an everlasting effect on his life. In a flash he made that decision.

Lyric gave a broken sob. "I'm sorry Harmony… But you're wrong. The chain can be broken, just not exactly in the way you think."

Lyric's stomach clenched as he raised the cleaver far above his head via magic… and then severed his back right leg, right above the knee. The blade went clean through. Harmony screamed, drowning out Lyric's own cry of agony. The loss of his limb felt like a splash of deathly cold water that cascaded through his insides, and he immediately went into shock as blood squirted from the gaping wound. However, some unnatural force suddenly pushed him from the brink of total oblivion and compelled him to slowly make a turnabout and dive into the lake, and swim as best he could towards Summer on the raft.

As he swam, the voices of the hooded ponies rose in unison, momentarily drowning out Harmony's shrieks of grief.

"YOU ARE NOW IMPURE. YOU CAN NEVER COME BACK."

Lyric did not even look behind him to catch a final glimpse of Haven of Star Circle. His eyes were solely focused on Summer and the raft with the bomb on it. He was fading fast, and complete shock was devastating his mind, but Lyric somehow managed to find the strength to continue swimming through the icy-cold lake towards his ultimate goal.

In a minute he reached the raft, and with a scream of pain he pulled himself over the edge so that he could seize Summer. With a swing of the cleaver (which he still held firmly in his magical grip) he cut her bindings. Then with a gasp he pulled her into the frigid water with him. Water filling his mouth and steam from his breath stinging his eyes, Lyric kicked off towards a distant shore, hoping simply to get as far away as possible from the raft with the bomb. He had only gone about a dozen meters when the thing detonated. A massive red plume of fire blasted into the air, accompanied by a belching of black smoke, sparks, and flaming debris. The raft was practically disintegrated, and a shockwave skidded across the surface of the lake, kicking up frothing waves in all direction.

The shockwave struck Lyric full-on. That blast, accompanied with the incredible loss of blood from his missing leg, was it for Lyric. With a final gurgle he passed out, floating upon the lake, almost in the exact same place he had been not ten hours ago. Just before darkness completely enveloped his vision and his mind, Lyric could still hear the grief-stricken wails of Harmony… and the gentle breathing of Summer.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: ...<em>

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Lyric's eyes snapped open, however, instead of immediately struggling to all fours as he usually did, he just lay there, belly facing the sky, staring upwards. The sky was a crisp, clean blue, with only a tint of frost in the air. He could smell freshly-fallen snow, and he could hear the gentle lap of waves upon icy rocks somewhere nearby. Lyric then began to "listen" mentally to his body. He felt like one giant bruise that had several layers of bruises upon of it, and he could not feel his back right leg…

Lyric felt bile rise in his throat as he remembered the hell from the night before: he had no back right leg any longer. Lyric's breathing immediately began to quicken rapidly, and he tried to sit up so that he could look at his missing leg, but a hoof held him down, and a gentle voice spoke in his ear.

"Calm down Lyric, you are fine."

Lyric slowly turned his head, and found himself face-to-face with Summer. Her mane and face were heavily streaked with blood, and was all mussed up, and her eyes were red with crying and fear, but she looked okay. Tears began to form in both of their eyes simultaneously.

"Summer… I tried so hard," Lyric sobbed, "I did!"

"I know," cried Summer, "I know… You… You… You gave your leg for me. You truly do care…"

Lyric nodded his head. "I have realized that I am more than willing to give my life for you, Summer… and this is just one small example of how much… of how much I love you."

Summer paused for a moment… and then kissed Lyric full on the lips. For a whole minute they held the kiss, and as they did, they both completely broke down into tears. As they let go of the kiss, Lyric slowly sat up with the firm support of Summer's hoof. The stump that represented the spot that Lyric had severed his leg was completely covered in thick mud and moss, no doubt put there by Summer. It was crude and makeshift, but the cast that Summer had miraculously made from nature had stopped the bleeding and set his body down the path of healing. Lyric then took stock of his surroundings. He was on a cliff, with the lake that lead to the distant town of Haven far below. It was not until he saw a charred wreck of an armored vehicle under a tree behind that he realized that he was on the same cliff that he and Summer had taken a dive off of the other day. Incredible. Slowly Lyric flopped down on his back to look at the sky once more. Summer slowly groped for his right hoof, and then flopped down beside him to look skyward, though she herself could see nothing. There was a pause, and then Summer meekly began to explain what had happened to her last night.

"River took me to his house, where he gave me a warm blanket. He then said he would be right back after he talked to several elders. He said that ponies would be suspicious about him bringing in a female into his home otherwise. That was suspicious, since Harmony had already said that he had four sisters, but it did not matter, for I had been suspicious since I detected tinges of regret and nervousness in the voices of Harmony and River at the very beginning. Anyway, he was gone for about an hour, but when he came back he sounded very nervous. He said that all was well, though, and that it was about time he made some hot chocolate. I was very suspicious at that point, but when he made the hot chocolate and gave some to me… I couldn't help myself! I cannot ever remember having chocolate, since my earliest memory is you waking me up inside that incubator of pure energy. Anyway, I drank it, and, next thing I know, I am drugged from whatever it is he put inside that hot drink. As I fell to the ground, and my mind became fuzzy, I heard three ponies walk in and ask if the deed was done. River said that it was, and that I was to be taken to the raft just after midnight. Then I blacked out. When I come to, it is from an explosion from a raft, a raft that I realized I had meant to be on. At first I was simply terrified, but then I realized there was someone keeping me afloat: you. I realized that you had saved me from the explosion on the raft, and prevented the death the Haven ponies had planned for me. Then I realized you were unconscious… and missing a leg. I can tell you right there I wanted to nuzzle and kiss you hard, and then let our dead bodies slowly float away, but I could not stand the thought of you sacrificing so much in order to save me from an explosion. However, I could not see, and the water was pulling us down. But then… suddenly, I felt a jolt of power coarse through me. The water beneath my hooves began to churn, and it became obedient, like a massive pet snake. It lifted me and you high into the air. Up, up, up… It then deposited us on a cliff bank. It took me only a minute to realize that I had involuntarily returned us to the cliff above the lake, just at the border of the Star Circle valley. I then used the water I had momentarily under my control to cough up sodden moss and mud, and then I did my best patch the wound. There was so much blood... and... and I was so worried! But as I continued to work and covered the stump, your breathing stabled, and I knew you would be okay. And so… here we are!"

Lyric nodded his head slowly, drinking in every word Summer said. "And so," he sighed, feeling numb, "Our journey to the valley of peace ends… with us leaving barely with our lives. We have nothing now."

A tear trickled down his cheek. However, Summer gently brushed the tear away with a hoof as she said, softly, "That's not true, Lyric. We have each other."

Lyric blinked, and, suddenly, he felt a warm feeling spread through his body, filling him with a sensation of peace from tail to muzzle. It was something he had never truly felt before. It was a force that had been foreign to him since he became a thieving musician and a rogue… But it was foreign no longer. What was this "strange" force? It was love.

Lyric glanced down at his missing leg, and then over at the sightless eyes of Summer… and then he smiled. "You're right. We do have more than nothing. We have far more. We have each other."

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><p><strong>Note: I put a whole lot of heart into this chapter, I hope you guys saw it through the writing! Before I finish up here, I have two things to quickly mention. One: I uploaded a bunch of HD versions of my stories' cover photographs to deviantart. My username is Aganonce, by the way. Feel free to check it out if you are interested in seeing the work I put into all of my stories' cover photos. Two: I updated "Through A Glass Darkly" finally, for those who actually read that kind of thing. Now... please review! I was very proud of this chapter, and so I would be extremely interested in any kind of feedback! If you do, I shall give you a prosthetic leg. Why? Because it is made mainly of marshmallows.<strong>


	135. Chapter 135 - Judgment

**Note: Well, here we are, at the very end of the former half of Season 2. It has been quite a ride, has it not? I will honestly say that though Season 1 was vastly more colorful when compared to Season 2, nothing in that season can quite match the scope and vastness of this season! I will say now that I truly enjoyed weaving this newest masterpiece, and that I really hope that the latter half of Season 2 will be able to rival the love and care that went into the first half. Anyway, on to answering some reviews. To Salvadorian Moose: Thank you! I really am quite glad you enjoyed it. To madmanwithafork: Who doesn't use the hornet ring? I generally have it with my Moonlight Greatsword+5. To Echo Off: I was wondering if I was being too direct about the "perfection" issue. I initially tried to make it more vague, but then I realized that if I did that, I would need several more chapters to reinforce the atmosphere, and I was not ready to commit even more time to the ending of this part of the season. Glad you enjoyed it, though! To RedTheChangeling: Wonderful. I will keep an eye out for those "lack of reviews" then. Nice to know so far I have managed to avoid drowning in copious amounts of lore and subplots. To FocusedStream: Thanks. Yeah, I was going for that "two-way dependency" effect, glad you noticed. Now, onto the last chapter of Part 6 of Season 2!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Provistorian<em>

_Planet: Averthon Magnum_

_Specific Location: The Power Garden_

_Time: About two weeks after Lyric found Summer_

"My wristblade," mused Blue, "Where did I place it…?"

As Blue stood at the edge of the platform made of roots and dirt to ponder, Gene, Radiance, and Jefferson stood to one side.

"What do you think?" whispered Gene to Jefferson.

"What do I think of what?" the mercenary replied.

"Blue! August has proven himself fully capable of fighting against the Inquisitor, so do you think he might have a chance for a comeback?" elaborated Gene.

Jefferson shrugged. "I have no idea. There is a fine line that we must tread for August and Blue. If the threat to his friends is great, August might force himself to resurface to save those he cares for, but it also might just end up aggravating Blue and causing him to cement his position in August's mind. And that all is just assuming that Blue is not completely in control now. For all we know, August's soul could have been ejected from his body altogether by now!"

"No," said Radiance, almost sharply, "August is a strong young one. He will endure. If Blue leaves, I will go as well. Not because I trust him, but because I trust the one trapped within. Even though I did not start this, I feel compelled to end this."

Gene nodded vehemently in agreement.

Blue slowly turned to Gene and the rest and said, "Interesting… I recall placing the wristblade in the Dark Souls dimension. So… odd…"

Gene blinked. "Odd?"

Blue actually shrugged. "It is indeed odd. I sense something unusual about that dimension currently."

"The Dark Souls dimension is by far the most unstable and deadly of dimensions, only eclipsed by the Little Nemo dimension," said Jefferson, "Everything there is unusual and odd."

Blue turned around and raised a fist. He gestured with it slightly, and a portal to the Dark Souls dimension opened up. Blue turned to the hole in space and time, but before he entered the interdimensional rift, he glanced behind to his "acquaintances" and murmured, "You are free to follow me or not. But remember: you were August's friends, not mine. I have no will to protect you, and I do not owe allegiance to your so-called team."

Jefferson rolled his eyes. "You hear that guys? He refered to August in past-tense. Someone is getting cocky in his new body."

Blue ignored Jefferson completely. He looked quietly at Gene for a moment and then strolled through the portal. Gene and Radiance hesitated, and then dashed forward. Jefferson, however, just stood there. Even after Blue's portal had closed, Jefferson stood there, his mind wracked with different conflicting thoughts. Slowly he reached into his voluminous overcoat and pulled out a small drawing. On it was a life-sketch of a woman and a small girl, clearly his wife and daughter.

"Will I regret this or not?" he muttered, "I suppose I might as well see this to the end."

Jefferson whipped off his top hat and spun it in the air. As it landed with the top facing the earth, it began to spin and an incredible speed. Suddenly a vortex of dark clouds and lightning exploded from the hat as the hole where the head was supposed to fit began to expand, becoming larger and larger until it was easily the size of a small car. Jefferson hopped into the interdimensional vortex and vanished. In an instant the hurricane of power folded into itself as if the hat was pulling itself through the hole it had created. With a flash the hat was gone, and the Power Garden within the Provistorian dimension was quiet once more.

Jefferson fell feet first from pure nothingness onto a rotting and pitted rooftop. As he hit the ground his hat materialized out of thin air to land perfect atop of his head. In a flash he had whipped out his dirk, ready to deal with any of myriad of murderous creatures that resided within the fractured mini-multiverse that was the dimension of Dark Souls.

However, as he looked about, he only saw his teammates, standing upon another massive rooftop nearby that led to a ruinous bell tower. Gene turned and spotted Jefferson and then waved. Just as Jefferson started to return the wave, a massive blood-thirsty screech filled the air. Two massive "stone" gargoyles that had stood vigil by the bell tower sprung to life. With hideous howls the monsters readied large halberds and swooped down upon Blue, Radiance, and Gene. Blue held out a hand, and suddenly the wondrous Inquisitor Blade of Blue assembled itself from thin air.

Then, without a single sound, Blue leapt in the air to meet one of the gargoyles head-on. The gargoyle immediately attempted to spin through the air and use its halberd to swat Blue from the sky, but the Inquisitor simply deflected the edge of the weapon with his blade. Blue then grabbed the pole of the halberd, flipped around it and catapulted himself onto the back of his enemy. The gargoyle screeched, but its next offensive was rudely interrupted by an Inquisitor Blade through the throat.

The other gargoyle ignored its fallen brethren and rushed Gene and Radiance. Gene formed a sword from nothingness and tossed it to Radiance just as he hurled a fireball straight at the gargoyle's face. It exploded against it, but all it did was cause the monster to recoil with a shriek. However, its face seemed undamaged. Radiance took advantage of the staggering of the gargoyle to press an attack. She dashed forward with shocking speed just as the target recovered. The gargoyle saw the new assailant and swung down its halberd. Radiance dove out of the way, just as she did that the monster swung forward its long tail that had a large battle-axe attached. Radiance was just coming out of a roll when she saw the new attack coming. All she could do was flip her legs out and drop to the ground on her back. As she did that, the gargoyle pulled its halberd from the tiles in the rooftop. It raised its weapon to strike at Radiance's exposed front, but just as it swung earthward with it a beam of superheated and powerfully-charged plasma struck the halberd, reducing it to its component atoms. Almost simultaneously a beam of impact energy smashed into its face, sending the gargoyle into a backward stumble. Radiance saw another opening and flipped herself upright. With her sword extended slightly behind her she dashed forward and leapt at one of the gargoyle's wings. She seized it along the supporting ridge, flipped over it and landed upon the monster's head. The gargoyle twisted its head to take a look at the enemy riding its back, and it screeched as it saw Radiance… it was the last thing it ever did, for the blade Radiance wielded pierced its face.

As this all happened, Jefferson stood on the other rooftop, but as he winced as Blue tore off the head of the gargoyle he attacked, Jefferson's ears detected a soft sound: the unsheathing of a blade.

Jefferson whirled in time to see a sword descending upon him. In a flash Jefferson raised his dirk and blocked the attack. As blades locked, Jefferson got a good look at his enemy. The thing attacking him looked like a skeleton with dark and baggy skin hanging loosely from its rotting frame. The hollow creature was armed in scanty armor, but nonetheless its dead eyes were glowing with fierce maliciousness. However, that was not the frightening part, that element came in the form of the fact that there were about a dozen of his compatriots, and three of them had crossbows.

Jefferson flicked out a throwing dagger with his free hand, piercing the hollow undead's forehead with the tip. Just then the undead archers fired a volley of relatively slow-moving arrows. Jefferson whirled his first defeated victim about and used it as a meatshield. The arrows thudded into the body, but did not pierce it. Jefferson shoved the meatshield forward, causing it to crash into a couple other undead warriors, sending all three bodies (including the meathshield) tumbling from the rooftops to the filthy streets far below. The archers prepared another volley just as two more undead warriors began to assault Jefferson. The archers let loose their arrows just as the two blades of the enemies fell in unison. Jefferson blocked the first and dodged the other. He then grabbed one of the arrows that had passed harmlessly by out of the air and shoved it into an eye socket of the second Hollow. Just as he did that he slipped the dirk that was blocking the blade of the first Hollow up the length of the sword to sever its hand. He then grabbed the disabled Hollow's head and slammed its face into his knee. Staggered, the creature stumbled backwards. Jefferson proceeded to perform a roundhouse kick, sending it reeling into the next wave of Hollows, sending all four into the streets below. Jefferson then backflipped over the next wave of arrows. When he landed he followed up by releasing a massive wave of throwing daggers. The daggers whistled forward and destroyed the surviving undead warriors and archers. Jefferson pocketed his dirk just as Radiance murdered the last gargoyle. Gene turned to check up on Jefferson and waved when he saw that he was all right. Jefferson nodded back and dashed toward the edge of his rooftop. When he reached the end he leapt high into the air. The leap was sufficient enough to carry him to the rooftop where Blue, Radiance, and Gene were.

"You guys good?" asked Jefferson as he walked up to his teammates.

Gene nodded. "We are."

Blue leapt from the back of the decapitated gargoyle he had slain and turned to look at the bell tower only a dozen or so meters away.

"This is called the First Bell of Awakening," said Blue quietly, "My wristblade is hidden within the clapper."

Blue strode towards the crumbling tower with purpose, with Gene, Radiance, and Jefferson trailing behind. In less than a minute they had scaled the crumbling tower and made it to the mottled iron bell. Blue extended his blade (which reassembled itself from nothingness once more) and swept it at the bell. With a resounding ring the blade sliced through bell, bisecting the bell at the waist and severing the head of the clapper. Just as the bottom half of the bell fell through the opening of the hollow bell tower, Blue caught the head of the clapper with the tip of his sword. Effortlessly Blue hefted the large mass of metal into the air where he caught it with his free hand.

"My instincts tell me that the blade is indeed within," murmured Blue. He tossed it through the air once more and swung his blade at the airborne mass of iron. The clapper head shattered… but nothing fell out but sparks and metal shards.

There was a pause…

"Apparently your instincts were… wrong," said Jefferson, "Sooooo… What do we do now?"

Blue caught a couple of the shards in his free hand. He inspected the pieces of twisted metal with curiosity. He had never been wrong in his life… this was certainly a first. As the fine dust settled and the small shards that had scattered every which way from the attack stopped skipping, Blue leaned in close to the shards he held within his hand. Within the Inquisitor helmet Blue frowned slightly as the HUD that resided within his visor leapt to life scanning the shards. Just as the helmet finished running diagnostics, a small purple spark sizzled from the twisted metal. A ghostly cloud of corrupted Imagination rose from the core of the iron shards and shimmered in the air before Blue and his teammates' eyes. With a flash the ghostly cloud began to form into a ghastly face. The hideous face grinned.

"Hello, Blue, I have been waiting to meet again for such a long time," it said, "I am sorry that your long quest to rather your armor is not yet complete because of this detour, and I will say that I am partly to blame for that… well… I am completely to blame for it. I moved it to a more… 'Secure' place: The Deep Coal Cellar."

The ghostly corrupted Imagination began to boil, and then dispersed into the ever-flowing river of Imagination.

"What… the hell… was that?" breathed Jefferson.

"That was Harold," said Blue quietly, "A 'friend' of mine."

"First off, Blue: you have no friends. Second: Harold did not sound like he was a friend to you at all," said Gene flatly.

Blue ignored Gene and opened up a large portal.

"Wait… where are you going?" asked Radiance sharply.

"To the Deep Coal Cellar," replied Blue simply, "I will retrieve my wristblade at all costs."

"You are clearly walking straight into a trap!" snapped Radiance, "You know what? Forget it. I have changed my mind again. I am glad you will be dying. You deserve it for what you did to me."

Gene gently tapped Radiance's shoulder and shook his head. He then turned to Blue and said, "It is a trap Blue, you need to see that."

"I do indeed know it is a trap, more so than I others, I would say," said Blue, "But it matters not. I will be able to handle whatever is cast at me. Harold does not fight like the rest of the multiverse would. He has no need for worldly weapons. But as I said: it matters not. However, I suggest you all leave me. Our work together is over."

Gene shook his head vehemently. "If Harold fights like nothing we have ever seen before as you claim, then that is all the more reason for us to stay together… At least until your last bit of equipment is retrieved."

"And remember," said Radiance, her eyes narrowed, "We are doing this for the being that you are trying to cast out: August. We are not doing this for you."

Blue did not respond. Instead he strolled through the gaping portal. Gene and Jefferson exchanged a somewhat distressed glance, and then rushed into the portal after him. He was then followed by Gene, Jefferson, and Radiance.

As they stepped through, they suddenly found themselves in the very center of the Deep Coal Cellar Prison, the keep of the Dimensional Lords.

Jefferson blinked, and looked about in confusion. They were in a large, blank hall, which was adorned with nothing but two doors, on behind, and one far ahead. However, it was not the nature of the room that confused him, it was the fact that he had found himself inside the prison in the first place that gave him pause. He then leaned close to Gene and whispered, "Last time I checked, the prison could not be teleported or portal-jumped into in any way. Sooooo… How did we get in here?"

Blue, who could have heard the whispering from kilometers away, shook his head at Jefferson. "Harold seems to be in control of this abandoned plant. He must have shut off the phantom projectors that would have initially prevented me from arriving at this point. But look: it seems we have company."

A group of anti-Dimensional-Lord mechas were slowly filing into the room from the door facing the team. As the score of killer robots stood to attention, the head mecha spoke with the voice of Harold.

"Don't you guys worry your head about these robots, they are simply here to escort you to my illustrious – albeit temporary – courtroom where I have the wristblade of Blue awaiting its master. Again, do not worry. But then again… I suppose none of you are, for I am sure you all are aware at how ridiculously fast Blue could obliterate these things."

"Damned right!" exclaimed Jefferson, who pulled out twin long daggers nonetheless.

The head robot turned its face (which resembled a metallic face of a bear roaring in fury) to root Jefferson to the spot with its dead, red-glowing eyes. "Jefferson," said the voice of Harold, "I am so pleased that they brought you. I have someone with the wristblade that really wants to meet you as well."

Jefferson frowned. What was Harold saying? Blue, nonetheless, was not fazed by any of Harold's enigmatic talk. With superhuman speed Blue hurled his sword and whipped out his Inquisitor Blaster. Just as the blade pierced the face of the head robot, Blue had fired off nineteen other shots, causing the head robot's entourage to almost simultaneously detonate just as it exploded itself. There was a pause, and then Harold's voice echoed from the shadows again, making it clear that the robots had actually never been the carrier of the voice in the first place.

"Very well then, make your own way to my temporary abode. I shall leave the doors open, so you can let your own ungrateful self in."

Blue glanced at his three "acquaintances" and then strolled forward, pulling his sword out of the decimated face of the head mecha as he passed. Radiance readied her sword and followed Blue, with Gene and Jefferson right behind. They had only passed through a couple bleak hallways before they found themselves in "Harold's Courtroom." It was a massive hall. To the team's right there was a large set of windows, no doubt for overseers to look out of when prisoners were paraded by. However, there was a large hole where the middle set of these windows should have been, and rubble from that decimated wall were scattered about the otherwise bleak hall. Several large anti-Dimensional-Lord guns were posted at each corner of the room, but all were disabled, though a few were still sparking and fizzling. The door at the end of the hall had been blocked off by a large pile of rubble (though Blue would not have had any trouble clearing it all away).

Blue walked to the very center of the room, weapon drawn. As he came to a slow stop in the middle, he was joined by Jefferson, Gene, and Radiance.

"You all are here… Finally. Took your time, I think… Now, please stay here while I get my things…" came Harold's voice. The door the team had just entered slid shut, and energized-protodermis-bathed Codrex Steel locked over the door. The moment it did that it became cloaked in pure energy. Basically indestructible… for most beings.

Blue looked around the room and said, "Those security measures cannot stop me. Behold…"

Blue swung back his weapon and nonchalantly hacked away at the security door that had just closed on them. The pure energy exploded around his blade like a massive water balloon that had just popped. In an instant Blue had cut his way past the energy and had reached the door. The Codrex Steel, though nigh-impenetrable, stood no match. Blue, with a grunt, slammed the tip of his blade into the steel. Slowly he cut through the tough metal, sparks of energy fizzling through the air. In a minute he had cut a large rectangular in the door. Rearing back his fist, Blue slammed his hand into the metal, digging his fingers into it like it was Memory Foam. With another grunt he ripped the cutout from the rest of the door and hurled it effortlessly across the hall. However, the moment he did that he leapt back hurriedly: the hallway they had just exited a moment ago was now full to the brim with corrupted Imagination Energy. That was something Blue – or any Dimensional Lord for that matter – could never be able to fight his way through.

"I could have sworn you weren't deaf in your previous life," came the voice of Harold, as brisk and unworried as ever, "Was this something I never knew about you, or is this a result from standing too close to Jefferson while he is jabbering for too long?"

Blue sheathed his sword. "Harold… The only thing different from me this time is that I have more fortitude, unfortunately for you. Now… What do you want? You know you cannot kill me the way you would like… yet."

Harold sighed dramatically, his disembodied voice echoing from every corner of the room as if each component molecule had been given a voice and was now speaking in his name. "True. True. True. Too true. That is to come eventually… But right now I want to give you a choice."

Suddenly mist-like corrupted Imagination Energy seeped from that one large hole in the wall. It eerily reached the floor and then solidified into a mass of writhing, volatile energy. In a shimmering blast of power that made everyone's very souls scream out in pain, it vanished, revealing a rather horrific dilemma.

A woman in a nightgown, bound and gagged in iron was hovering over a mass of corrupted Imagination Energy to the right of the giant hole. To the left of the giant hole was Blue's wristblade, hovering over a large portal to God-knows-where. The thin blade of Pure Imagination Energy that constituted the unholy power of the wristblade winked and shimmered, distorting time, matter, and space around it. The eyes of the woman were wide and terrified.

"You have a choice," said Harold's voice, sounding amused but also somewhat bored, "You can have the wristblade… or Jefferson's wife."

Jefferson's eyes widened in terror and despair as he recognized the woman. "Lorina…?"

Blue immediately hefted his sword like a spear and hurled it at the wristblade with incredible speed. However, almost as if the time-diluting speed that the sword was hurled at was nothing, Harold called up a wall of Imagination Energy to deflect the sword. The sword struck the solid-gas-liquid wall with an explosion that sent ripple-effects through the very fabric of reality and spun away harmlessly to land at Blue's feet. Blue slowly bent down and picked up his weapon, commanding it to disassemble back into pure nothingness again.

"No cheating Blue," reprimanded Harold, "Jeez Louise. That is your problem, you take the drama out of everything. When you could be having a glorious standoff with an archenemy complete with tears and vows of victory, you are too busy having Sunflower snipe the guy in the back of the head, or shooting him in the face while he tries to dramatically reveal his unbeatably evil plan."

"It is not too late to make this horrendously undramatic," replied Blue coldly and quietly, "I can just make a clear decision immediately before anyone has a chance to object."

"No! No! No!" cried Jefferson desperately, "We need to think about this! That is my wife! Lorina! Blue! God, I beg of you! Don't let her die!"

It was heart-rending to see the proud, amusing, and confident Jefferson reduced to tears. However, oddly enough, this made Harold quiet down.

"I actually suggest you think about it," said Harold, almost softly, "I mean, seriously dude, this is a big decision."

There was a pause, but then Harold's voice strengthened again as he broke the silence. "Remember Blue, whatever happens, I am blaming all of this on you, and I hope everyone else does as well."

Blue turned to Jefferson and said, "I am sorry about your wife… But she will have to die. The wristblade is of greater importance."

"It's a wristblade!" cried Jefferson, his eyes suddenly wild, "It is an inanimate object. Granted it possesses great power… But… But we are dealing with human life here!" My goddamn wife!

"Don't fool yourself, Jefferson," replied Blue, still emotionlessly, "You are greatly exaggerating the value of human life. We are like cockroaches, one should not mourn if another is snuffed out."

"Stop it Blue!" yelled Gene, losing his temper for the first time in forever, "You are the most heartless, selfish, cold-blooded being I have ever met!"

The argument was interrupted by Harold's loud, omnipresent voice. "I agree with you. He is. Anyone going to make a decision yet? I am really bad with these tense 'heart-felt' arguments that always happen just before big decisions. Well, I will admit now that this is quite amusing. I could see this happening if there were two women up where, each a wife to a respective teammate… But this is about a human life and a little pointy weapon."

"You know the power of the wristblade, Harold," said Blue, "You have seen its might. In fact, its might has been demonstrated countless times over the two trillion years of this Tri-Multiverse's existence. This woman will have a lifespan of eighty years before rotting and crumbling to dust."

Jefferson gave something between a gurgle and a scream before unleashing a hail of sharp knives. Blue simply waved his right gauntlet through the air, and the knives melted and then evaporated in gaseous forms of the constituting elements.

Gene closed his eyes in sorrow. It was distressing to see how easily Jefferson fell apart when the ones he loved were in danger.

"Blue, you monster!" shouted Radiance, "A human life is at stake! How can you care so very little about this?!"

"I committed suicide in my past life, and I have murdered children," replied Blue softly, "I have made it very clear that I disregard life of any form. This will be one more crime to add to the lightyear-long list."

Gene hurled forward a bolt of lightning, attempting desperately to disable Blue, but the Inquisitor did not even bother to dodge, for the attack exploded harmlessly off his armor. He turned and struck Gene across the face, sending him flying through the air to come to a painful halt at the other side of the hall. Radiance took this moment to attempt to stab Blue in the back. Like water, Blue dodged smoothly, disarmed her, and then broke the offending blade in two with his hands in less than a second. In one more second Radiance was on the ground, stunned and dazed.

Jefferson was all that was left. His eyes were wide as he begged, "Blue… After all that we have been through… We were trying to do good here! Don't give into evil!"

"You have been evil your entire life, mercenary," replied Blue in hushed tones, "This was the first time you ever tried to do something worthy, and look what it has done. Take the loss and return to a life of stealing and murder before I end your life with the life of your wife."

Jefferson suddenly threw his dirk, his favorite weapon, straight at Blue's face with inhuman speed. Once again, Blue did not even dodge. The blade struck Blue's visor… and shattered into a million pieces without leaving a scratch. Blue extended a gauntlet and snapped a finger. A beam of energy shot from his wrist, bathing Jefferson in light.

Mouth agape, Jefferson gagged as his limbs locked up and he fell to the ground, with every voluntary component of his body disabled except for his eyes.

Blue turned to the small hurricane of corrupted Imagination Energy that represented the throne of Harold. "I choose the wristblade," he said.

Harold sighed. "Oh, very well. Look at you Blue, I am almost disappointed. I may be blinded by the shadows I have wrought in anger, but I can clearly see I am not the only villain in this room."

Lorina, her eyes wide, screamed as she felt the invisible hand holding her above the corrupted Imagination Energy loosen… and then she dropped. In an instant the wife of Jefferson was murdered… ever atom in her body being completely annihilated in a blatant violation of the Law of Conservation of Mass.

There was a pause, only thing that could be heard was the sigh of despair from Gene, and a broken sob from Radiance.

"Hmmmmm…" murmured Harold, who actually sounded greatly bothered and somewhat dissatisfied, "You, Blue, are a monster. But I think we need to go a little bit farther to ensure that you will be cemented in the body of August when we finally meet in final combat."

Suddenly the frozen body of Jefferson was levitated in the air. Gene leapt to his feet and attempted to use his Dimensional Traveler powers to bring Jefferson to earth again, but clearly whatever powers Harold was using greatly overrode whatever powers Gene had. Jefferson slowly floated through the air until he came to a stop… right over the writhing ball of corrupted Imagination Energy that had just killed Lorina.

"Oookkkkaaaayyyyy," said Harold, a little less energetic this time, "I am going to give Blue yet another choice... This is the last one, I promise. Unlike Blue, I do not revel in death and tire easily of meaningless murder. Blue… You can either choose Jefferson… or you can have the wristblade. What will it be?"

"The mercenary attempted to attack me," said Blue emotionlessly, "I harbor no love toward him like August did. I choose…"

Blue suddenly froze… Mattimeo and Doxia's Dreamscape Plan activated.

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><p><em>Dimension: Dreamscape<em>

_Planet: Dreamscape_

_Specific Location: Dreamscape_

_Time: About two weeks after Lyric found Summer_

August Dellor sat on the cosmos-filled expanse of his mind, his soul trapped within a small confined space due to the stronger will of Blue forcing him out. Several times August had managed to escape the mental prison to take Blue by surprise like Blue had done to him so many times, but each time he was soon forced back… and forced into a smaller, tighter containment unit. Soon he would be ejected from the body altogether, and be forced to wander the Earth Multiverse or eventually ascend to the Heaven Multiverse. At this point, August felt like that was better than what he currently was forced to endure. He was well aware of every action Blue made using August's body… And he was powerless to stop anything. Just a moment ago August saw Blue allow Jefferson's wife to die for the wristblade… and now it looked like Blue was about to let Jefferson die as well. August cried quietly, non-corporeal body clouding in despair.

Suddenly the expanse that August sat upon rippled and distorted as if a silent earthquake was tearing at the fabric of the jail. Slowly a specter rose from the ground and turned from intangible to tangible with a shower of light. It was Doxia.

"Mattimeo really makes those transitions feel wonderful," muttered Doxia to himself, rubbing the back of his neck. He then noticed August.

"Hey, buddy, how are you holding up?" the Dimensional Lord said softly.

August shook his head. "Blue is about to kill Jefferson… using my own hands!"

"Well, technically it is using your voice… but then again Inquisition DNA altered your larynx to emanate Blue's voice sooooo…" Doxia quieted down as his eons-old mind registered the full gravity of the situation.

Doxia got down on one knee and patted August's head. "Kid, I need you ready. Eyes on me."

August looked up from his knees to lock eyes with Doxia's eternity-reflecting visor. "We are giving you a chance. But this is your only chance."

Doxia vanished as if he had never been there. A second later the small starlit room that served as August's internal prison shifted and burst open. Like a time-lapse video, the cosmos-reflecting ground stretched out in all directions, filling all horizons. August blinked… He had been freed.

"August."

August practically leapt a meter in the air. Heart racing, August slowly turned around. Standing before him was Blue. With the outside reality frozen in time, August and Blue faced off each other for the first time since the beginning of the hell-cursed quest.

"Blue," gasped August. His eyes were wide with horror… but then they hardened. He knew what he had to do.

"Blue," August said again, stronger this time, "I will not let you kill Jefferson. He is a friend, and I will not let you do this."

Blue shook his head. "And what makes you think you are in a position to stop me?" murmured Blue, "The Tri-Multiverse needs me, far more than it needs you or that mercenary. I am worth a thousand Augusts, Jeffersons, and Lorinas. Perhaps even more."

"No!" shouted August, desperation to protect his friends fueling his strength that had long since depleted in his time of resignation and surrender, "As Gene said, you are a monster! You think yourself above others, and you kill because you can… But everything you do is wrong. You are not the most powerful of us all, you are the weakest. You are incapable of love, happiness, compassion, and joy. All you can feel is your need to complete a mission, and why? I know why, for I have seen your memories and lived your past… You do it simply because you need death. You are insecure, Blue, you have no grasp on reality and you have not the slightest sense of purpose. And thus… you kill. You kill because seeing a person's own life's purpose die takes your mind off of the endless nothingness you see ahead in your own life! But let me tell you: killing is not the answer. What you are doing… it is destroying you, not fortifying you."

"I am well aware that it is destroying me," replied Blue, "And I will say that perhaps you are right. I performed impossible missions and threw all cautions and regulations to the wind because I thought it would bring me something I had always missed in my life. But that is not true now. I am moving forward simply because I wish to face Harold. He has been with me and against me since before I was first an Inquisitor… and now this all must end…"

"And so that is your goal now?" asked August quietly, "Your goal is simply to kill Harold?"

"Yes, no matter the cost," said Blue. Suddenly Blue turned his back to August and stared into the void of the dreamscape. "No… matter… the… cost…"

August stared at Blue, and then he said, softly, "You don't want to kill Harold, do you?"

Blue actually sighed, a tinge of emotion wiggling its way into the undertone of his voice. "Perhaps not. The war with Harold is something that has been fought countless times, with no success. With my mindset… I cannot face him, for he understands me too well, just as I understand him too well. He is like the light, and I am the dark. We cannot exist without each other, and so when one ceases to exist, the other ceases to have meaning. I have spent countless eons and countless innocent lives searching for my own meaning, but it will be all for naught if he dies. My mission is to face Harold and defeat him for Rerenhaw, but I know this last mission cannot be completed."

"Blue, you have never let me truly speak to you before," said August, hope entering his voice, "But now that I may… Blue, let me take on the mantle of Inquisitor."

Blue turned about again to look at August. "You are a fool, August. You have no ability to do what I can."

August shook his head. "Your memories are mine. Your skills can be mine. Blue, I have no control over this choice, but I know that you cannot face Harold. But I can. The truth is, I think I understand your plight more than you even do. Harold… Harold has a purpose. Something has given him a will to do what he does. You, on the other hand, have nothing. And so, when you realized that Harold was acting like the sustaining opposite of your existence, you became attached to him. He gave you meaning, he gave you a purpose. But instead of that purpose being a drive to stop him, it became a hindrance. Your purpose truly was to allow him to define you, to give you a meaning that you yourself could never find, and that made him unstoppable. But me… For me… I can defeat him, for I have a purpose: to protect my friends or die trying… I want to be a hero."

"A hero is a fool, unwilling to forward the greater good by performing the necessary evils to gain the victory over the unrelenting cancer of reality," said Blue sharply. But his voice was fading.

August just kept going. "You committed suicide in the end because your missions and your purpose in life conflicted. You saw no end in life, so you made one. If you continue on this path, history will repeat itself. But I can break the loop. I can defeat the hearts of darkness, for I am willing to make the ultimate sacrifice with meaning and purpose, for I know: my friends, my loved ones, and those whom I protect will forever be far more important than my own life. And that is my purpose: to protect others. I will fight and die to protect people from Harold."

Blue stared at August for a long, long, long time, thinking about what August had said. Suddenly it struck him: what was he doing? All of the things he had done up to this point had no meaning, for it was ultimately leading up to a battle he knew he would be unable to win. Harold needed to be defeated, and Blue knew it. If Harold was gone then Blue could return to nonexistence, knowing that his purpose was gone, and that the purpose binding him to reality was dead. It was a sad end indeed that was in store for him, but he knew he deserved every moment of it for the crimes he had committed. But perhaps… this child August could learn from it, and be what Blue never could be: a hero. If Blue wanted peace, he needed to give up this endless and futile crusade and let light fight the dark, not shadows.

"Very well, August," said Blue, "You can take control once more… But I will never be gone. I will always be in the shadows of your mind… But I will never again interfere."

August pretty much broke down. "Thank you," he gasped, "Thank you…"

Blue slowly backed away, the void beyond consuming his dreamscape form. "But remember, as I am a shadow in your mind, I will also be a faint influence upon your actions that, if you do not control yourself, can grow into impulses."

August shook his head. "I know what I must do. I will let only goodness and light guide me."

Blue actually chuckled. "Many younger Inquisitors said that, only to become like me."

August shook his head once more, a little bit more vehemently this time. "I won't become like you. I know the stakes. I will never make the same mistakes."

Blue vanished into the shadows and dissolved into nothing, leaving naught but his voice echoing over the dreamscape. "Odd that you should say that, August. I was not the only one who pulled the trigger on the gun that killed Pictor… I was not the only one to choose the wristblade over Jefferson's wife. One other finger and one other voice performed with me in unison…"

August's stomach turned to ice as Blue's voice finally vanished into the void as well. However, August only had a moment to consider Blue's last words for the entire Dreamscape warped and folded in on itself, ejecting August violently back into reality. August gasped really loudly, and staggered as his mind grasped all the changes the Inquisitor armor had made to his body. Everything felt different.

"Waaaiiittttt…" said Harold from the shadows, "You just… You just gasped. Blue never did that. Something is not right…"

August straightened up, hesitated, and then said, in Blue's voice, "I choose… I choose Jefferson."

There was a pause, then Harold said slowly, "August Dellor! You're back! Everyone, it's August Dellor! Well… This is… odd… But I actually will not argue with it, yet. In fact… I-I-I think I need a moment to rethink everything. O-oh! That's right! Here, have Jefferson."

Jefferson flew forward to be caught by August. At the same time the wristblade began to fall through the portal, where it would never be found again…

Suddenly, Dark's hatchet flew through the wall behind Harold's throne of corrupted Imagination Energy and struck the wristblade, carrying itself and the wristblade to safety on the other side of the hall. In an instant Dark and Sunflower jumped through the hole in the wall that Dark's hatchet had created and joined Blue.

Harold laughed. "Well! Look at this! I will say that this added one last satisfactory taste to this terrible afternoon. The John 3 Inquisitor chapter is back together again to face the dastardly Harold! Though I must say Blue would have been a better villain, but he's gone now… and so am I... For a little bit."

With a rumbling shriek the hurricane of death that represented Harold imploded on itself, leaving nothing behind except for a small piece of paper that floated to the ground and landed softly.

"Blue's gone?" said Dark sharply, "What did he mean by that? You're right here!"

"I'm not Blue," said August, resigning himself to the fact that he would forevermore sound like Blue, "I'm August. Blue has retreated into my mind, letting me control this body and take the final fight to Harold myself."

Dark simply shook his head. "Then we have already lost. I have no confidence in you. You are not my leader, August."

Dark spat out the name as if it was something vile. He snatched up his hatchet and turned around, storming away to vanish into the shadows. Sunflower sighed. He knelt down, picked up the wristblade, and handed it to August.

"I'm sorry," Sunflower said, "Dark will come around. He will just need time. We all will need time."

August slowly took the wristblade and snapped it to his right arm. He felt a shock of power course through his body as he became armed with the most powerful weapon in all of reality. At this point Gene got to his feet and carefully picked his way across the hall to confront August. August braced himself for a rebuke or cry of anger, but all he got was a small pat on his shoulder.

"I believed you the entire time, August," Gene said. He sounded exhausted, but satisfied. He then slowly got to his knees to help the wounded Radiance to her feet.

August walked over to Jefferson, who was lying at the foot of the pile of rubble that led to that one hole in the wall, and activated a special device on his left gauntlet. This device bathed Jefferson in energies that freed him of his paralysis.

"Jefferson, I am so sorry," breathed August, "I couldn't save your wife… But… But at least I saved you…"

Jefferson looked at August, his eyes impossible to read. He then closed his eyes and went limp. As he did this he murmured, "You saved me but failed to save the one I loved. Put yourself in my place. Do you think you saved anyone? You did not. You killed us both. You are not a hero."

August sighed, stood up, and turned around to look at Gene for help. The moment he did that there was a massive explosion of light and sound behind August. August whirled around and found that Jefferson… was gone. He had vanished, and all that was left of him was the grip of the dirk that Jefferson had broken against Blue… while trying to protect his wife.

August Dellor slowly picked the grip of the dirk up and held it tightly in his hand.

"August," said Sunflower slowly, "We need to-"

"Go."

August did not even look up. "All of you… Go. Leave me."

Gene stared at the back of August, his eyes wide but understanding. Slowly he hoisted Radiance onto his back and opened a portal to the My Little Pony dimension. They would find peace there. Sunflower gave August one last look… and then followed his two friend through. The portal closed with a "pop." Silence fell upon the decimated hall.

August slowly looked around. His HUD pointed out the dropped piece of paper that had appeared from nowhere the moment Harold had left.

Slowly August climbed up the rubble to the large hole in the wall where the note rested. He sat down amidst the rubble and read it. It said:

"Fairy tales always say that the world is full of heroes and villains, and it has always been implied that the heroes always win. But that is not the case in the real world. There are no heroes, there are only villains masquerading as heroes or fools declaring that they are ones only to die. True heroes do not exist. As Blue once said, 'We all travel towards the light at the end of the tunnel, but when we reach that light, it will do naught but illuminate life as it is razed by fire and brimstone. This is reality.' There is no place for heroes in this second hell. In the end all of you will be corrupted and killed. Blue was a hero once... and I looked up to him. But eventually this reality turned him into what he is now. It is only a matter of time before reality corrupts you as well. The question is: how long?

~Regards, Harold Dellor. (H.D.)"

* * *

><p><strong>Note: One adventure ends, and another begins. How will life progress now, with a new (albeit unstable) John 3 Inquisition Chapter arisen? And where will Summer and Lyric end up now, now that they can no longer stay in Haven of Star Circle? I must say that it was all quite a journey. Either way, please review! I put a lot of work into this chapter, so I am greatly interested in what you all thought of this finale! If you review, I shall give you a copy of Blue's Wristblade. It is the most powerful weapon in the Tri-Multiverse... However, take note that it is only a copy... and that it was made in Taiwan. Just ignore that last phrase. Anyway, see you all in the next part of the season!<strong>


	136. Chapter 136 - Impending Dark

**Note: Hello everyone! Welcome to part 7, the latter half of season 2! I am so happy that so many of you have stayed with me so far. It has been quite a ride, hasn't it? So much has been discovered and developed, and only more is to come! Anyway, that is all I am going to say for now. Time to answer some reviews! To Super Vegito: Thanks! I really am glad to see someone is as excited to see the next chapter up as I am! To AntiVillain1: Hey there! I haven't heard from you in a while! Actually, Jefferson did not commit suicide. He is part of the "Once Upon a Time" dimension. In that dimension, it is implied by its TV show that Jefferson lost his wife in an incredibly tragic event. I simply explained how it happened. He later went on to get terribly mixed up in some random events and eventually went on to find happiness. However, it took a really long time for that to happen. To Minebrine: I am not, actually, but that is an interesting idea to say the least. To RedTheChangeling: I fixed that error the moment you mentioned it. Thanks for the heads-up! To FocusedStream: Thank you for your enthusiasm! Hmmmm... Harold versus Doxia? I would have to say, personally, Doxia would probably win. You see, Harold is really just like a twelve-year-old in an Iron Man suit facing off Leonidas and his 300 Spartans. The 300 are brave, powerful, and superior to all of their peers, but the Iron Man suit is just too powerful for them to combat. However, Doxia has the Longsword of the Archnova. This weapon can splice and dice streams of Imagination Energy, and thus Doxia can fight Harold in a way that few others can. It is a close call... But I will stick with Doxia on this matter. That is it for reviews. Now, I will mention that after this chapter, I will be taking a short hiatus. I need to spend time completing the last two chapters for "Through A Glass Darkly" as well as start work on my newest story, that will begin the moment that other story ends. I will probably get around to posting on "A Mending Soul" around spring break... Well, that is all for now! Enjoy the latest chapter!**

* * *

><p><span>Season 2: Hearts of Darkness<span>

Part 7: Ultimate Sacrifice

...

What is a hero, Joseph?

A hero… I am not familiar with the true nature of this term. Explain, please, Bottarr.

You are justified in your ignorance, Joseph, for the term "hero" is very obscure. Some say a hero is someone who knows for what they live for and give their entire being for that purpose. Others say that a hero is a being whom people can look up to and glorify. Some say a hero is a being who sacrifices what he knows and loves for the good of others. And then others say a hero is a gentle warrior, stern against those who wish to harm the good, and helpful and kind to those whom are weak. And then finally there are those out there who believe that heroes are fools and bunglers; beings deluded with images of love and peace that ultimately kill them and those they protect.

Which of these definitions do you believe to be true, Bottarr?

Me? I believe that a hero can be all of these things. There are many types of heroes, and it is up to those heroes to decide what kind they are.

But which definition do you believe truly represents the truth behind the meaning of a hero?

That is an almost unanswerable question, Joseph. But perhaps for me… A hero is someone who is willing to sacrifice their well-being, their happiness, their lives, and their very souls to protect the people of this multiverse. They will give up everything, including their names in history, to save lives. They might be remembered as heroes, they might be remembered as villains… Heaven may commend them, or perhaps may condemn them… but if they have managed to save even a single life and know this to be true in their mind before their soul enters the void… They are by far the greatest hero of all.

Are you a hero, Bottarr?

No, I am not. And neither are you.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: Hallway to the Rerenhaw Council Room_

_Time: Over a year after Lyric loses his leg._

Dimensional Lords Lynx and Corvus stood by the massive white doors that led into the Rerenhaw Council Room. Even though there were no hostile interdimensional empires left in all of reality to attempt an attack on Rerenhaw during a council session, it was still good protocol to have two Dimensional Lords to guard the door.

"This is boring," sighed Corvus conjuring up superheated magma and tossing it in the air as if it was a toy ball, "My life is boring."

"All our lives are boring," replied Lynx shaking her head disapprovingly at Corvus's behavior, "But you don't see anyone complaining about it. What? Are you going to give up your powers and go back to being a mortal like everyone else after the Maelstrom War?"

"I don't know," sighed Corvus, "I really don't know. At least then I know there would be an end, and it would give me reason and drive to do stuff! I mean, seriously, everything has gone stagnant. For example, do you know what they are talking about in the Council?"

Lynx shrugged her powerfully-armored shoulders. "How should I know? Was there a memo?"

"Yeah. Dimensonal Lord Meadolax started making them and handing them out as a joke," replied Corvus airily, flash-freezing the lava, converting its molecular makeup into an ice cube, and then sublimating it with no effort, "Anyway… They are talking about whether or not they should reinstate the dimension Meshe 1 as an official Amethyst Empire territory."

Lynx blinked. "I was an E.D.D. Dimensional Lord, but even I know that that was an Amethyst Empire territory before the Maelstrom War… It's not one anymore? Why? And why is this even a discussion? Amethyst is the only interdimensional nation in existence now! There are no territories when there is only one entity to claim them."

"Exactly," sighed Corvus, shaking his head, "The epitome of pointlessness and lethargy. Now… What I wouldn't give more some lemonade to pour on my helmet."

Lynx just stared at Corvus. "You've been talking to Doxia about 'eating etiquette' haven't you?"

Corvus shrugged. "What if I am? It's none of your business, Mrs. Goody-Two-Shoes!"

Suddenly a soft, confident voice wove its way into the hall from nowhere. "Oh dear! It's escalated to petty name-calling now! You two seriously have no idea how to keep it together."

Corvus and Lynx whirled and found them facing a hooded character. The two Dimensional Lords blinked in surprise at the sight. However, it was not so much the garb as the material that made up the garb that immediately shocked the two Dimensional Lords.

"My God," breathed Lynx, "Is that… That's Imagination Energy in pure form!"

"Corrupted Imagination to be exact," commented Corvus, who seemed a little less shocked, "Soooo… Who are you?"

"My name is not important," said the hooded figure as it walked toward the two Dimensional Lords. The liquid-gas-solid Imagination Energy cloak flowed around the being like a river around a sharp rock, "But if you must know… My name is Harold." In an instant the entire hallway was cloaked in corrupted Imagination Energy, preventing the two Dimensional Lords from teleporting away.

A second later Lynx slammed her foot on the ground and froze time about Harold, an efficient way to incapacitate any being. Corvus then clapped his palms together and began to charge up pure destructive energy, readying a blast that would assuredly destroy Harold. But then, suddenly, Harold kept walking forward as if the time-freeze attack that Lynx had unleashed had no effect. Corvus fired the bolt, but Harold seized the hem of his cloak of corrupted Imagination Energy and whipped it up to use the cloak as a shield. The blast (capable of ending an entire dimension) struck the cloak and was absorbed into it as if it was nothing. Before Lynx could fire a blast of dark matter the size of a small moon, Harold then whipping forward and edge of his cloak like it was a whip. In less than a nanosecond it had struck Lynx and then Corvus in the chests… killing them both instantly. The two bodies hit the ground with giant sizzling holes in their chests.

Harold looked down at his handiwork and sighed. "I suppose getting your hands dirty is the best way to get attention around here," he muttered. He then snapped a finger and then whirled his cloak around. Like a tornado the cloak surrounded him… and then he vanished.

A second later Mattimeo and Doxia slammed the Rerenhaw Council Room door open and rushed into the hallway to behold the damage done from the ruckus. For a whole minute the entire council stared at the two dead Dimensional Lords in complete shock. What they were staring at now… was unheard of. No one can kill Dimensional Lords.

"Lynx and Corvus, they're dead," breathed Mattimeo, immediately strolling up to them, "They've been destroyed. Impossible." Interestingly enough, though, neither he nor Doxia looked at all worried. They were surprised, of course, but the death of Dimensional Lords meant nothing to them, for death no longer meant anything. It was almost as if the two dead beings had simply gone on a vacation and left their bodies behind. Time had no meaning.

However, the rest of the council was horrified, almost beyond words.

"By Star Clan," said Firestar softly, "This is terrible. The Heaven-Multiverse will most assuredly look into this for answers when they admit these two's souls."

"How is this even possible?" asked Martin the Warrior, stunned, "In all of history only ten Dimensional Lords have died, and each time they have gone down, they went down taking out countless enemies along with them. These two are just… dead… And from the markings… they were both killed by the same being."

There was a pause as everyone waited for Doxia to speak. He was usually the first one to take initiative, but this time he had not said a word.

"Doxia?" asked Rosalina softly, "What do you say?"

Doxia glanced back at his comrades. "I say take a look-see at this little message our murdered left on this wall…"

The whole council looked to where Doxia was pointing. A message was carved into the very molecular fabric of the Codrex Proto-steel wall. It read:

"I WANT THE INQUISITORS HUNTING ME AGAIN."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot_

_Time: Over a year after Lyric lost a limb_

"Okay," sighed Starlight Amber, "I am officially lost." She looked at the map of Canterlot, then turned it upside-down, and then folded it up in disappointment and frustration. She looked around desperately one more time. She, Pound Cake, and Pumpkin Cake were in a small alley somewhere in the surprisingly less-than-credible downtown area. That was fairly much all she could recognize of the area.

"We are in CANTERLOT, Starry," sighed Pound Cake, "We've been here plenty of times."

"And every time we go here I explain that I am terrible at directions!" cried Starlight, "And every time we go you STILL give me a map!"

"You know, it might all make sense if I tell you that we heard you every time you explained that you were terrible at directions," commented Pumpkin Cake with a sly smile.

Starlight opened her mouth and then shut it. Then she blinked, utterly confused. "Wait… What? Oh, no… You DARE?"

Pumpkin burst out laughing. "Oh Starry! You look so CUTE when your face turns red!"

Starlight could only shake her head. Pumpkin had purposely let Starlight get them lost for at least twelve years in a row now. However, this was no time to get mad, for if she did, Pumpkin would only laugh harder. So, instead of giving into the outburst bubbling beneath the surface, Starlight sighed. "Okay. Ha-ha. Very funny. My ribs are hurting with all of that non-existent laughter."

Unfortunately for Starlight, this actually only made Pumpkin laugh harder, and even the more timid Pound began to snigger.

"Alright! Alright!" exclaimed Starlight, "I get that it was funny, but now that I have finally realized – after all these years – that you were clearly doing this to get us lost on PURPOSE, can we please find a way to get out of here?"

Pumpkin brushed away a tear of laughter. "Okay. Okay…"

Pound calmed down a little quicker, and then just shrugged. "Well… I would like to point out that we are indeed lost, never mind whether or not it was done on purpose."

Pumpkin froze. "Oh yeah…"

Starlight facehoofed. "And sometimes I wonder why you two are considered my elders in society," she muttered. She then looked around at the small street that they had found themselves in. It was lined by small stores, most of them empty or sparsely attended. Most ponies were gone to an address that Princess Celestia was making at Canterlot Castle. After a minute of looking about she noticed a small corner pub that had the "OPEN" neon lights turned on. Albeit they were flickering heavily, but they were still on, which indicated that there indeed were ponies in there. Possibly ponies that knew more about downtown Canterlot than two happy-go-lucky Ponyville Ponies and one second-generation half-Dimensional-Lord who knew less about directions than a slug on steroids.

"See that pub?" said Starlight, pointing to the corner tavern, "We can probably ask for directions in there."

Pound pulled a face. "Are you sure? I don't like the looks of it. It looks… rather… rough…"

Pound's voice trailed off as he looked at Starlight's no-nonsense face. He then grinned sheepishly. "Oh yeah… You were trapped on the Redzion Island Continent for ten years and managed to survive. This is nothing."

Starlight's face brightened up again and declared, "That's right! Now, ponies! Let's move out! We must undo what Pumpkin has done!"

Pumpkin blinked indignantly. "What I'VE done? What about Pound? He formulated part of the plan! I mean… Sort of… A little… Probably… Not really."

Starlight rolled her eyes and trotted forward. In a minute she was hustling her two friends inside. The bartender, a gray earth pony with a missing ear, grinned crookedly as he saw the three young adults stumble inside.

"Well, well, well! What do we have here?" he sneered, "Three lost, wet-nosed, little-"

Starlight strolled up to the counter and slammed a hoof down sharply, knocking all glasses on the tabletop askew. "Drinks!" she said firmly, "Lights for my two friends, and a Spryte for myself!"

The bar tender's jaw practically hit the floor upon seeing Starlight's confident demeanor (and drink order). He simply stared for a whole minute, before shakily trotting off to ready the drinks. Both Pumpkin and Pound just stared at Starlight. Starlight glanced at them and grinned. "What? You thought 'Starry' the Ponyville Schoolhouse teacher didn't have a 'fun' side to her?"

Pumpkin just slowly turned around and stared at the small TV mounted in a corner of the mostly-abandoned tavern in order to avoid Starlight's triumphant gaze.

"Look at this!" she said, bumping Pound lightly on the shoulder (who still looked as if he was in shock), "The Stallion Empire-Equidor Peace Talks are finally being televised."

"That means they have already reached an agreement," commented Pound, "If they had disintegrated like the Stallion Empire-Equestria Peace Talks no pony would really know what was going on until the bombs started dropping."

Starlight glanced over at the TV screen, watching a reporter narrate the careful hoof-shaking between the President of Equidor and a Stallion Empire ambassador in detail.

"Look at that ambassador," she said, pulling a small face, "The Stallion Empire didn't even bother considering sending over their High King, and yet Equidor is still scrambling to make peace. What are the two nations fighting over anyway?"

Pumpkin just carelessly shrugged and bumped Pound, whom she assumed knew.

"O-oh! I know!" exclaimed Pound, "It's over the Trimareian Isle. It was originally part of Equidor during the Nightmare Moon crises all of those years ago, but the Stallion Empire just recently claimed that they were given it during the Equus-Irrum war during the Paradox crises. Naturally there is no documentation for the claim, but the Stallion Empire does whatever it wants."

Pound paused and smacked his lips quietly as the two mares stared at him expectantly to elaborate. Then he said, "Oh, and the island is roughly one kilometer by one kilometer in size."

Starlight facehoofed a second time. "By Kytax. This is a mess."

Pumpkin just shook her head. "That is the Stallion Empire for you. By Celestia, they would fight a war for the rights to the name 'Marshmallow' if they felt like it."

"That hasn't happened yet, but something similar did occur for the rights to all the vodka on the planet," said the bartender suddenly as he came in from a back room, balancing three mugs full to the brim with alcoholic beverages. He tipped his head down and expertly dealed the mugs from his head to each respective customer.

Pumpkin and Pound lightly sipped their beers, but Starlight downed her vodka in a single gulp and slammed it down on the countertop. The bartender nearly passed out when all she did was grin and say, "It appears they did not win that, and I am glad. That was good. I'll have another one."

However, just as he giddily turned around to get her another one, she tapped him and said, "Actually, never mind that, I need a little help."

As the bartender turned around, Starlight glanced about and then beckoned him to lean in close. She winked at him and then whispered, "I have the world's worst sense of direction… And thus my compatriots and I are lost. Can you direct us to the nearest way to Canterlot Castle?"

The bartender, feeling completely warmed-up to this pony, nodded his head vehemently, more than ready to help her. "Of course! Take a left at the corner and then head straight down until you hit the second intersection. Take a right, and then keep going. Once you reached the intersection there, you need to head left, and then take a right. You will see Canterlot Castle clearly from that point. I won't mention the names of the streets because I know they will just confuse you."

Starlight gave him a sweet smile. "Why thank you my friend! I knew I could count on you! Here… keep the change."

She put down several bits to pay for the drinks and then ushered her friends from their seats. As she did that, the bartender called, "Come back soon! I mean, seriously, I really want you to come back."

Starlight just smiled at him and then left. As they trotted out, Pumpkin exclaimed, "Well! No harm, no foul, I always say. I may have pulled the same prank on you for the hundredth time in a row, but this time we got out of it without having to call Princess Luna to pick us up like we were infants!"

Starlight rolled her eyes. "You clearly are never going to tire of that prank."

Pumpkin winked. "You're right. I won't."

Starlight turned to Pound and switched the subject. "Pound," she said, "I missed most of what was happening on the TV. What did I miss?"

"Not much," replied Pound, "Just the regular spiel about how peace, happiness, and the magic of friendship had saved them from all-out war and stuff. But I must admit Stallion Empire Ambassador Harvest Snowfall is a really good speaker!"

Starlight stopped in her tracks. Pound looked at her curiously. "Starry?"

Starlight blinked and shook her head. "Oh… Sorry. That name – the ambassador's, I mean – it just sounds really familiar. Huh… Well, it doesn't matter, let's keep moving."

However, though Starlight had implied that it did not matter, the feeling of déjà vu kept on bothering her, and they almost got lost a second time as they traversed the downtown of Canterlot. But, fortunately, Pumpkin's attention to detail prevented them from wandering off to who-knows-where and they successfully made it to Main Street, where they got a clear view of Canterlot Castle.

"We've made it!" declared Pumpkin, "Never again shall I attempt to pull such a prank on Starry!"

Starlight shook her head. "Nice try. I see it in your eyes."

Pound looked up at the castle. "We might as well hurry. Last time I checked the time, we were late in meeting the Princesses. The address is over, and they are expecting us."

Pumpkin smacked her forehead with a hoof. "Ohmygosh! You're right! Everypony hurry!"

The three ponies galloped down Main Street. As they ran, several ponies would call out to Starlight as she passed them by.

"Hey Starlight!"

"Look! It's Starlight! How are you?"

"Visit my shop a little later, won't you, Starlight?"

Pumpkin pulled a face as they continued to gallop. "Looks like someone is a little popular around here."

Starlight grinned sheepishly. "I realized life is too short to not be nice to anypony… And so I will talk to anyone I can."

After at least ten whole minutes of running they came to a breathless stop at the gate of Canterlot Castle. A pony guard poked his head over the ramparts of the gate and called, "Who goes there?"

"It's me and the Cakes, Dusk!" called Starlight.

"Oh! Starlight, Pound, and Pumpkin! Come right in!"

The door slowly swung open and the three ponies trotted. Several guard ponies nearby stopped to salute them before going about their business. They trotted up to the beautiful main door of the actual castle, and Pound prepared to knock. However, before his hoof could rap at the door, it swung open itself to allow Sunset Shadow to exit. The dark purple pony trotted outside, looked at the three ponies before him, and smiled quietly. "Well, hello you three! How are you?"

Starlight blinked. "Dad?! What are you doing here?"

Sunset Shadow shrugged. "Oh, I was meeting with Luna about some things in the Stallion Empire-Equidor Peace Talks that happened not two hours ago."

Pound, who was somewhat interested in the politics of these particular peace talks, cocked his head to one side and said, "Really? Like what?"

Sunset Shadow smiled. "Apparently Stallion Empire Ambassador Harvest Snowfall is going on some sort of international tour to talk to ponies about how the Stallion Empire is not totally evil."

Pumpkin rolled her eyes and snorted. "Well, at least they said 'not totally' instead of 'not'."

Starlight rubbed her temples with the tip of her hooves. "Hey, dad? Does the name 'Harvest Snowfall' sound familiar to you?"

Sunset Shadow shook his head. "Well, he is the new head ambassador of the entirety of the Stallion Empire."

Starlight shook her head. "I mean, do you think you've heard that name anywhere else? Have this nagging feeling that I've heard it elsewhere."

Sunset Shadow shook his head one more time. "No, sweetie, I don't think I have. I'm sorry, my memory is not as good as it used to be."

Starlight sighed and then gave him a somewhat-bright smile. "That's okay, dad. It is probably nothing. I guess my brain just doesn't like giving up on unanswered questions, even when the questions themselves do not exist."

Sunset Shadow kissed his daughter on her cheek as he passed by. "That's okay. Try not to let it bother you when you go in for the second meeting, okay? Princess Luna has been extremely stressed as of late, thanks to August completely cutting communications with her and his father."

Starlight's face immediately became the picture of sorrow. "Oh, that poor mare. It just breaks my heart to know that August has become so distant."

Pumpkin grimaced. "Too busy playing 'hero' I think. I hope he remembers someday that he has a bunch of friends here who care for him."

Sunset Shadow's face clouded. "Yes… I hope so."

There was an uncomfortable pause, but then Sunset Shadow's face brightened again, breaking the mood. "Well, no matter!" he said, "I must be off, Starry. The baby is due any day now, and I need to be by your mother's side when your brother is born!"

Starlight winked. "I will be right behind you dad… as soon as we finish meeting with Luna."

Pumpkin gave a little hop of excitement. "Ooh! This will be so exciting! Well, let's go!"

The group of ponies parted ways, with Sunset Shadow catching a train back to Ponyville, and Starlight and her friends heading into the Canterlot Castle.

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><p><strong>Note: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It is most certainly a change of speed, considering all of the intense action of the previous chapters. I really wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that the My Little Pony dimension is still a massive component in "A Mending Soul." Anyway, I have a question: is anyone interested in being an Alpha Reader for me? They are kind of like the Beta Readers, but instead of being actively involved with my story (no one touches or edits my stories except me) they will be there to read outlines, synopses, and ideas that I create. I truly just need someone who has a really unique and critical point of view who would be willing to give me much-needed feedback on the plethora of ideas I have! Now finally... Don't forget to review! Reviews are the lifeblood of a story! If you give me a review, I shall give you a massive commemorative plaque, declaring you as one of those hard-core people (or ponies) who actually liked my writing enough to follow me to this point! And yes, it is covered in gold, and silver, and platinum... and it's invisible.<strong>


	137. Chapter 137 - Into the Jungle

**Notes: Hello everyone! Sorry for not posting in a while, but I am pleased to say that "Through A Glass Darkly" has been completed in all of it's dark glory. In addition to that I have also started a new story to replace the one that has been completed! But more on that later. Anyway, several of you brought to my attention that I have not updated "The Salient Link" in a while. I would like to say at this point that though I am not going to abandon it (never have I considered that option) but it is going on the backburner. "A Mending Soul" is by far the most important of my stories, with my new story right behind. Now on to answering some reviews! To Salvardorian Moose: Sorry about not having any marshmallows. I gave them away, and I am a little low on my overall stock of invisible items. To austin: Harvest Snowfall sounds unfamiliar because he is completely new! However, he does have a heavy hand (or hoof... whatever) in the past, but you will have to wait to find out what this means in particular! To Super Vegito: Thanks! To PBJNachos: Hello! It's good to hear from you again! And thanks! To FocusedStream: "You shall cherish your plague forever"? Why would you cherish a plague? That's terrible! I'm just kidding. I know what you meant. To Russet Burbanks: Welcome back to the land of the living! I have not heard from you in a while! And do not worry about giving an acceptance speech. All I need is a 250-page essay on how Harold Dellor has changed your life in a positive way. Good luck with that! Well... I suppose that is all for now. Read on!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The southern reaches of the Stallion Empire_

_Time: Over a year after Lyric loses his leg._

The air was chokingly hot, and humidity was so great that any pony not accustomed to such climates would feel as if they were drowning. Such was the environment of the great southern lands of the Stallion Empire. Just like the north, it was nothing but extreme, but this time it was on the opposite side of the scale. Instead of mountains and foreboding snow-wrought passes, the south contained countless jungles and treacherous steaming swamps. However, despite this (and the inhospitable climate), the border to the colossal southern jungles was a veritable hub for outlaws and poachers. And so the Broken Idol Tavern in the small outlaw town of Purgatory was just as crowded as ever, tainting the humid air of the building with the stench of sweat, spit, and blood.

The bartender of this "fine" establishment was working hard to dole out a plethora of different types of (mostly illegal) alcoholic beverages like any other day when the door slammed open and a peculiar hooded figure slowly trotted in. He grimaced and beckoned the figure over.

"What can I get for you?" he grumbled, "Hurry up!"

"Nothing to drink… I want some information," the figure replied in a low voice. It was female. The bartender nodded slowly, but was called away from the strange pony by several extremely drunk ponies at one end of the counter.

A pony dressed in ragged safari garb with a rifle slung across his back leaned over from where he was sitting beside the physical specter and said, "You said information? Watcha lookin' for, my sweet? My name is Dozer."

The hooded pony did not even turn her head. "I am looking for an ACCURATE map that leads to Fireswamp Airfield."

Dozer pulled a face and leaned in closer. "Oooh… The Fireswamp? That there is Agrinian Tribe territory. Them Agrinian Ponies don't take kindly to us northern folk, why go there? Lookin' ta get shot with poisoned darts and the like?"

The hooded figure still did not turn her head to even grace him with a glance. "No. My compatriot outside the bar has had some dealings with them in the past. All we need is some form of path through that god-forsaken jungle."

Dozer stretched. "Oh, if you have the Agrinian sorted out… then I would be glad to be actin' as your guide!"

The hooded figure shook her head slightly. "Last time I checked, almost all ponies that venture into the jungle die. Are you telling me you are one of the three percent that didn't?"

Dozer grinned. "That's right m'lady!"

"I'm not your lady," replied the strange pony, "What is it going to cost?"

Dozer kept on grinning. "About 1000 Statons or 700 bits… A peek beneath that hood… And maybe a peek between your legs…"

Dozer suddenly reached forward and seized the hooded pony's hood. He yanked it back, revealing that the pony was Summer. Summer's blank eyes narrowed, what he had just done was unacceptable. With mind-boggling speed, she grabbed Dozer's offending hoof, twisted it painfully, and elbowed him in the face in one move. As he recoiled, she roughly grabbed his mane and rammed his face into the beer mug he had been hovering over, shattering it with his muzzle and stunning him. The entire bar quieted down for a moment to stare… and then went back to normal as if nothing had happened. The bartender trotted over and glanced nonchalantly at the dazed Dozer. He then looked to Summer and said, "What kind of information?"

"My compatriot and I are looking for a good map, or perhaps a guide, into the Agrinian territories of the southern jungle," she replied, "Do you have any leads?"

"Well, sure, I know an old pony who has been in and out of the territories more time than you have had hot breakfasts – which I am sure you can count on two hooves – but it is somewhat expensive… Wait… You're as blind as a bat! What the hell are you talking about? You will never survive the trip!"

"Just because I'm 'blind as a bat' does not make me weak," said Summer, her voice stern. She compounded this by grabbing the mane of the stunned Dozer and slamming his muzzle into the countertop again, this time knocking him out cold. She gently pushed him sideways, letting him collapse onto the floor. Summer then looked expectantly in the general direction of the bartender as she pushed over a small bag of coins.

The bartender nodded hurriedly. "Got it. Go to the very edge of the town, where this place meets the jungle. The very last hut on the outskirts is where the old pony lives. His name is Wind. You sure you don't want a drink?"

Summer shook her head. "I can't hold alcohol very well. I get hideously drunk in a matter of seconds. Thank you though."

She slowly turned about and began to carefully pick her way between drunken and/or unconscious ponies to get to the door.

"Hey! Pony! Are you sure you don't want me to walk you out?" called bartender, half serious, half joking.

"You say that again and I'll come back to smash a beer bottle over your head! But thanks!" called Summer as she reached the door.

She stepped outside, closed the door, and then shuddered. Slowly she used her wings to cast aside the cloak upon her back. She then folded it up and slowly groped her way to the ancient ruin of a fountain, which lay in the very center of a ring of black market setups nearby. She leaned against it and sighed, thinking about how close a shave she had just been through. It was all she could do to keep her back legs from trembling with relief.

Suddenly a pony joined her by the fountain. Summer smiled as she recognized the scent.

"How did the information-hunt at the Broken Idol Tavern go?"

Summer smiled at the question. "Oh, just peachy, Lyric. I did have to smash in the skull of a rogue who was making indecent advances, but everything else went well."

Lyric grinned and chuckled. "Oh? You must have really been in a bad mood to do that. If you decided to 'smash in the skulls' of every pony who made indecent advances upon you, there would be no conscious pony in the Stallion Empire. With a body like yours, it is veritably impossible not to get such 'compliments' as those. Your flank is just so… succulent."

Summer turned her face in the direction of Lyric's voice and glared at him in mock severity. "Just be grateful that I love you Lyric. If any other pony made that remark, I would be assisting their faces in meeting the gravel… at three-hundred-and-forty-three meters a second."

Lyric raised a hoof defensively. "Who knew a year would make such an innocent filly such as yourself so scary? Welllll… Anyway, what information did you get?"

Summer sighed in satisfaction. "I got a good lead… But first… Did you manage to get your leg fixed?"

Lyric looked at the complicated mass of steel, wood, gears, and springs that represented his artificial back right leg. He shook it slightly to test its balance and durability. "Yeah, I met a black market mechanic who only tried to rip me off twice before fixing it under pain of death. Now back to you."

Summer saluted. "Aye, Captain Pegleg!"

"Oh, so you're resorting back to that type of teasing again?" snorted Lyric, "What is it this time? Was I too brisk? Did I forget to brush your mane in the morning?"

"No," replied Summer innocently, "You brush my mane enough in your sleep. But you most certainly were too brisk! Enjoy the moment! Feel the blazing sun burn into your coat! Enjoy the searing rays as they evaporate the sweat drenching you in a sticky mess!"

Lyric actually let his tongue hang out as Summer's description made him painfully aware of the burning climate. "Yeah. Wonderful. Is it too late to change our mind and go back to the Frozen North? At least when it is freezing you can pile on clothes. Here you can only strip off so much until you reach skin and fur!"

Summer sighed. "Yeah. What I wouldn't give for a momentary dip in the icy rivers of the mountains. Well, I suppose it's too late to turn back now! We must venture forward! According to the bartender, there is an old pony named Wind who lives on the border between this dump and the beginning of the southern jungle. Wind has supposedly been in and out of Agrinian territory 'more times than we have had hot meals'."

"So, what? Three times max?"

"Approximately. Anyway, the bartender said he also makes detailed maps. I suggest we check it out and see if we can procure something."

Lyric winced. "Right, give me a second. These adjustments to my leg are always awkward and painful. I need to get used to it. Go ahead, I'll catch up."

Summer just smiled sweetly. She trotted beside him and slung one of his forehooves about her neck. "And leave without my favorite Guide Pony? I barely was able to find this place, imagine how ugly it would be for me to have to find someplace as remote as the outskirts! Just lean on me, Lyric. I will be your legs and you will be my eyes."

Lyric complied, but as he did so he chuckled, "Just look at this: a blind pony helping a lame pony walk so that the lame pony can act as her eyes. You know, if we were to fuse into a single being, we would have just enough undamaged parts to make one whole pony!"

Summer broke out laughing, her sweet voice chiding like silver bells.

It took the two ponies about half an hour to make it to the outskirts of the decrepit town, and the sun was just beginning to set as they arrived at a small run-down hut, with an old Earth Pony covered in dusty war paint and scars sitting outside, staring at the sunset.

"Uh, excuse me?" called Lyric as he and Summer trotted up to him, "My name is Lyric and this is Summer. Could we ask you something?"

The old pony, Wind, shook his head. "Quiet, young one," he murmured, "The sun must set in the west before we may talk."

Lyric glanced at Summer. Summer just smiled. "I think that means 'wait'."

"But I hate waiting!" groaned Lyric.

Summer kissed Lyric on the cheek. "Come! Sit down with me and enjoy a moment! Seriously, you need to cool down for a bit, literally and figuratively."

Lyric snorted begrudgingly, but sat down nonetheless. Summer plopped down beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. As they cuddled, Summer said, "Soooo… Last time I checked, it takes about five minutes max for you to ever to get your artificial leg adjusted. You were gone for ten minutes, and even arrived at the designated meeting place late. What were you doing for the other five minutes?"

Lyric shrugged, and buried his face in Summer's mane, inhaling her sweet – yet dusty – scent. "Does it matter?" he mumbled through her mane, "I just picked up some more supplies."

Summer leaned into Lyric. "Oh, not really… It all depends on the supplies you got. Oh! What is this hidden in the saddle bag? Could this possibly be the 'supplies' you were talking about?"

Lyric slapped a hoof down on his saddle bag and then looked at Summer. She was still leaning on him, but now she was holding an old Grand Pegasus Airlines flight time schedule that he had been trying to hide from her. Though she was blind, Summer was a surprisingly good pickpocket. "Hey!" Lyric exclaimed, "I paid good money for that! Give it here!"

Summer clicked her tongue in mock disapproval. "And here was I, thinking you never kept any more secrets! What is this anyway?"

Summer ignored Lyric's attempt to snatch it away and ran a hoof along the surface, feeling the material with all of its crinkles, rips, and tears. She then put it close to the tip of her muzzle and inhaled deeply. As she did this, she reported on the deductions she was making from the data she got from her senses.

"Hmmmm… The material tells me it was once a high-quality schedule or brochure of some sort… Yes, the ridges confirm it. As for the smell… It smells like… Huh. It smells like the inside of a Grand Pegasus Airplane! I remember smelling something quite similar to this inside the plane I was trapped in before you rescued me. The rips, tears, and crinkles in this paper tells me it has been under use for about… I would say about a year. A Grand Pegasus Air Schedule that is a year old? Why would… you… oh…"

Summer put the folded piece of paper down and exclaimed, "Lyric! You're trying to find about my past again, aren't you?! This schedule you bought is to help you figure out what plane I was flying when it crashed, and where it came from, isn't it?!"

Lyric sighed. "Yeah, guilty as charged."

Summer snorted a little in frustration. "But why? I told you at least a dozen times that I don't want to know anything about my past!"

"But remember what Mattimeo told you!" exclaimed Lyric, recalling Summer's confession about Mattimeo's revealing of her parents' existence.

"What? That they are alive and well?" grumbled Summer, in no mood to talk about her past, "I don't care! I want nothing to do with them or wherever the heck I came from! As far as I want to know, I was born of ice and snow in the Frozen North, and the only pony I want to spend my life with is you, not two elderly ponies who missed out on my life for who knows how long!"

"But they love you!" exclaimed Lyric, "If you were me, you would jump at the chance to meet other ponies beside myself who loved you! I don't know about you, but I have had my fill of ponies trying to murder our faces off… and here we are, about to venture into hostile territory AGAIN!"

"Well, you're not me, sweetie," said Summer, a little pointedly, "I am content with dodging danger for all of eternity as long as I am by your side."

This caring statement diffused whatever argument Lyric had readied. With a sigh he kicked a little bit of dirt over the old Grand Pegasus Airline Schedule lying unread on the ground, signifying that he would give up the search for information about Summer's past… for now.

At this point, the sun had officially set and the pony named Wind slowly scrambled to all fours and turned to look at his two customers. His face was the picture of bewilderment as his eyes fell upon two ponies, barely more than foals, sitting before him. To make it ever worse, one of those ponies was clearly blind, and the other had a missing leg.

"Oh my…" breathed Wind, "Well… H-how may I help you two foals?"

"I would prefer the term 'adventurous ponies' myself," commented Summer, turning her face to look in the general direction of Wind's voice, "Anyway, my friend and I are looking for a map into Agrinian Territory. We are looking for the Fireswamp Airfield."

Wind blinked in shock. Clearly these two foals had a death wish of some sort. "Fireswamp Airfield, eh? What for?"

"Isn't it obvious?" said Lyric, a little briskly, "There would only be one reason two ponies would go on a suicidal mission to find an illegal airstrip: we want to get the hell off this god-forsaken continent."

"It is true," continued Summer, "Ever since this war between Equidor and the Stallion Empire boiled up from nowhere, all travelling either by air or sea has been restricted, and the military have been treating its civilians and lowlife – exempli gratia, me and my friend – like dogs. Nay, I've heard of some captured mares being treated worse than dogs."

"It was indeed terrible," said Lyric, shuddering, "We are refused travel, and the military is tearing the inside of its empire apart. And thus, we want to leave this whole place behind for good, but the only way to do that is to travel to an illegal airstrip and find passage out of this place via illegal means. So, do you have any maps that could assist us on our little venture?"

Wind nodded his head. "I do indeed. I would generally charge 100 bits for any map of mine… But I like you two and admire your goal, so I will give it to you for 90 bits."

Lyric shook his head. "How about 70 bits?"

"80 bits."

"75 bits."

"75 bits it is, my friend."

Wind winked to Lyric and trotted to his small hut. A moment later he trotted outside with a large, ornate map in his mouth. He set it down in front of Summer and extended it. He then leapt into his post-transaction spiel.

"As you can see, my dear madam, these maps made from the finest material. Tough and tensile. The drawings upon this particular map is especially clear. See how I have marked out the safest pathways throughout the jungle, and how I have marked out the most prominent of the dangers that lie hidden?"

Summer blinked. Then she smiled sweetly. "I am sure I would be pleased with what I saw, Wind… But I'm kind of blinder than a squirrel storing its feast of nuts within a wolf's mouth."

Wind's old face immediately exploded into a tint of red coloring as he realized his mistake. "O-oh! My dear, I am so sorry!"

Lyric chuckled as he took the map from Wind. As he handed him a small sack of bits, in return he said, "That is quite alright. Summer is used to it. Now here is your payment… and I will take this. I look forward to finding this map VERY accurate."

Wind nodded his face solemnly as he pocketed the bits. "I used to be an Agrinian before I was banished for adultery. I know my way about the whole forest quite well. You will find it very satisfactory."

Summer got up and then helped Lyric up. As she brushed the dust off of her coat, she said, "I certainly hope so! It was good doing business with you, Mister Wind. Goodbye!"

Wind waved to the two young ponies as they trotted away from him, toward the jungle. Shaking his head in disbelief, Wind then turned about and trotted into his hut.

"So, now that we have the map, now what?" asked Summer, giving Lyric a gentle lick on the cheek as a sign of affection.

Lyric grinned wildly as he realized they were about to dive into a whole new adventure. Generally he hated putting Summer (and to a lesser extent, himself) at risk in these crazy ventures, but he could not deny the existence of the excitement that packed every second of a journey.

"Well," he started, "I say we set up camp at the very outskirts of the first southern jungle. We will sleep there, and then start off very early in the morning. Dawn, I would say."

Summer nodded wordlessly, and the dynamic duo trotted off into the darkness.

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><p><strong>Notes: Writing about Lyric and Summer never ceases to please me. Their adventures are so colorful and meaningful that I cannot help but look forward to each time I plot another step in the storyline. At this time I would like to suggest you all check out my new story, "Still Mountains, Silent Valleys"! I really enjoy writing that book as well, and it is completely different from anything I have attempted before, so I would really appreciate some feedback on how I am faring. Speaking of feedback, what did you think of this chapter? Please let me know! Reviews are the lifeblood of a story! And I need a proverbial blood transfusion greatly! Just kidding, but seriously, you give me a review and I shall give you a bunny rabbit. It may or may not be made of chocolate.<strong>


	138. Chapter 138 - Recall

**Author's Notes. Well... I am back! Thank you all for being so patient! I have been busy doing real life stuff, as well as working on "Still Mountains, Silent Valleys." Nonetheless, I was able to find a little time to write up another chapter for this story. I have not much else to say other than thank you all for waiting. On to answering some reviews. Oh, but before I hop to that, I will point out that I am permanently changing the style of my "Author's Notes" section. I liked the way I did it in "Still Mountains, Silent Valleys" sooooo much more. Anyway...**

**To austin xj liu: Hey there! I haven't heard from you in a bit! I hope you are doing well. Hmmmm... You're right, I do believe Summer could be the millionth pony incarnation of Sherlock Holmes. Personally I like to think her as a cross between that brilliant detective and Marvel's Daredevil... With a whole lot more innocence in the mix. And you're right, it does look like they might get knee-deep in some trouble... and swamp mud. *Wink, wink.* See what I did there? Yeah, I know. It was terrible.**

**To Russet Burbanks: I always liked Dr. Seuss stories, they were always bright and wacky. However, as a personal preference, I actually enjoyed the poems by Shel Silverstein a lot more. He was a wacky guy. If you had not heard of him previously, I encourage you to check him out! If you like that sort of thing.**

**To PBJNachos: Ohhhh... The Injustice game. Yeah, I might. However, in my mind, that game is actually simply an alternate timeline existing in the mini-multiverse that is the DC dimension. I might incorporate it sooner or later... but not now. Season 2 is a whole lot more wound around the MLP dimension, as opposed to Season 1. But we never know, Season 3 might go back to the sprawling dimension-hopping scale that made Season 1 so awesome!**

**That is all for now, I hope you guys enjoy the latest chapter!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: Hallway to the Rerenhaw Council Room_

_Time: Over a year after Lyric loses his leg._

Never in the course of history had a Rerenhaw Council been called together twice within the very same sun-cycle, but with the deaths of Dimensional Lords Lynx and Corvus occurring just as one council session ended, it was practically mandatory that yet another session be called right after to discuss these new developments. And thus the entirety of the council filed back into the room and took each of their respective seats. As Mattimeo sat down, he said, "How are we going to approach this?"

"I would like to say that I knew it was a terrible idea that we call off the search for Harold Dellor like we did all those months ago," said Firestar quietly, "Harold made it quite clear that he wants to face Blue, and now our ignoring of him has led to the death of two Dimensional Lords. We are down to sixteen Dimensional Lords in existence now."

"You are referring to us as if we were exotic chickens under the threat of extinction!" snorted Doxia, a little amused despite the air of foreboding hanging about the council, "I can assure you that we are not."

"That aside," said Jiminy Cricket, "What are we to do about Harold now? Do we give into his demand and set the last living Inquisitors upon him?"

Mattimeo sighed. "I suppose that is our only recourse. We are still unsure about his power levels, so I am loath to set any Dimensional Lords, including Doxia and myself, on him. In addition to that we have been unable to contact High Lord Kytax."

This last piece of news resulted in a collective groan from the council. No matter how powerful some being as Harold was, Kytax would be always at least ten million times stronger. But he had vanished since the Paradox Crises, and it was obvious he had no intention of returning to the Earth Multiverse.

"Well, I am not too worried," said Firestar, his eyes gleaming with clarity and confidence, "I recall the specs of the Inquisition Program. The Inquisitors are fully ready to combat the unknown… They were trained for this. If Harold Dellor wants August and his team to hunt him, he will get his wish."

"I am a little nervous about this whole thing though," added Rosalina, "He specifically wanted the Inquisitors to hunt him… and that means he has a plan pertaining to them. If we give into his requests, does that not mean we are giving into his plan?"

"Not necessarily," said Doxia, still sounding as unworried as ever, "Harold is confident and clever… But so are our Inquisitors. Undoubtedly they will find a way to break his plan and set him off balance."

Mattimeo nodded. "That is true. The Inquisitors are not to ever be underestimated, and Harold's message and current actions suggest he is doing just that. We will call the Inquisitors in, and we will reassign them to hunting down Harold Dellor. However, I still think we should take one more precaution: we shall prepare Amethyst forces. The armada and the vast armies shall be put on standby. Now I will go and call back the Inquisitors."

"A good idea," replied Doxia, getting up from his seat, "But remember: The being who is sowing all this chaos is a single being. The last being to kill more than one Dimensional Lord was myself, and my power is considered unprecedented. And what is even worse is we have no idea exactly what Harold is… except that he can bend corrupt Imagination Energy to his will… something only Angels of the Heaven Multiverse can do."

"A-are you insinuating that Harold Dellor is somehow an angel?" gasped Rosalina.

"I do not think so," interjected Mattimeo, getting up as well and signaling that this emergency meeting was over, "But Heaven no longer communicates with us directly to confirm such things, just like Kytax."

And so the meeting adjourned, but as everyone left for their own dimensions, Doxia called out, "This is the Age of the Darkness, but though we are far past our prime, we cannot give up on our fight to protect the Earth Multiverse. We will consolidate our forces and show that we are ready to stand up and fight once more."

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot Castle_

_Time: Over a year after Lyric loses his leg._

"Right this way, madams and sir," said a young Unicorn guard, "Princess Luna, Prince Samuel, and the council are not presently in the hall of Thrones. I will show you to their current meeting place."

Starlight nodded to Pumpkin and Pound and followed the guard down the entrance hallway and into the Hall of Thrones. Aside from the two massive thrones of Day and Night that were set sentinel at the end of the massive room, several other large crystalline chairs had been set alongside the thrones, positioned in a circle. In these other seats sat Cadance, Shining Armor, the president of Equidor, and Samuel Dellor (the husband of Princess Luna). There was only one other seat free, making it clear that the invitation sent out to Starlight had actually only been meant for her. Nonetheless, Pumpkin Cake trotted up to Samuel boldly and gave him a hug.

"Hey there!" she exclaimed, "How are you?"

Though it was clear that there had previously been an air of "professionalism" about the Hall of Thrones, whatever professionalism that Samuel had been holding up in the meeting melted. He grinned and patted her head.

"What is the meaning of this?" exclaimed the president of Equidor, "Where is the Starlight Amber you spoke of?"

"Oh… Hello. That's me," interjected Starlight, looking curiously at the president of Equidor. She hadn't been told about meeting the leader of the Equidor nation. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was a private invitation. I thought I was just going to visit Luna… so I brought some good friends along."

The President of Equidor did not look too pleased, but he nodded his head, showing that he would speak of it no further. However, he still looked very skeptically at Starlight… Almost as if he was attempting to stare into her very soul.

Starlight looked to Celestia and then to Luna in alarm. The way the president was looking at her made her feel like he wanted something from her.

Celestia looked somewhat grave as she said, "Starlight Amber… We are here to ask something of you."

Starlight cocked her head to one side and bent her back leg's knees together. "O-okay?"

"Already I see this is not going to work," snorted the president of Equidor. "This is not the warrior you promised me!"

"Warrior?" Starlight slowly repeated. She glanced inquisitively at Luna, who bowed her head.

"I know you don't like to remember what you had to do in the past, Starlight… But we're talking about the time you were a fighter," she said.

Starlight's ears bent back. "I… What…? That was about five years ago! I haven't handled anything but chalk and chalkboards for a while now!"

"As I said… This is not going to work," interjected the president gravely.

Starlight was about to nod her head when she saw the shockingly desperate look in Celestia's eyes. She quickly turned to the president and said, "Umm… Please, sir… What is it that you wanted me to do anyway?"

"The fruits of the peace conference between my country and the Stallion Empire is nothing but a front," said the president. "War has been declared and now I want you to be part of an entourage to protect me."

The words that had just come from the president's mouth literally made no sense whatsoever to Starlight. She blinked. "What…?"

Samuel – who had been talking to Pumpkin and Pound this entire time – finally turned back to the events of the actual meeting. He saw the confusion in Starlight's eyes and sighed. He then turned his eyes to Shining Armor and said, "Shall we start from the beginning?"

Shining Armor glanced at Cadance, unsure, but then sighed, "Very well."

Shining then turned to Starlight and said, "You saw the celebration of the successful Peace Talks between Equidor and the Stallion Empire?"

"Y-yes…"

"Well… They were just a front. The Peace Talks completely disintegrated and ended in an ultimatum from the Stallion Empire that went along the lines of: 'If you do not give us the Trimareian region and a trillion bits-worth of monetary compensation by the end of the week we will start invading you and the island.' Do you understand the severity of the situation now?"

The full gravity of the international situation finally struck Starlight upside the head. She groaned and facehoofed as Cadance picked up the narrative. "Of course this is the Stallion Empire's version of declaring a war while being political about it. If they win, they can easily manipulate the history books to seem fair and innocent in the face of a brutal fascist Equidor retaliation. Anyway, now that all of the world's countries know there will soon be military encounter, there is a rush of countries claiming sides in case this eventually escalates into a world-wide war of some sort."

"And that is why we meet here with the President in secret today," said Samuel, "We are preparing to choose a side."

"Well, of COURSE you have to choose the Equidorian side!" cried Pumpkin loudly suddenly, "I paid attention to history class, and I know how much the Stallion Empire has terrorized Equestria!"

"True enough, Pumpkin Cake," replied Luna, "But it is not as simple as that. Equestria is still recovering from us having a near-civil war thanks to that Dimensional Lord Paradox-Crises-induced xenophobic craze that decimated our political spheres just around twenty years ago. We cannot give our full support to the Equidorians without risking the wrath of the Stallion Empire. They were defeated in our last little skirmish over the Crystal Islands several decades ago, and they have been quite set on 'getting revenge.' If we clearly choose a side when the war begins, the Stallion Empire will assault civilian sites with a will, and we will be pressed to stop the onslaught."

"But as I said before, they will do the exact same thing to my people if I do not find enough allies to help deter the enemy!" cried the President of Equidor, "The Stallion Empire is ruthless, and my armies alone cannot stop their vast military power."

"We understand that," said Samuel, "But as we said before we cannot expose ourselves. We will give you weapons and support but we must be obscure about it. For everything we do for you, we must deter Stallion Empire suspiciousness with equal force. They will ignore Equestria civilian targets and focus on their war with you if we seem neutral."

"But what about my ponies?" shouted the President of Equidor, "Surely their lives are no lesser than the lives of your ponies!?"

Luna closed her eyes and sighed slowly. "We said we would give you all the weapons and support that we can… but at the same time we must take steps to appear neutral."

Luna opened her dark eyes again and looked to Starlight. "That is where you come in, Miss Starlight Amber. And now we are back where we started."

They were indeed back to where they started, but Starlight was still a little confused. Everything was happening so fast, and it seemed that everything was starting to suddenly involve her to a very high degree… and her brain did not appreciate that. Starlight blinked. "Uhhhh… huh?"

"You are part of all of this," Luna continued, "We need you to act as a front to protect our support for the Equidorians."

Starlight rubbed her temples with the tip of her hooves. "Okay. I think understand that. But… how?"

Luna nodded to Samuel, who picked up the explanation once more. "The Stallion Empire Ambassador Harvest Snowfall is going on international peace talks to describe how his country is not totally evil or something like that. Equestria has offered to provide security for him as he speaks in places like Equus, Irrum, Bray, and the Crystal Empire. Equestria has minor jurisdiction in all of those areas, so it is allowed internationally. Well… we want you to be part of that entourage."

Starlight shook her head sharply. "First off, I haven't handled any type of weapon – be it sword, gun, or missile launcher – for many, many years now. I even think I mentioned that previoudly… Second, I hate the Stallion Empire for all of the troubles it has caused in the past. How can we possible show any form of favor to such a despotic nation?"

"Listen to the girl!" cried the President of Equidor, "We must band together and wipe out this deadly cancer before it can get any more lethal!"

Luna shook her head as well. "We cannot. They may be a cancer… but the main issue is that they are powerful… and as you said: they are deadly. We have innocent lives within our borders to think about, and so we cannot risk aggravating them any more than we have. We will support you, but this entourage will defuse any pressing issues that will give the High King of the Stallion Empire any reason to send bombers to decimate Manehattan. Starlight Amber… please… You will be doing this for your country… you will be doing this for me."

Starlight looked into Luna's eyes. Up front they looked cold and stern, but beneath that Starlight could see pain, hurt, and stress. Starlight closed her eyes and sighed loud and long. Probably the wear and tear of worrying constantly about Inquisitor Blue.

"Fine," Starlight said after a long and deliberate pause, "I will be on this 'entourage.' But I am not doing this for Equestria. God knows it has done nothing for me for over this decade. I am doing this for you and all of my friends."

Samuel nodded. "That is good. Thank you, Starlight."

Starlight, deciding she had had enough of this, got out of her chair. As she did so, she said, "Don't thank me yet, Samuel. I have been the teacher of the Ponyville Schoolhouse for at least five years now. I may know nothing about protecting ponies anymore."

"Only time will tell I suppose, but in this case we seem to be low on that very component," Shining Armor sighed, "Nonetheless, now that we have your consent we can adjourn the meeting. Mister President, my guards and I will see you to your airplane in the next dozen minutes. Starlight, I will see you tomorrow to explain to you what will happen next."

Starlight nodded. "Okay. When will I be sent to the entourage?"

Shining Armor shrugged. "We do not yet have an estimate. The Stallion Empire seemed to be pleased with us offering personal protection for their ambassador, but they are not quick in hammering out details."

Starlight nodded once more. "Okay. Well, now that I know I am on some sort of a timetable, I will be cancelling all other obligations I have here in Canterlot. I need to get back to Ponyville to meet with my mom and dad. I need to talk to them about this… and about Harvest Snowfall."

Luna tipped her head regally, but her eyes gave away how haunted she was. "Very well, Starlight. We understand. And now… Meeting is adjourned."

Shining Armor and Cadance immediately went into their own private whispered conference as Celestia, Luna, and the President of Equidor began to discuss lexical semantics for no reason whatsoever.

As this went on, Starlight, Pumpkin, and Pound all gathered around Samuel to talk to him.

"How is Luna?" asked Starlight.

"Not too well," sighed Samuel, looking at Princess Luna with worry in his eyes. Starlight did likewise. The Princess of the Night had bags under her eyes, and the eyes themselves were red as if from crying. Her hair look frazzled, and she did not look regal in any way whatsoever. In fact… the only thing she looked like was a mother who had just lost a child to a deadly disease. In truth, that was not really that far off from reality.

"I've tried to keep her occupied with her responsibilities and leisurely activities, but somehow she always finds a reason to go back talking about August."

Pumpkin's face screwed up with anger. "Who does August think he is? So what if he has a shiny suit of armor and a pair of psychotic BFF's?! He has NO RIGHT to abandon us like this! I don't care if what he think he is doing is important… He has people who care about him and he is totally ignoring us."

Pound nodded his head solemnly. "Luna is not the only one greatly worried about him. I've talked to Night Shade… and he is freaking out about not being able to contact the Inquisitors any longer. Samuel… What do you think of what August is doing?"

Samuel sighed loud and long as he thought of a response. He cocked his head to one side as he replied, "I… Well… I guess all I want is for him to be happy. If he truly believes in what he is doing… I do not want to wish ill upon him, even if he chooses to utterly block himself off from us. I just… I just… I just want him to be happy."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: A Story about my Uncle<em>

_Planet: The Center_

_Specific Location: The Underground_

_Time: A couple days before the events of "A Story about my Uncle."_

"So, Madeline… could you repeat what you saw again? On last time?" said Sunflower. He nodded his head in a kind way at the small, female, anthropomorphic salamander creature that stood before him. He put an armored hand gently on Madeline's shoulder.

Madeline blushed and scuffed one of her hand-feet on the earthy ground. "I was standing at the same spot I usually stand on when I wait for Fred… He's… He's a really good friend. I've known him all my life. It was strange… Fred isn't usually late. However, he did say that someday he might miss a day or so…"

"And we totally care about this 'Fred' loser, right, Mad Maddie?" snorted Dark, his gravely voice full of contempt. "Oh wait… No we don't care."

Madeline looked hurt. She stomped a hand-foot down angrily. "I told you not to call me that!"

"Dark. Be quiet and let Sunflower talk," murmured Blue. He motioned for Dark to step back.

"Yeah… I'm the people person, remember? You're a giant hunk of psychopathic doom," snapped Sunflower, frustrated that Dark was terrifying the little girl. He then turned to Madeline and prompted her to continue in a friendly way.

Madeline, who had been glaring at Dark, smiled at Sunflower and continued. "Well… Anyway… So I was waiting at that spot. Over there, you know… Near the spiral peak… And then I saw it. It was a giant hole in… in… well, EVERYTHING opened up in that stalactite. An armored creature jumped out. It landed on the peak and looked straight at me! I was soooo scared! But then it looked away, opened up another hole out of nothing and jumped through it. Then it was gone!"

Madeline looked distressed, so Sunflower sat on the ground and motioned for her to follow suit. He then waved at Dark and Blue to shoo them away. Dark immediately took a step forward to make life difficult for Sunflower, but Blue put a restraining hand on Dark's shoulder. Dark threw it off, but then backed off, following Blue to the opposite side of the floating stone island.

"You were very brave, Maddie," said Sunflower. "Take a deep breath and tell me what it looked like…"

Suddenly Blue stepped forward and gently tapped Sunflower on the shoulder.

"Sunflower. I just received a call. We need to go. The mission has been called off and we are being recalled. Mattimeo's orders."

Sunflower sighed. "Okay. Hey, Maddie. I have to go now."

Maddie blinked. "But I haven't even told you what the monster looked like!"

"It'll be okay," said Sunflower. "Our friends have set up wards so that thing can't come back to hurt any of you."

Maddie nodded. "Okay. Thanks! I like the color of your armor!"

Sunflower reached back into his armored pack where he stored his weapons and gently pulled out a small turtle made of Protosteel. Its shell was colored yellow, like his armor. He gave it to Maddie. "A little present from me to you."

Maddie's face broke into a bright smile. "Thank you Sunflower!"

Sunflower patted Maddie on the head. He got up and turned to his teammates. "Alright. Let's go and see why our mission has been cancelled. Chronomorph Nathan Prescott is a dangerous individual. He needs to be eliminated, and Rerenhaw knows it. They better have a good reason for this."

"We will see soon enough," replied Blue in hushed tones. He gently gestured in the air with his right hand, opening up a portal in space. Dark leapt through. Blue was right behind. Sunflower hesitated. He then turned, waved to Maddie, and then finally followed. The portal closed behind him immediately.

"That was an absolute waste of time," growled Dark as they immediately found themselves in one of the many halls of Rerenhaw. "I've got more done by killing allies."

"Calm down, Dark. The Chronomorph will be stopped… and you will have the privilege of stomping his skull in if you so wish," said Blue quietly, "But until then I ask you to be quiet."

"… And that is another thing," snarled Dark, still frustrated, "The REAL Blue would have disregarded our orders and hunted down Nathan Prescott."

"Don't start this again, Dark," snapped Sunflower, "We all already know you are an idiot, you don't need to continuously remind us every other second."

"If you already know that I am a fool, then you won't mind me mentioning that August – because he is NOT Blue – should go run home to his pony family," continued Dark, his dark visor going front-to-front with the sweeping, black, crystalline plates of Blue's visor.

"I have no home," murmured Blue. "I am an Inquisitor. That is the only thing I have in life… and thus I have no life either."

Dark stared at Blue quietly for at least a minute. Then he chuckled. "I digress. You are a little more like Blue than I generally acknowledge."

Blue turned away from his teammates. "Enough. Let us go and see what Mattimeo deems so important that we call off our 'free time'."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes. No one likes Dark. Such a jerk. However, he packs the largest punch, and so he is integral to the John 3 Inquisition Chapter. Nonetheless, do you all see the major problem with Blue's team? They don't play well together in any shape or form. I bet you an apple to an acorn that Harold knows of this, and is going to exploit it somehow. I just wonder in what way...? Anyway, as a side note: have any of you ever played the video game "A Story about my Uncle"? Just curious. It was a short game, but I will admit that I think Maddie was one of the best sidekick-like characters ever. I don't know why, I guess I read too deep into every character I see or use in somewhat short-termed games. I tend to do that a lot. Anyway... I hope you enjoyed that chapter! It was tough making it, as it involved very little action. But then again, for any meaningful and entertaining action to ever take place, one must set a proper stage first! Let us hope it is set up in the proper way when the sparks start to fly. If you enjoyed this chapter, or were at least momentarily distracted from the harrowing presence of reality, don't forget to leave a review! If you leave a review, I will give you a portal gun. A whole portal gun that actually works (and is invisible). Why? Because the cake is a lie. No other reason. You must figure it out. I bet you that while you do that, you will find some way to confirm Half-Life 3 for the umpteenth time. Oh... and before you all go, can anyone tell me who Nathan Prescott is?<strong>


	139. Chapter 139 - A Trail in the Dirt

**Author's Notes. Well, hello everyone! Once again I must apologize for being gone for such a long time! However, with school coming to a close I can finally take a step back and reorganize my priorities. I will point out, though, that I have really no idea if the pace of chapter-posting will pick up significantly. Updates will come in more than once a month, of course, but I do not know if I can ever go back to posting once a week. That was impressive, I will admit. Good times. Anyways, let's go answer some reviews.**

**To Russet Burbanks: You know nothing, Jon Snow. Except for Harold's power lever. It seems like everyone knew the power level. Do you all have scouters lying about? Well, I decided that you were definitely right, and made sure Doxia acknowledged your accurate predictions of Harold's energy levels.**

**Combee77: Sorry for taking such a long time to reply! I should have just sent you a PM, but I kind of forget. I do that sometimes. There is this saying, "History is written by the victors." It speaks for itself; however, no matter how great your victory is in a war, you will need evidence to ultimately prove you had the moral high ground. Naturally, said evidence can be falsified. The Stallion Empire is being clever by lying a false paper trail that points to them standing on that high ground. An ultimatum is just a piece of paper. It can be changed easily in an aftermath, and they are counting on that.**

**To madmanwithafork: It looks like someone else has a scouter as well. I'm going to have to look for one of those. It's probably hidden away in that massive pile of invisible merchandise I keep lying around to give out to you guys.**

**To Xavier Raptom: And you are correct! Give this man a trophy. I thought Nathan Prescott deserved a little shake-down from the Inquisitors for being such a loser. However, now that Max has gone and changed history by staring at a photo... I may have to rework a couple sub-plots. Way to go, Square Enix.**

**Right! I think that's all for now! Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Rerenhaw Council Room_

_Time: Over a year after Lyric lost a leg_

"The Inquisitors should be here any minute now," said Doxia, looking at his wrist as if a wristwatch was there (which it wasn't).

A minute later the massive double doors to the council room slid open, and Blue, Dark, and Sunflower strolled in.

"What do you all want?" snapped Dark. Doxia rolled his eyes inside his helmet. Dark had made it very clear that he respected no one but the second age council members… so basically he hated everyone but Doxia and Firestar.

"Is there a good reason for recalling us from our previous mission?" asked Blue, his voice as emotionless as Mattimeo's.

Doxia nodded. "We are going to reassign you to the hunt for Harold Dellor."

Sunflower glanced at his two teammates. "Is he back on the radar?"

Mattimeo sighed. He telepathically activated a holoscreen, it immediately projected the two dead bodies of Lynx and Corvus, and the words "I WANT THE INQUISITORS HUNTING ME AGAIN" carved above them.

Blue cocked his head to one side. "Harold killed these Dimensional Lords?"

"It seems his power levels are over 9000," replied Doxia, "However, it is not the deaths of Lynx and Corvus that we are worried about. We all have lived too long. Nonetheless we must not ignore the fact that this is an act of violence. Harold must pay for what he has done… Even if we must do exactly what we want him to do in order for us to make him pay."

"It is indeed a trap, I would like to think," said Sunflower.

"Well… Not for you and me, really," muttered Dark, glancing at Blue, foreboding shimmering through the void of his abyss-black visor. It was true. Harold had made it very clear: he wanted only for Blue to die.

Blue, however, did not seemed worried. "We will do as you say, council. If Harold is looking for a fight, that is what he will get. However, the cold sting of a blade does not seem as prevalent when you are on a hill, preparing for it as opposed to truly meeting its edge face-to-face."

"Do you have a course of action, mapped out?" asked Sunflower.

"Indeed we do," said Mattimeo, "Despite the fact that Harold can alter the very form of Imagination Energy, the changes are very... unique. They are artificial. Like the snow from the sky and the snow from the machine, they are different… and we can tell. Harold has left a telltale marking in the Alethrion dimension. You will investigate there."

"… And if we find him?" asked Sunflower.

Mattimeo glanced at Dark, prompting him to speak. Dark chuckled, and nodded.

"We kill him. We've fought worse… Much, MUCH worse."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Southern Jungles, Stallion Empire_

_Time: Two days after Lyric and Summer set out into the Southern Jungles_

"According to this map, the tree crossing is over here," said Lyric, squinting at the map as he used his Unicorn magic to levitate the large scrap of paper in front of his muzzle.

Summer leaned in to take a peek at it with her blind eyes. "Don't forget the rainbow bridge further south. Also you are holding the map upside-down."

Lyric actually flipped it over to double-check, but then shoved Summer lightly the moment he realized she was joking. "Tell you what," he snorted playfully, "I'll let you navigate, and I'll wander around with my eyes closed."

"Good idea!" chortled Summer, "And I'll make sure to play the part and limp around like a dazed duck!"

"Hey! It's not my fault that one screw on my metal kneecap came loose!" exclaimed Lyric, almost indignantly, "I'll fix it as soon as we find a safe place to take a break!"

Summer chuckled lightly. Lyric had been on edge ever since they had entered the jungle. She knew very well he was extremely worried about her safety; her being blind in a massive jungle fireswamp inhabited by cannibals and all. She leaned in close and squished her cheek up close to his, giving him a side-nuzzle.

"Calm down Lyric, I told you I would be able to tell if we were nearing any fire geysers. The earth deep beneath us shifts and rumbles as sulfurous gas pushes through the soft dirt. I also will be able to alert you when the Agrinians are near. Nothing can escape my senses. Take a deep breath and focus on leading me through this place. I've got your back, partner.

Summer smiled slightly as she sensed Lyric's heartbeat rate slowing down to regular parameters.

"Thanks Summer," said Lyric, "I needed that. We should almost be near the gorge."

A dozen minutes later Lyric began to grin in relief as he saw a rapid descent of earth from beyond the jungle tree line. A minute later the duo had made it out into a huge linear clearing of trees, where a large gorge spit the jungle in two. Lyric took a moment to describe the scene to his blind companion in hushed tones.

"It's almost like the earth has fallen away into space. You can't see the bottom, thanks to the angle of the sun. The ground stretches forward like a blanket only to drop sharply into shadowed nothingness. This jagged drop stretches on to the left and to the right for as far as the eye can see. The only way to overcome this obstacle is to take the massive… jungle… tree… bridge…"

Lyric's voice trailed away as he looked to his right. There it was. A massive bridge made of the decrepit trunk of a Kapok tree spanned the gorge. Green foliage and aquamarine moss clung to the rotting wood, and long vines swathed the fallen tree in bold strings of olive. After taking in a breath of awe, Lyric proceeded to relay this glorious sight to Summer. Summer's ears flicked back and forth in appreciation as she drank in the new description.

"Lead me over to it," she sighed, "I want to feel it!"

Lyric took Summer gently by the hoof and lead her to the downed tree. Summer ran a hoof through the clumps of thick moss and along the soft surface of the rotten wood. She sighed appreciatively as she breathed in the fresh smell of earth and foliage. She followed this up by tapping the bridge. Her eyes brightened as her actions informed her of something unseen.

"What is it?" asked Lyric, his ears pricking up with hope.

"This tree is definitely safe to cross," Summer reported. "The outside may seem rotten and overrun, but the core is solid and strong. Help me up please!"

Summer scrabbled at the rotting clumps of greenery on the natural wooden bridge as Lyric pushed her backside upwards with his head, taking great care to keep his horn far away from her. Giving on last, magically-assisted push, Lyric managed to get his best friend on top of the sideways Kapok tree. Summer then assisted Lyric in climbing up. With one last heave, Summer tossed Lyric onto the tree bridge. The two collapsed on top of each other, breathing heavily.

"What did you have for breakfast this morning? Bricks?" gasped Summer, not making any effort to push Lyric off from where he lay on top of her.

"Same thing as you, missy," snorted Lyric, also not making any effort to move. "Oat meal and bread!"

"That's right… I accidentally switched out your loaf of bread with a loaf-shaped rock. Sorry!" giggled Summer.

"That's not true! I could tell!' cried Lyric, almost as if he believed her. Summer began to laugh, her voice like silver bells chiming out on a midsummer day.

Lyric shifted around so that he was lying on top of her, muzzle-to-muzzle. However, despite his best attempts to be a bit grumpy, one look at his companion's face sent him spiraling into his own fit of giggles. A moment passed as the two let out their mirth. Lyric then rolled off of Summer, letting her breath more freely. After another moment Lyric got up and looked about warily, to make sure their laughing had not attracted any unwanted attention. Nothing. Nodding, Lyric gently took Summer's hoof and helped her up.

"Well thank you kind sir!" cried Summer. Her face beamed, reminiscing of the days of snow and ice when the brave and stout Lyric would practically carry her through the massive piles of unforgiving snow in the deadly northern mountains.

"My pleasure, dear lady!' exclaimed Lyric. The two set out across the bridge without a second thought. Summer had said the bridge was safe, and it indeed was, for there was not a single creak or shudder as the duo made it from point A to point B across the expansive natural bridge of wood and greenery.

A minute later and the two were hopping down from horizontal-lying treetop of the great Kapok tree. However, the moment Summer hit the foliage-infested earth her face turned from carefree to apprehensive. Lyric noticed in a flash.

"What is it?" he asked?

"I smell a hint of sulfur," Summer reported, "I think there are fire geysers close by."

"We'll tread carefully," replied Lyric, immediately feeling very protective of his companion, "Stay close."

Summer nodded and trotted up to stand beside him, coat brushing coat. The duo then trotted into the thick forest once more. A minute passed by as they cantered through the massive trees, whose green-and-brown foliage blocked out the sun like a dark, dank blanket of wet wool. Another minute passed… then another… then another…

Lyric shook as his head as he suddenly found out that he had been unintentionally held his breath for the last couple minutes. He glanced at Summer and said, "Is the earth trembling yet?"

Summer shook her head. "Nothing. The smell of brimstone has died away a bit as well. Its hanging over the ground, but it is not thick enough for me to think that there has been any activity from this area for a long, long time. Well… I hope so at least."

"Your word is good enough for me," said Lyric. He stopped trotting, winced, and then sat down. "What do you say we take a break?"

Summer glanced about, almost worriedly. "I… I suppose," she said. "I don't hear anything…"

"Good," sighed Lyric. "My mechanical leg is killing me. I need to tighten a couple things."

Lyric then proceeded to scrabble with several iron bolts and steel pegs as he fixed up his crooked fake limb. He readjusted a spring here… and then gear there.

"Umm… Summer? Could you pass me the oil?" asked Lyric, struggling with an especially stubborn wingnut.

Summer nodded and deftly reached into her saddlepack. She found the oil in an instant by memory and pulled it out. She was about to hand it to him when she suddenly froze. Her ears flattened.

Lyric raised an eyebrow, half-worried. "Summer? Is there something wrong?"

"The earth… it's moving…" murmured Summer, her stomach beginning to churn as she realized what was going on. "FIRE GEYSERS! RUN!"

Lyric leapt up seized on of Summer's hooves. In a flash they began to streak through the jungle trees. A second later the earth erupted into flames. Massive gouts of flame, brimstone, and magma bubbled up from deep within the earth and shot high into the air, scorching the trees and lighting leaves afire.

"I… thought… the… place… looked… safe…!" gasped Lyric. He suddenly swerved to shove Summer aside. A giant explosion ripped through the earth, decimating the area that Summer had been galloping upon an instant earlier. Summer had been pushed far away enough that she was only singed by the blast… but now they were separated.

"Lyric? Lyric?! LYRIC?!" screamed Summer when it dawned upon her that her guide was no longer with her. The sulfurous fumes clogged her nostrils and the rumbling of fiery geysers deafened her ears.

Lyric gasped when he too realized his best friend had been separated from him. He came to a skidding stop and did a roundabout turn. Glancing around in a panicked state, it took him a second to locate Summer.

"SUMMER!" yelled Lyric, "Hang in there! I've got you!"

Lyric started to dash forward when a fire geyser erupted in front of him. Lyric reared up and collapsed upon his back, barely avoiding being roasted alive. However, before the dust began to settle the earth beneath Lyric began to shiver and shake as fire rippled from deep within the earth to the sky. Gasping for breath, Lyric rolled out of the way quickly… but not quick enough. The fire geyser erupted skyward… and took the whole of Lyric's fake leg with it. Though he felt no pain from losing his mechanical appendage Lyric screamed from shock nonetheless as half of it was charred, burn, and smelted.

"LYRIC?!" yelled Summer, "Are you okay?!"

She would have said more, but the earth beneath her began to ripple, forcing Summer to scrabble away as yet another fire geyser vomited molten rock and fire upwards. She whimpered as the burns that already covered her body were singed yet again.

"I'm… I'm… I'm… I'm fine!" gasped Lyric. He was trembling from head to hoof from shock. "Just… Just stay there! I'll get to you!"

Lyric stumbled up and dragged himself over to where Summer was. Fortunately for them, the fireswamp had calmed down somewhat, and so the geysers were only erupting every other second, and none of them were close enough to pose a serious threat aside from bathing the burned bodies of the two travelers with shimmering heat waves. Lyric reached out and snatched one of Summer's hooves. The two crawled to all fours and stumbled away as the fire geysers began to fire with doubled intensity. The two kept crawling until the geysers were naught but a faint rumbling in the wind. The two collapsed deep within a large mass of low-hanging flora.

"Is… this… place… safe?" choked Lyric.

Summer could only nod her head. Though she had been wrong initially, Lyric trusted her completely. Summer groaned as the true pain of the burns that covered her began to take a toll on her body. She snuggled up close to Lyric and passed straight out. Though the feeling of skin-upon-skin was excruciatingly painful with the burns, Lyric tolerated. However, Lyric could not pass out. Though darkness ate at the age of his vision, Summer struggled to keep conscious so that he could keep a lookout on his surroundings. He knew that if he passed out, even in the cover of the flora, someone (or something) could find them and potentially murder them in their sleep.

This was perhaps the wisest decision he ever made, for as the sun went from midnoon to sundown the faintest movements could be heard, rustling through the undergrowth. Lyric looked over to Summer. She was still unconscious and barely breathing. Barely breathing himself, Lyric squinted through the foliage. His heart almost stopped as a red-streaked hoof slammed down an inch in front of his face, just beyond the shadows of his cover. Lyric moved barely, letting his eyes peer upwards to the owner of the red hoof. A vicious-looking pony, decorated in rotting skulls, bleached bones, and disgusting warpaint, stood above him, peering into the darkness beyond the blood-red horizon.

The savage sniffed, his dark eyes scouring everywhere… but the bush he was practically standing upon. Rather convenient, if one thinks about it. The savage uttered some things in an ugly, guttural, unrecognizable language and then slipped off. Lyric couldn't even muster the strength to breath out a sigh of relief. However, now that he knew the area had been searched, logic dictated that the same place would not be searched again any time soon. In short, he and Summer were safe… for now.

Letting out something between a strangled sigh and a sob, Lyric passed out, the pain of his burns overcoming his mind.

It wasn't until some droplets of early-morning dew falling from low-hanging foliage soothed his burns that Lyric regained consciousness. Wincing in pain, Lyric attempted to climb to all fours. However, it took over a dozen tries before his strength overcame the burning sensations, allowing him to scramble up. Lyric almost immediately spat up bile as his head swam and stomach churned. He held it in, though, and was able to get his bearings. The sun was just peeking through the high canopy of the jungle, casting light upon the east side of the massive, archaic trees. It was just after dawn. It took another moment for Lyric to locate south, the direction they were heading. Sighing in relief over the fact that they at least knew what direction they needed to head. Lyric glanced at his mechanical leg. He pulled a face as he saw the state it was in: half of the mass of springs, cogs, and pistons was missing. Blackened ends, twisted wires, scorched bolts, and bent gears marked the place that Fire Geyser had claimed the leg. Lyric shook his head mournfully, but did not dwell on the loss for too long. The mechanical leg could be replaced, and he knew that. Lyric then glanced over at Summer, an infinitely more valuable thing. The poor Pegasus was still out cold, whimpering in her sleep as the burns scorched deep into her skin plagued her dreams. Lyric bit his lip as a dilemma became rather apparent: he needed to scout out their next step in order to determine that the surroundings were not hostile and in order to relocate the path they had been cast from… but he was also quite loath to leave his best friend behind in such a state.

After at least a minute of mentally fighting, Lyric decided on the former of the two choices. Shaking his head, Lyric dragged himself off, soldered wires from his fake leg dragging lightly through the earth. The jungles closed in as Lyric stumbled away, and the sky darkened as the canopy thickened. Breathing heavily, Lyric stopped a moment to take a breather. After a minute he shoved himself upright again and stumbled away, limping an additional fifteen minutes. He then stopped to take yet another breather.

"This is going to take much longer than I thought," muttered Lyric, wincing as his burnt flesh brushed against the rough bark of the massive jungle tree he leaned against. "I think I might need to…"

Lyric suddenly stopped talking as he felt the earth beneath him give way. It shifted slightly to the right, undoubtedly collapsing the tunnel of some underground-dwelling beast. It was not too great of a shift, but it was enough to send the dark purple Unicorn into a stumble. He tumbled over a couple of large, moss covered stones before he came to a stop in a large pile of dank undergrowth, jarred and bruised.

Lyric swore quietly before trying to get up. However, he suddenly found that he could not. The shifting earth from the collapsing of the small tunnel had led to a larger landslide that had ended up moving the stones Lyric had fallen over as well… onto his good back leg. It was not painful or crippling… but he was stuck nonetheless. Lyric swore again as he tried to wrench his leg out, but to no avail. Fortunately, Lyric did not immediately begin to panic. He knew that Summer was safe in the cover she had collapsed in, so all that he needed to do now was find a way out of this minor mess. Lyric attempted to lift the stone off of him with his magic… that failed. Lyric then attempted use a large stick nearby as a lever to lift away the stones… the stick snapped. Grumbling, Lyric lay down and looked at the dark, sky-blocking canopy far above his head. Then he heard it: the rustling of branches. Of course, one could simply cast this sound aside, as it was natural for jungle such as this one to rustle and whisper… but in Lyric's heart he knew that something wrong was about to happen. Pressing himself close to the earth, Lyric quickly went about pushing loam and dead leaves over his body. He then lay still, waiting for whatever evil awaited for him to come.

A minute later the evil did come… in the form of the savages that he had seen not a day earlier. In fact, from the warpaint that covered its body, Lyric was fairly sure the barbarian searching about his vicinity now was the same one that had been attempting to sniff out his whereabouts earlier. Narrowing his eyes, Lyric pressed his body even closer to the wet and mossy earth. The savage growled some things as he searched about, looking through the spot that Lyric had stumbled through when he created the pothole.

Fear began to rise in Lyric's throat like bile as the savage got closer and closer to his actual location… when the savage stopped. He leaned in close to inspect the earth several meters away from Lyric… and then shouted something in the unknown language Lyric had heard earlier. The savage was joined by a couple other savages, one male and one female. The three, all decked out in their fierce and morbid finery, dashed away as fast as the wind. It took Lyric a minute to figure out what had just happened, and when he did his heart froze in pure horror. The group of barbarians had found the trail created by the ruined mess of his damaged mechanical leg.

That trailed led directly back to Summer.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes. I will admit that it took me many, many weeks to figure out where to go with Lyric, Summer, Starlight Amber, and the Inquisitors. In my rush to reach the impressive revelations that were lying in wait at the end of the first part of season 2, I forgot to plan ahead. Thus, I suddenly found myself without a plan (or a backup plan, or a backup-backup plan - I never go anywhere without those). And so I spent a really long time working out the next steps. I did it though, and at this time I will say that I am really pleased with the newest adventure I have crafted for Lyric and Summer. I hope you enjoy it as well. <strong>

**Speaking of crafting adventures, I have an announcement: I am bringing in some Dimensional Travelers! Aside from Jefferson and Gene, there hasn't really been any new or old Dimensional Traveler people showing up in a story is based all around them. A travesty that must be rectified. In the next couple chapters I will be working towards introducing the newest team that will have a part to play in the latter half of this season. I will not say so much now, but keep an eye on the "A Mending Soul Guide". It will be receiving some new additions soon. **

**And now don't forget to drop a review! Oh, here is a good question to ask: in the past, who was your favorite Dimensional Traveler? Why? Let me know! If you do, I will give you an Amiibo of said favorite traveler. Seriously, how awesome would that be? I am sure it would be a little more awesome... if they weren't invisible. But what can I do? Making invisible things is a gift of mine... Kind of like underwater basket weaving. I will see you all later.**


	140. Chapter 140 - A Dusty Globe

**Author's Notes. I am back! I have no excuses other than stating that my updating schedule will never be as it was a year ago. No more daily updates anymore, sadly. However, despite the schedule being erratic and exceptionally lacking, I can assure you that chapters (when they are finally prepared) will always be posted on either Wednesday or Tuesday in the afternoon. Keep an eye out! Now let's take a moment to address some reviews.**

**SuperVegito33: Yep! Here they come!**

**Salvadorian Moose: You do that on purpose. You know that I made a mistake.**

**Madmanwithafork: The UNSC/Covenant war in the Halo dimension is actually taking place in one single galaxy. It is a mere trifle compared to the Amethyst wars, and so that dimension is in no trouble of being unstable. They also have no galaxy-wide nukes. The Dark Souls dimension, however, has an extremely unstable timeline. So many heroes from so many different Dark Souls alternate realities invading and aiding one another (invaders/summons). There are just so many space/time disruptions...**

**Austin xj liu: Ahhh... Franklin. During the latter half of the first season he was my favorite Dimensional Traveler because of how you could see his character develop over time. It was a shame to see him go; however, that is not the last you will see of him. Verily, I am planning to return some well-known beings in season 4... You never know, he might be one of them. Also, don't let my story be the only source of Dimensional Traveler adventures for you. If you want more of someone... then write about it! There are already a couple derivations in progress about different Dimensional Travelers, and I welcome more.**

**FocusedStream: I am also happy to see Lyric and Summer back in action! They were one of the main reasons season 2 even exists! Also, I agree that Joseph is one of the best of the travelers. He has changed so much over the years...**

**Right! That is all for now! Now enjoy the story!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Canterlot_

_Time: Two days after Lyric and Summer set out into the Southern Jungle_

"Are you really going back to Canterlot?" asked Pumpkin, almost a whine. "You just got here!"

"I know," sighed Starlight, "But now that I am being forced – take note I said 'forced' mind you – to go to Equidor to act as a meatshield, I want to see my parents. My mom is going to have a baby and I have no idea if I will be by her side when they are born."

"Considering the circumstances, I am surprised you aren't furious," said Pound, looking at his friend with a calm eye. A smile twitched at his lips. "Oh, I forgot… You're probably murdering someone on the inside."

Starlight could not help but chuckle. "Some hardships leave a permanent mark, Pound. Your comment saved the poor imaginary pony's life though."

"Oookkkayyyy… This is getting weird. How about we see you to Canterlot station?" snorted Pumpkin. "And don't worry: we'll keep Luna company. But the moment we get a chance we'll be by your side."

Starlight couldn't help but ruffle Pound's hair despite the fact that he was a couple years older than her. "Thanks, you two. I don't know what I'd do without you. Come. Let's get a move-on before I suddenly find myself train-less."

The trio began to trot down through the bright and colorful streets of Canterlot.

"Soooo… What do you think of this whole Equidor-Stallion Empire situation?" asked Pumpkin, looking to her friend Starlight.

Starlight shrugged. "Overall I am unsure. The thing that bothers me the most is that, despite their best efforts to hide it, Celestia and Luna are scared of the Stallion Empire. I can see it in their eyes."

"The Stallion Empire has a massive army, a massive airforce, and a massive navy. Their soldiers are brutal, and they will raze and rape anyone in an occupied zone. I am sure you can understand why they are worried about starting a war," commented Pound.

Starlight sighed. "You're right, Pound. I suppose I can see why Canterlot shows such interest in mediating peace, but I am still bothered that we are showing fear. The Equidorian people depend on larger nations like us to protect them from bullies like the Stallion Empire… Where will the world be when supernations like us bow to the force of evil?"

Still trying to be logical, Pound blinked slowly as he said, "How do we know the Stallion Empire is even evil?"

"Pound… I have seen what it is to be truly living in the 'gray area' of morality. I have seen true evil… the Stallion Empire and their actions pretty match up with what I have seen in the past," replied Starlight, without breaking her trot.

"Well… Okay then!" interjected Pumpkin, tossing her man as she eyed Starlight. "What do you think we should do if there is a war? How do we protect against an empire which would never be averse to dropping bombs on area populated solely by innocent civilians? Do you think Celestia will call in Dimensional Travelers to aid her? We know at least a dozen of those guys who would come en masse to protect her… Well, more like to protect Fluttershy and Sunset Shadow, but you know what I mean. They WOULD come if we needed help… right?"

Starlight bit her bottom lip worriedly. "I… don't know. No one has seen Flaming Star or Twilight Sparkle in over a year, and there hasn't been any news about the Brother's in Arms Corps in decades. The only one who shows up occasionally is Doxia, but he refuses to use any of his powers… I suppose that is his own way of showing his resentment for the way he and his friends were treated during the xenophobic hell that rose here in Equestria after the Paradox died."

Pound looked down at his hooves as he remembered Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle. They had been very kind to him when he was struggling through his younger years. Remembering that they had left to explore the multiverse over a year ago made him worry for their safety like they had left yesterday. "T-they might come back… You never know."

"True… But as you said: 'you never know.' We don't know, so we're going to have to work to protect ourselves," murmured Starlight, her own mind dwelling worriedly on her parents; probably the most timid and kind ponies she knew ever. And to think one of them had been an almighty Dimensional Traveler in decades past.

The group lapsed into a silence as they neared the train station. The train was just drawing up to the Canterlot platform. The shrill whistle of the train blasted into the air with a hiss of steam. Starlight turned to Pumpkin and Pound. "I know you two want to be with me when I get my assignment, but please stay with Luna for as long as you can. You saw how hurt she is… and you know how hurt Samuel is as well. They need comfort…"

"Until her no-good son scraps up whatever courage he has left to admit he's a coward," muttered Pumpkin. Pound bumped her shoulder gently to let her know that she should curb her tongue.

Starlight winced. "August Dellor will come around… someday. I hope. Well… I'm off now. I will see you in a couple days or so!"

Starlight turned tail and trotted into the train as the doors opened and ponies began to flow in and out of the vehicle, intent on their own personal business. Starlight bustled her way through the flow of traffic into one of the cars. She plopped herself down and slumped over, blowing a strand of stray mane out of her face in a rather roguish manner. As she sat there, she began to think back on Harvest Snowfall. The name still bothered her exceptionally, but her memory refused to divulge what it remembered on that name. She shook her head. In her heart she felt that it was somehow pertinent, very pertinent one might say. She needed to look into the matter deeply after she arrived at Ponyville… and after she visited her parents.

As the sun was setting, the train pulled up to the Ponyville Train Station. The moment she stepped out of the train she was assaulted by Aunt Pinkie Pie… Which was always the case.

"Oooooh! Lookie who's back!" the pink mare exclaimed in an overly-enthusiastic manner as she threw a hoof about Starlight's shoulders and gave her a huge side-hug. "How ya doin'?!"

Starlight took the violation of her personal space in stride and smiled. "A little flustered from the current situations back in Caterlot, Auntie Pinkie, but nothing too huge really. I am really glad to be back here to hang out with you all. How's my mom?"

"Juuuussssssstttt dandy!" said Pinkie happily. "She's been takin' it slow, but then again, when hasn't ole Fluttershy taken it slow?!"

"And my dad?"

"Pssshhhh… By Fluttershy's side like always. Now you listen here, young'un: Back in my day, your daddy was the spiffin' image of a psychotic mass-murderer! In fact, the first time I met him he had killed his girlfriend! A real chick-catcher!"

Starlight winced self-consciously as Pinkie Pie ran her mouth off. "I am sure. They at home?"

"They sure are! Come on! Let's go!"

Pinkie seized Starlight's right front hoof and dragged her down the streets of Ponyville. Many ponies that were passed by stopped whatever they were doing to wave happily at Starlight. As one of the greatest, friendliest, and most patient teachers that Ponyville had ever seen, she was extremely popular.

Several minutes and a dozen hoof-shakes later and the two were outside of Sunset Shadow and Fluttershy's cottage. Pinkie rapped on the door energetically as Starlight caught her breath.

"Helllooooo? Joseph? Guess who is home!" Pinkie shouted into the keyhole set in the front door.

A moment later the door opened to reveal an exhausted Sunset Shadow. "I swear, Pinkie, you call me 'Joseph' because I asked you not to."

He turned to look at his daughter. He mustered a smile and waved to her. "Hey there, sweetie. How are you?"

"Just dandy compared to you, dad," snorted Starlight. She patted Pinkie on the back as she trotted up to stand by her father's side. "You look dead-tired. Is mom being that much trouble?"

"Not at all. You know your mother. I just can't bear to sleep when she's having contractions… which is like all the time at this point."

"Ooooh! I could watch Fluttershy!" offered Pinkie, a little too enthusiastically.

Sunset Shadow could not help but grin a little bit despite the fact that he was practically falling over. "Thanks, Pinkie, but in the case of watching a sleeping Fluttershy… I would trust you as far as I could throw you."

Pinkie pulled a face and rolled her eyes as she muttered, "That would have been pretty darn far if you hadn't let the Kytax take your powers away from you…"

Eyes drooping, Sunset Shadow waved a hoof in a randomly picked direction. "Totally. Why don't you go do something like make a cake for your nephew and niece? I hear Pound and Pumpkin are taking care of Luna – poor mare – and I bet they could use their own concoction of confidence-boosting."

Pinkie winked, bouncing back in an instant. "Good idea. Okie dokie lokie! I'm off! See-ya!"

With that, the over-energetic, mostly-insane, fourth-wall-breaking pony shot away to Sugar Cube Corner. Sunset Shadow blew out a long breath. He turned to give his daughter a side-long glance. A small smile twitched at his face. "It's the Pinkie Pie. What else can you do?" he mumbled.

Starlight took her dad by the hoof and led him over to a couch where he flopped down. She settled down beside him and gave him a warm hug.

"You're not taking these all-nighters very well, are you dad?" she chuckled.

"I spent the first-half of my life as a Dimensional Traveler!" grumbled Sunset Shadow. "A sheer mountain range couldn't stop me! Let alone a couple of consecutive all-nighters…"

"So would you prefer to go back on your request to the Kytax?" asked Starlight, still grinning.

"Nah," sighed Sunset Shadow, resting his head on the arm of the couch. "Near-immortality was never for me. It's not a gift. It's like a… a… a dark cloud, hanging over your head. It may seem exciting for a bit, but after a while all it does is put strain on your soul. Remember Pictor? The thought of being unable to die drove him crazy… until he finally was killed. Perhaps that is why Flaming Star left with Twilight Sparkle. The two have ridiculously long life-spans… mayhap they are trying to wash away the long stretch in their lives by exploring like the Dimensional Lord Meadolax did before he settled down. I don't know. To some it may seem like I am being left behind with all these Dimensional Travelers and Dimensional Lords running around nowadays… But to me I feel like I am the only one truly blessed. Nature will claim me and my beautiful wife one day… Then you… Then your grandchildren… Then your great-grandchildren… Then your great-great-grandchildren… And during all that time there will be Flaming Star, standing upon his pedestal of the ages, watching everyone he ever knew die. As my friend Daniel Dragoon once said: 'Being a Dimensional Traveler is like being locked up and watching your friends being executed in a row; and the name of the executioner is Time.'"

Starlight's smile had died slowly over the course of her father's speech as she considered what he said. However, when he finished she smiled again, though this one was more of a sad smile if anything. "You're right, of course, dad. But at this time I think we should be thinking more on the new life that will be born into this world as opposed to the old lives that will be extinguished at a later time."

Sunset Shadow nodded with his eyes closed, still dozing slightly. "You're right, of course, daughter. Your time as a fighter has made you so much wiser…"

"How's my big brother?" asked Starlight, glancing at her dozing father.

"Desmond? He's fine. Right now he's doing some work in Manehattan, but he is extremely excited about the oncoming new addition to our little family and will definitely be home when Fluttershy gives birth… He misses you sorely as well, you know that?"

Starlight smiled. "I miss him as well. I can't wait to see him."

Sunset Shadow chuckled. "I've seen so much pain and suffering in my years… I can't help but chuckle at the fact that we are so… so… so… fortunate…"

Sunset Shadow's voice drifted as he began to fall into a slumber. Starlight Amber grabbed a blanket with her teeth and gently tossed it over the back of her tired father. However, as she tip-hoofed out of the room, Sunset Shadow called out in a voice laden with tiredness: "Harvest Snowfall… That name gave me pause as well a couple hours after you mentioned it in Canterlot. It reminds me of something, but I just can't put my hoof on it yet. We need more information, and I know where you can find some. I suggest you check the basement of Flaming Star and Twilight Sprakle's castle. Flaming Star and Twilight have stored so much stuff down there, you are probably going to find at least a whisper of something there. But please make sure your mother is okay before you go."

Starlight nodded. "Got it, dad."

She trotted upstairs as her father drifted into a deep sleep. Upstairs in the master bedroom, lying upon the king's-sized bed, was her mother Fluttershy, her stomach bloated with child. She was fast asleep, probably from having stayed up the whole night along with Sunset Shadow. Starlight made sure to see if her breathing was gentle before she closed the door and cantered to the front door. She eased it open to find a large box with a cake in it outside. A little present from Pinkie Pie. Starlight pushed it gently into the interior of the cottage before closing the door behind her and making her way to the Friendship Castle near the center of Ponyville.

It took her only a score of minutes or so to get there. She tried the double-door. It swung open soundlessly on its hinges, unlocked as always.

"We Ponyville ponies are too trusting," muttered Starlight as she went on in, closing the door behind her. She took a moment to check everything to ensure all elements in the interior of the building were in the same place. Nothing had moved since the two owners of the castle had vanished a year ago to endlessly explore the multiverse and its expanses. If anything, things had been added. An occasional additional drape here, a shiny new gem there. No doubt a sign that Rarity still took it upon herself to ensure that the place was "perfect" for when Twilight came back… eventually. Starlight grinned to herself, thinking that, as she made her way to the basement. A long stairwell led down to a brightly lit basement.

Despite the fact this place was indeed a castle, it definitely had no jail in its depths. Instead there were rows and rows of large bookcases and piles of crates full of artifacts, treasure, and files stuffed with paper. Despite the grandness of the scale of all this store knowledge, none of it compared to the centerpiece of the basement. A massive metal globe of steel hovered in the middle of the room. It was tailored to look exactly like the planet, with even the rises of mountains and the dips of valleys inscribed upon the metallic surface. Even the paint was perfect and laser-precise. Upon in were countless flags and strings connecting different areas to another, and sticky notes were placed upon many different locations. Beside the hovering sphere was a gigantic whiteboard. The areas of the whiteboard that weren't covered in age-old marker writing was plastered with dusty papers, aged photographs, and yellowed sticky notes.

This was the setup that Flaming Star had used in the years past when he was searching for his fallen daughter, Summer Constellation when her plane had been shot from the sky with an energy missile from above. Starlight, being the sympathetic being that she was, immediately felt a lump rise in her throat. Even though she had been far away when the search began for the fallen Summer, she could image the pain that must have coursed through the bodies of Flaming Star and Twilight Shadow. Their only child… killed in a violent and tragic event… Such a beautiful child killed in an instant, so sudden…

"Perhaps that is why they never had more children," murmured Starlight as she looked at the gigantic globe, rotating upon its axis lazily.

Absently-mindedly, she trotted up to the model of the earth and traced a hoof across the surface, wiping away the thick layers of grime and dust that coated it. It was clear Flaming Star had abandoned this place many years ago. She tapped a small marker that marked the town of Ponyville. She traced a hoof along the colored strings that cataloged the supposed path of the Grand Pegasus airplane that Summer had been upon before it was shot down near the Northern Mountains of the Stallion Empire. She then turned about and trotted away, to look at the whiteboard. She blew on it gently, and then began to cough loudly as her breath knocked forth ages-worth of dust and filth from the dry and cracked papers strapped to the whiteboard. Rubbing her eyes, she peered closer at the writing covered the thing.

Notes about "looking here" or "talking to this pony there" covered the places not already covered with newspaper clipping cataloging the ongoing search for the fallen plane or covered with marker writing calculating the possible descending velocities and the percentage chances of survival from a fall. Starlight shook her head and took a step back, she glanced behind her as her back hoof tapped something. It was a crumpled piece of paper. Upon closer inspection she found that it was a newspaper clipping. She sat down on her haunches amidst the dust and unfolded the thing to inspect it.

The headlines read: "THE STALLION EMPIRE CALLS OFF SEARCH FOR DOWNED AIRPLANE."

Starlight sighed sadly. She understood now why this had been crumpled up and cast aside. She continued to read it.

"After a month-long search in the far reaches of the Northern Mountains in the Stallion Empire, the Stallion Empire branch of the international search-and-rescue organization has called off the search for the remaining wreckage of downed Grand Pegasus flight X67319, which was supposedly destroyed by a meteorite fragment. This decision was made by the branch co-director of the organization, Caramel Paradise, after the leader of this search-and-rescue mission, Harvest Snowfall, was killed in an avalanche, along with half of his team. The bodies of the fallen team members have been recovered and are awaiting burial at the Stallion Empire capital."

That was as far as Starlight Amber got. The paper fell from her hooves as her mind began to clock into overtime.

"So this is where I remember his name. He was in charge of finding Summer. Huh. Harvest Snowfall is supposed to be dead and buried, and yet here he is, live and well," Starlight Amber muttered to herself quietly, "Odd."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Zerahypt<em>

_Planet: Terrahypt_

_Specific Location: Anthias_

_Time: Two days after Summer and Lyric ventured into the Southern Jungle_

Dimensional Traveler Tenebris crouched in the silver sands of the desolate landscape, which stretched from horizon to horizon. "This was the weirdest place to run to," said Tenebris, glancing back his companions: Dimensional Traveler Anima Lupo, Dimensional Traveler Xavier Raptum, and Dimensional Traveler Batusi.

"I can see all the way to the edge of this desert, and nothing but a couple of shifting sand-dunes really exist to provide the refugee cover. Poor play, my demon friend," Tenebris said out loud, smiling as he visually scoured the land.

"If there is any form of cover, they would probably have utilized it," replied Anima, squinting over the vast silvery wasteland.

"I don't think that the sun overhead is actually really a sun," commented Xavier, the one who probably wasn't even listening to the ongoing conversation. "It's an imposter! Oh wait… It looks like a generator! Weird…"

"How many places pose feasible cover?" asked Batusi, pulling out his sword, readying himself for a confrontation.

"Pretty much anything that blocks the line of sight. The demon we are hunting is desperate, he might have even burrowed into the sands to avoid detection. He knows he is being followed," replied Anima still staring hard.

"Agreed. This may be the stupidest place to hide in, but I will admit this desert hands out more possibilities to hide than I would have previously thought…" muttered Tenebris. Suddenly his voice trailed off as he spotted something. "Over there! Twelve degrees southeast. Thirty kilometers out. You see the largest of that set of sand dunes? I am positive I saw it shift… and I bet you my aunt's pinny it wasn't the wind."

"Wildlife? Well, it is worth investigating nonetheless." Batusi said. He tapped Xavier on the arm. "Hey there, Xavier. We're moving again. Are you ever going to start paying attention?"

Xavier just laughed. "I'll start paying attention when the bolts of lightning and balls of fire start flying! But you all were saying something about a sand dune moving? Wildlife I bet."

"Might be. Might not be. We're on a hunt for a demon, let's not leave a stone unturned," replied Tenebris. In a second the four team members shimmered, warped, and then vanished, having been teleported by Tenebris to the unshielded side of the dune. If their quarry had moved the sand dune, they were hiding on the other side.

Tenebris nodded to his teammates, who spread out to different vantage points. Xavier gladly took the vanguard, pulling two large shotguns from beneath the voluminous dark blue cloak he wore. He crept up to the edge of the sand dune, using his control over his personal density to allow him to traverse the delicate sands without leaving a trace. He peeked over, then shot back down.

"I saw the back of the demon's head!" he exclaimed over a telepathic link to his teammates. "Boy is he ugly."

"Our course is clear then," replied Tenebris over the same link. "We've found him. Let's blow him up!"

"Xavier, take the front; Tenebris, you flank left; Batusi, you flank right. I'll take to the skies overhead to rain down fire if the occasion calls for it," communicated Anima. "On the count of three…"

Tenebris scrambled to the left side of the sand dune, calling up balls of energy to hover about his fists as he went. Batusi, still brandishing his sword, slid to the right side, just as Xavier took up his position, his massive pointed hat just poking over the rim of the pile of sloped sand. Anima began to rise into the air, energies akin to Homing Soulmasses beginning to coalesce about his shoulders. "Three… two… one… now!"

The group sprang into action. Xavier was the first over. He tripped on the hem of his cloak, flipped over, landed on his feet, and slid down the shielded side of the sand dune, firing his shotguns all the way. Tenebris and Batusi dashed around the corners of the sand dune with incredible speed, only to stop short at the sight that awaited them.

The head that Xavier had spotted was indeed belonging to the demon that they had been hired to hunt; however, there was one problem: It had been disconnected from the body. It was mounted on a spike, which was set deep into the earth beside a lawn chair. Lying upon the lawn chair was a man. He was dark-skinned, with fair hair and unusually radiance about his green-ish eyes. A smile played across his roughly-shaven face.

"It's about time you people show up," snorted the man, picking up a pair of sunglasses on one side of his chair and dropping them over his eyes. He then picked up a glass of lemonade that lay on the opposite side of the lawn chair and began to sip it.

"The demon you just killed… That was OUR quarry," said Tenebris, guarded and disgruntled. "Who hired you? Our employer? Some random rival?"

"No, not really. Both the employer and his rivals are freaking idiots. I mean seriously, who hunts demons these days? No one, that's who. Ever since the realms of Hell fell in fire and brimstone, the value of a demon's head or heart have dropped drastically. Plus, with Amethyst mobilizing to catch that Harold Dellor guy, I don't think jumping around like bunny rabbits hunting for a useless investment is safe. Don't you think?"

Anima stared sternly at the man. "Our reward for this monster's head was considerable."

The man laughed. "I know what the price is. Considerable? I bet your younger selves are laughing at you while they roll in their piles of riches. Anyone have time travel? I bet you a doubloon that if you go back in time you can see that they are laughing at you."

"Hey! I would remember if I was laughing at my future self," retorted Xavier, who was probably more interested in the fact that he was drinking lemonade than anything.

"Both ways, we needed that money, and you stole that from us. Do you know what we do to thieves?" mentioned Batusi quietly.

"You give them lemonade?" asked the man airily. Chuckling to himself, he waved away the tip of Batusi's sword (which was getting progressively closer to his right eyeball) and continued. "Don't worry about it. Here: Here is the payment you were promised by that guy who wanted this demon dead. Straight from his pocket… He just doesn't know it yet."

The man shoved his hand into the silvery particles that made up the land of Anthias and pulled up a medium-sized crate full of gold-plated latinum. He tossed it over to Xavier, who caught it and stowed it away in his cloak.

"Wait, wait, wait… You didn't come all the way over to this desolate place to kill our prey and pay is in return. I mean, if you did, then thanks… But that's not how the multiverse works. What do you want?" said Tenebris, eying the strange man.

"Oh! That's right! Of course! I was so caught up in laughing at Xavier's hat that I almost forgot: I have a job for you all."

Anima looked to Batusi and then Tenebris. "A job. Really? We'll humor you. What is it that you want done?"

"Simple! I need you to grab something somewhere, and then bring it to me!" exclaimed the man. He looked to Tenebris and Anima, who both looked like they were awaiting elaboration. He then cleared his throat and said, "Well… In the Skylock dimension, there is a land – called Carrion, if I recall correctly – that is pretty much crawling with those nasty little demons. Deep within this land there is a large tablet of stone. It is shaped like a pointed star, and it glows purple. I do believe it is stowed in the treasure room of the Iron Fortress, which is the centerpiece of the land. You go grab that shiny little tablet and bring it back… and we are allllll set!"

"You killed this demon without any effort, why don't you hunt for this tablet yourself?" said Batusi softly, still annoyed by the fact that this potential employer seemed determined to be rude to them.

"Because I'm really, really lazy!" exclaimed the man. He took a long draft from his glass of lemonade, making it clear that that was all they were getting from him on that subject.

"Okay. Sure. Whatever. What are you offering in return for this tablet?" pressed Tenebris, who was beginning to look interested. This stranger had pulled a case of gold-pressed latinum from the ground. What else did he have stowed away?

"Just a little something!" exclaimed the man. He snapped a finger, and a large glass case uncloaked at the base of his lawn chair. Inside the glass case was a long, snow-white greatsword.

"Holy macaroni…" breathed Xavier. "Doth my eyes deceiveth me? Is that the greatsword of Urthwyte the Mighty?"

"I bet you an apple to an acorn it is, weird wizard-looking dude!" snorted the stranger looking at Xavier with an amused eye. He snapped a finger again, and the sword rose from its glass case to hover half-a-meter above the palm of his hand. "Strange place… the Redwall dimension is. The beings there live in primitive times; and yet, from that same dimension, two of the most powerful weapons of all reality were crafted. Mind you, I would have bargained with the sword of Martin the Warrior, but he kind of is still alive and in the Rerenhaw Council. Dimensional Lord Doxia would serve my bottom up as beef bourguignon if I tried to steal it. Well? What do you think?"

Anima meticulously scanned the weapon. It was indeed the legendary greatsword. Deadlier than a lightsaber, sturdier than kilometer-thick wall of protosteel. He glanced at Tenebris.

"Well! You certainly make an attractive offer," said Tenebris, eyeing the blade. "However, if we do run into a great length of trouble, we will ask for additional compensation."

The stranger cupped an ear. "Oh golly! You hear that sound? That's the sound of no one caring!"

Tenebris rolled his eyes. "Okay. Great. However, how do we have an assurance that you will come back at a designated meeting place when we have the tablet?"

The stranger dropped the sword back into its glass case, and then placed a hand over his heart (except he was using his left hand, so he wasn't covering his heart at all). "Don't you trust me? You should. After all, I am willing to trade a massive sword for a rock covered in carvings…"

"That's something else," interjected Anima. "Why WOULD you do that? A tablet of rock for the fifth most powerful weapon in all of reality? Foolish trade if you ask me."

The stranger readjusted his sunglasses and settled back in his lawn chair. "Writing provides knowledge. You see… power is not determined by the strength of a man's arm of the sharpness of his blade. It is dependent upon the knowledge stored within his mind. Empires rise and fall from information, my friends. Well… that is enough philosophy for one day. I still haven't given you assurance that this isn't some non-April April Fools prank. You know what? Here, take this as a sign of my goodwill."

The stranger reached into the sands of Anthias once more and pulled out a chest full of even more gold-pressed latnium. He tossed it to Xavier with one hand, who fell over from its deceptively high weight. "I really want my little tablet. Do we have a deal?"

Tenebris snorted. "Sure thing. Meeting place?"

The stranger waved his hand in a randomly picked direction. "Here. This place is perfect for shady transactions."

Tenebris nodded slowly. "Riiiggghhhhtttt… Well, we have the information we need to start. By the way, what do we call you?"

The man stroked his chin. "Batman! Nah… Toklo? Harvey Dent? Lusa! No… That's a girl's name. Ummmm… Let's go with Bob. Because reasons."

Anima, who had been staring hard at Bob for this entire time nodded. "Right, Bob. We'll be off then."

Bob didn't even move from his lawn chair. "You do that. I'll just relax here. Oh! And be careful. The multiverse is rather large with unusual things. People don't stay alive unless they have an extra set of eyes."

Tenebris actually smiled. "That's why I have friends. Can you say the same?"

Bob just raised his glass in salute, and then continued to drink it. Tenebris shook his head and started to walk away.

"Are we going to do this job?" murmured Anima, catching up to Tenebris and walking in stride with him.

"I don't like it, and I don't like him," added Batusi.

"But he has Urthwyte's greatsword!" interjected Xavier, clearly a fan of Urthwyte's work.

Tenebris cocked his head to one side as he thought. "Yes… I think doing this job is a good idea. After all, if we find it, we get to take a look at the inscriptions on the tablet first."

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><p><strong>Author's Notes. Many things have happened. Harvest Snowfall has been revealed and a possible conspiracy is being unearthed... And now you have a good first look at the new team that will drop in. To all those people who have previously submitted Dimensional Traveler OCs: do not worry. Now that multiverse-wide dimension-jumping is back in business, I will take every opportunity to toss in references to the veterans (the ones that are still alive, of course). Well, I hope you enjoyed the most recent chapter. Like always (well, that is not true... most of the time, anyways) I enjoyed writing it for you all. <strong>

**Please leave a review of what you thought? Also, which of the old Dimensional Travelers from season 1 who have been gone for a while would you like to show up? Let me know! If you do, you get a cookie. But don't eat it. This cookie was made during the advent of the first season of "A Mending Soul." It is stale. Like a rock. It's also invisible.**


	141. Chapter 141 - A Chance Meeting

**Author's Notes. Well this is weird, I somehow managed to write a whole chapter in just seven days. That doesn't happen very often anymore. I highly doubt I will be able to replicate this twice (as I have a lot of other things to do) but I will look into getting in something the week after next. Now on to answering some reviews.**

**To Vibrant Sound: Great! I aim to please. Also, don't worry too much about the googling of stuff. I really just throw all those references in to give an expansive sense to the multiverse. The Catalyst Corps has been around a bit, they have seen a lot. But in case you never did get around to looking up the to main references... Urthwyte the Mighty is a Badger Lord of Salamandastron (a massive volcanic fortress by the sea) in the Redwall dimension. He was renowned for his skill in armor making (almost as much one of his predecessors, the Badger Lord Boar the Fighter, who crafted the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior, the fourth greatest weapon in all of reality) and is attributed in crafting the armor of the High Rhulain, Tiria. You can read up more about her on a wikia, or in the A Mending Soul Guide, as she was a former council member of Rerenhaw. Zerahypt is some random "video game" that a friend of mine plays quite a bit. I put the term "video game" in quotes because it is less of a game and more of a "explorable universe simulator". It's not too well-done, but the thing was crafted in the Unity Game Engine, so I have respect for it.**

**To SuperVegito33: Good to see you excited! I am pleased to announce that they make an appearance in this chapter as well. I wasn't going to originally have them in here, but I am scrambling to reorganize everyone's story snippets so it sort of just dropped in here. After all is said and done I am thinking I will pair the stories of Summer and Lyric with the story of Starlight Amber, and the stories of the Catalyst Corps with the stories of the Inquisitors. It is a work in progress.**

**To Salvadorian Moose: Yeah, spellcheck can be a pain. The best way to overcome such adversity is to become so good at spelling yourself that spellcheck becomes nothing but an unused relic of a long forgotten past. Don't let the machines guide you so! After all, if you rely so heavily on such things, how will you spell properly when Skynet takes over?**

**To Guest: Thank you! I will!**

**To Ethansethbridges2001: I am glad to see that my story has done some good! Nothing makes me happier than seeing my story inspire other writers.**

**To FocusedStream: Yes! Things are finally starting to speed up! I hope to have a couple action-packed chapters soon. Keep on the edge of your seat, for more is coming!**

**Right, I think that is all I have for the moment. Enjoy the latest chapter!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Southern Jungles, Stallion Empire_

_Time: Three days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the jungle._

Images flashed. Memories? Dreams? Nightmares. Summer couldn't tell. She felt the faint sensation of being dragged through the dirt and underbrush, but she had no idea if what she was feeling was real or imagined. She heard a voice to her left. Mattimeo? No, it couldn't be, could it? If this wasn't a dream then it couldn't be from her old Dimensional Lord friend. How about Lyric? No, that wasn't possible either. This voice was different. Something fundamentally wrong was going on. Summer groaned slightly as she felt the feeling of being dragged coming to a stop. Of course she still wasn't sure if anything she was experiencing was real, but the pain of her burned flesh grinding through the mossy earth was real enough.

"P-please… just five more minutes…" whined Summer.

A hard rod struck her across the muzzle, bringing her feverish, hallucinogenic "daydream" to an end. Summer started and her faded eyes snapped open. Her brain organized itself just in time for her to feel each of her limbs being strapped to four posts, suspending her in the air in the spread-eagled position, belly-up. The four posts were driven deep into the ground it seemed, and surrounded by a large cage of thick wooden sticks bound by jungle vines that creaked nearby as she struggled.

"W-what…?" gasped Summer, utterly confused by where she was. "Where am I? Where's Lyric?"

The rod that had struck previously slammed one of its blunt ends into her pelvis, causing her to cry out in pain, stemming the tide of questions. As the filly caught her breath, the position of the weilder slowly became clear, and it was standing right by her. It had to be an Agrinian, painted in fierce war paint, decorated with rotting bones, and adorned with crumbling skulls. She had heard the tales, and the sensations that had been described in said tales matched perfectly with the smells and sounds that reached her now. The savage grinned "savagely" while swinging the rod a hairsbreadth from Summer's blank eyeball. Her ears flattened as she felt the stick pass a mere hairsbreadth in front of her.

Summer's heart was racing and her breath was coming in short, ragged gasps, but this did not keep her from drawing up her fighting courage from the depths of her chest. She bared her teeth at the savage and snapped, "What the hell do you want from me?"

The Agrinian kept on grinning; it seemed he had no idea what she had just said.

"Didn't you just hear what I said?" growled Summer, trying her hardest to suppress her body from trembling from pure terror. Her voice wavered a little. "Are you too dumb to understand the common tongue? You've probably never even—"

The savage abruptly pressed the blunt end of the rod against Summer's throat, cutting off her air supply, preventing her from running her mouth off more. After a dozen seconds, the savage pulled the rod away. He lightly tapped her on the tip of her muzzle to get her attention. Summer glared at him. With the end of the rod, the Agrinian motioned for her to look out of the cage, directly to her right. Summer just kept glaring. She could sense what he wanted her to do, but she decided to refuse doing it all the same. The Agrinian blinked, staring deep into her blind eyes. He then leaned in close and roughly grabbed her face, forcing her face to the right. In a second the odors of blood, decay, and rotting and cooking flesh struck her nostrils. The aroma of cannibalism and savagery struck her so hard that Summer could not help but cry out in horror. The Agrinian grinned, almost complacently. Summer clamped her jaws shut to prevent any more crying, but her ragged breathing had sped up tenfold.

"You're not getting any more satisfaction from my pain, monster," she hissed, forcing those words out from between her teeth, doing her best to deter the savage by putting on a strong front. "My friend will save me. And if not… Well, don't expect me to scream when you cut my body open while I'm still conscious."

Summer's stomach seized up as she felt the savage approach her, coming closer and closer. She quivered as the monster's fetid breath inundated almost every single one of her senses. Even her blind eyes began to sting. She shook her head. "You're… You're not scaring me." She was, however, quite scared. But she was not about to show it. Never.

She heard a chuckle, a sadistic chuckle that made her skin tingle. It was almost as if the savage understood her defiance, and he was savoring it for when the time came for him to chop her up and toss her body parts into a stew.

There was a pause, and then the sound of hooves retreating. Then the sound of the cage's door slamming shut. Summer held her breath, using her advanced senses to track her captor. The hoofsteps continued to fade, and soon Summer judged that by the softness of the steps that the savage was out of the earshot of a normal pony. Summer took in a deep breath, and then began to cry quietly.

"Oh Lyric… Where are you? Are you even alive?"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Southern Jungles, Stallion Empire_

_Time: Three days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the jungle._

"Oh Summer… Where are you? Are you even alive?"

Lyric sighed loud and long, doing his best not to break down like a like foal who has twisted a hoof. He wanted to cry. He had failed to protect Summer, the only thing that mattered to him anymore. He had utterly failed. A small whimper escaped his lips. He looked to his twisted fake limb, which was still firmly trapped beneath the boulder. Lyric gave his limb an experimental tug. However, like the last score of times he tried, the thing did not budge.

"Someone… Anyone… Please help me," mumbled Lyric. He lay on the ground, doing his best to not simply give into oblivion. "I just… need… some… help."

It was over, there was nothing he could do to protect the one thing that was more important than his own life. He had failed. He had absolutely, utterly…

"You look like you're in a spot of bother, mate. Need any help?"

Lyric's eyes snapped open, and he shot up straight. Well, he shot up as straight as he could, as one of his hind legs was completely trapped beneath a boulder. He looked about wildly. A tall Earth Pony, with a dark brown coat, black mane, and soft hazel eyes was standing some ways off to his left, looking at him curiously. He was armed with a pistol and a viscous-looking spear, but he did not look in any way hostile towards Lyric… Which was quite a rarity.

Lyric blinked. "W-what?"

The pony smiled. "Do you need any help? Come on, I haven't got all day."

Lyric rubbed the back of his head, wondering if he had struck it and was, consequently, hallucinating. Ponies in the realm of the Stallion Empire never asked if others were in need. Ever. What was this? Nonetheless, despite his utter confusion, he could not help but stutter out, in his stupor: "Y-y-yes… Yes. Thank you."

The pony nodded and trotted up to Lyric. He looked him up and down, gauging the situation.

"Here's the problem: The boulder is in a sort of indentation here, making it impossible for it to just roll back. Tell you what, I'll put the butt of my spear here and use it as a lever. Just put up your free hind leg here and push like your life depended on it… which it technically does, mate. I'll give you some leverage and I want you to nudge the thing off to the right. Give me a second…"

The strange pony rammed the end of his spear into a corner where the boulder met the soft earth. He wrenched his tool back and forth for a moment, making sure it was securely lodged in there. He then leapt upon the spear shaft and grunted as he leaned back, using his spear as a lever. The rock creaked and shifted. Lyric slammed his free hind leg into it and shoved it away from him with all his might. The boulder grumbled and groaned as it reluctantly rolled away from his flattened mechanical leg. Lyric gasped and scrambled away. When he was clear from the boulder he leapt up, only to collapse again. The pony was beside him in a moment.

"You okay there kid?"

Lyric nodded his head, breathing heavily. "I'm fine. Just… Just give me a…"

Lyric's eyes suddenly widened in pure horror. "Summer! She's in trouble! I need to help her!"

Lyric shot up again, but this time was held down by the stranger. "Slow down there, mate! Nothing good ever came from rushing around like that. Tell me: Who is Summer? Why is she in trouble?"

"Summer… Summer is my friend," replied Lyric, shaking his head despondently. "I… I went off to try and find a safe place, but I was trapped beneath that thing. Agrinian savages came… They didn't see me, but the saw the trail that my damaged mechanical leg made. The followed it. That trail leads back to Summer."

The stranger furrowed his brow worriedly. "That's no good, mate. Come on, let's get going."

Lyric's stomach did a somersault of fear. "W-where?"

"We don't have much time if we want to free your friend. We have a hoof-full to do."

Lyric shook his head vigorously to clear it. He still could not believe that he was not dreaming. "Really? But… But you have to obligation to me. Why in the world would you ever show compassion in such a land as this?"

The stranger could not help but grin. "I could ask you the same thing. It's been years since I've heard someone refer to their travelling companion as 'friend,' mate. That says a lot about your relationship with her. I can see the pure panic in your eyes. I know you cannot live without this 'Summer,' and so the only correct recourse is to free your friend."

"No one from this land has ever offered unconditional help."

"I'm not from this land. Let's get a move-on, kid. Try not to fall over yourself."

Lyric nodded dumbly, letting the rather odd pony help him up and drag him away from the boulder that had trapped him for an entire day.

"What's our first move?" Lyric gasped as his rescuer lay him down.

"First," started the pony, "We need to get this mechanical leg fixed up. You're not going anywhere when it's smashed up like a walnut shell. I know a little about mechanical things. I hope I can at least patch it up."

The pony's voice trailed off as he pulled some tools and strips of metal from his pack. He lined the twisted, melted, burned, and frayed structure of Lyric's fake leg with the strips of iron and twisted them all in place. This make-shift support prevented the whole thing from buckling in from Lyric's weight. It was awkward and ungainly, like a heavy peg leg, but it allowed Lyric to move without constantly falling over, nonetheless.

"Thanks. Now, please, what do I call you?" said Lyric, staring earnestly at this stranger who had done so much over such a short time.

"Family back home calls me Bragurn… But my mates call me Brag. Just call me that, kid. It'll do."

Lyric nodded decisively as Brag helped him to all fours. "Brag it is. Thank you for everything, Brag."

"Don't thank me yet. We still have a pony's hide to save."

Lyric began to shiver, almost uncontrollably, now that the thought of the danger his friend was in returned in full force. Brag bumped his shoulder, rather sternly, with one of his front hooves. "Don't go all jelly on me, kid. We have quite a ways to go. Now take me to the place that your friend was hiding in before you left to find fresh cover."

The two ponies began to trot away, following the barely-noticeable trail in the dirt that Lyric's previously damaged fake leg had left.

"So," Brag suddenly started as the duo trotted away, "How in the name of the Emperor did you – a mere colt! – get this deep into such treacherous territory?"

Despite his panicked and terrified state, Lyric did manage a small smile. "That's not the half of it. Summer and I started our adventures together in the Northern Mountains."

Brag's face flickered for an instant, registering surprise. "You don't say, mate? That's quite a ways away. How did two foals survive alone for such a long time?"

"It wasn't easy, but we managed. Mostly we just stayed out of sight. We weren't half bad at it either. We never needed help from any other pony… until now." Lyric's voice trailed off as his statement trailed off into a sigh of despair.

Brag slapped Lyric heartily on the back, almost causing the colt to buckle. "Don't worry your old head! I've already said I will help you get your little 'filly-friend' out of this mess. I see the trail ending up ahead. Was that bush your hiding place?"

Lyric nodded wordlessly, trotting up to the place slowly, his hooves heavy with foreboding. He pushed aside the thick brush to expose the spot the two had been hiding after the fire geyser event. His stomach plummeted. Both Summer and their supplies had vanished. The filly had indeed been captured by the Agrinians. "She's gone."

Brag's eyes narrowed. "Damn cannibals. Right mate, we just need to figure out where they took your friend now. Which direction did you two come from before coming to rest here?"

Lyric pointed in a direction that was a couple degrees north of northwest. "There."

Brag stroked his scarred muzzle, his hazel eyes clouding with thought. "Hmmmmmm… I scouted out an Agrinian camp just north of here. Come to think of it, it must be the closest of the savage camps in this area. I bet you an apple to an acorn that your filly-friend is holed up in that filthy place."

"You think… You think she'll still be alive?"

"A good chance she's still alive. The Agrinians don't eat their prey immediately. They defile and torture them first. Your girl pretty?"

"Most beautiful mare I have ever seen… and ever will see."

"Well then, that cuts the margin of time we have to rescue her in half. We can't make a move to save her while there is daylight, but the moment the sun has just set upon the western horizon we will need to make a move. Now…"

Brag stepped away and turned in a circle, his seasoned eyes scouring the horizon. He stopped and pointed to a large tree that was framed in sunlight through a hole in the extremely thick canopy. "That place should give us a good vantage point. We won't be able to really see what is going on at the camp, but we will be able to tell whether or not those dumb savages have started fires or not."

Brag set off towards the target vantage point, with Lyric seconds behind him.

"I'm s-sorry to bother you, Brag, but you said that you were helping us because you 'weren't from here.' Where are you from then? And why is that enough for you to put your life on the line to help to foals you have never even met?"

Brag didn't even break his stride as he glanced back at Lyric, who had just spoken. He grinned. "I'm actually from Equestria originally. Part of the Explorer's Guild, you see. A couple years ago I had been commissioned to explore the mostly unexplored northern-side ranges of the Stallion Empire's east coast. However, before I could even get to my headquarters to start my exploring my flight to HQ was disrupted… When my plane exploded over the Northern Mountains."

Lyric almost tripped over himself. "W-what…?"

Brag glanced at Lyric. "Yeah, that's right. Something from above us struck the plane and blew it to smithereens. Odd, right? I was sucked out of the plane in an instant. Thought I was a goner for sure, but I ended up sliding down a snowy mountainside with naught but a couple of fractured limbs. It was a disaster, I don't think any of the other poor blokes survived."

Lyric blinked. "I would agree… Except for one thing: Summer is a survivor of that very same accident."

Brag glanced back at Lyric for a second time. His face flickered again, registering a millisecond of shock. "You don't say?"

Nodding readily, Lyric continued. "Yeah! Grand Pegasus flight X67319 was it?"

"You're as right as rain, mate. Now that is strange. How did your friend survive the incident?"

"Erm… Well, you know what a Dimensional Traveler is, right?"

"Course I do, mate. I'm from flipping Equestria. We're the central hub for those freaks. Why?"

"Summer is related to one, I think. She was surrounded with a shield of pure energy why I found her. However she doesn't seem to be able to control whatever powers she has… or had. She has been unable to do anything relating to Dimensional Traveler abilities for over a year now."

"That's a shame, I was about to say if she could control her powers then all we would have to do is watch as she obliterates their camp. I guess it's still up to us then. Ah! Here it is. Better start climbing, kid."

Brag reached into his pack and produced two sets of climbing spikes. He strapped them onto Lyric's front and back legs before doing the same to himself. Brag shoved Lyric up the tree before beginning to scale the mountain of wood and foliage himself. Lyric almost fell at least a dozen times before he got a hang of scaling the tree. In a couple minutes the duo were clearing the canopy of the rainforest.

"Well, this isn't so bad…" Lyric breathed. Then he looked down. An acute bout of vertigo struck the colt upside the head, causing his joints to buckle. He seized the nearest tree branch tightly and held on with all his might.

Brag just laughed. "You better get used to it as fast as possible, mate! It's about to get worse!"

Brag balanced expertly on a branch and rummaged through his pack again. He pulled out a metallic crossbow. After a couple additional minutes of rummaging he produced a bolt attached to a long wire.

"Waitwaitwaitwait," said Lyric in disbelief. "Are we… zip-lining?"

"That we are," replied Brag. "See that gap in the canopy below? We're going to zip-line straight onto into the trees above the camp."

"Then what?"

"Listen close, mate. I have a plan."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Looking for Group<em>

_Planet: Earth_

_Specific Location: Nestorep_

_Time: A couple years after Richard did some stuff. Three days after Summer and Lyric ventured into the Southern Jungles._

"I think we have everything we need for this venture," murmured Anima, setting down a crate full of bio-electronic components. "How is the ship?"

Xavier patted a large, beat-up interdimensional ship. It was rough but with sleek curves, and the wings curved back like scythes. The engines were glowing with energy, and were pivoting as Batusi tested out the controls. "It's like new! Well, if by new you mean at least a hundred thousand billion years old, then yeah. But look on the bright side, this ship was once of the Barius Empire! They knew how to build these things like no other!"

Tenebris looked up from checking a cold fusion energy pack to stare at Xavier.

Xavier blinked. "Yeah, I was lying. I have no idea. Does anyone have a Dimensional Lord's number? What's the funny one's name again? Doxia or something? Let's give him a call!"

Anima shrugged ignoring the latter half of Xavier's babbling. "It'll have to do at the moment. All we need have this thing do is to get us into the Skylock dimension… If it doesn't disintegrate when we activate it that is."

"Right. Great. Awesome," sighed Xavier. "Can someone remind me why we are risking getting ourselves vaporized when we can just use out Dimensional Traveler powers to make a single dimensional jump? Heck, we could be travelling the land and exploding demons as we speak if it were not for attempting to prep this hunk of junk."

Tenebris motioned for Xavier to approach him. He then opened a portal to the Skylock dimension. The portal sizzled and sparked as it tore a hole in time and space, bridging the infinite gap between their dimension and the targeted dimension.

Xavier motioned wildly to the hole in reality. "See? Look at that! This is exactly why we don't need a ship!"

Anima picked up a scrap of metal that was lying on the ground. He hurled it at the portal. The metal struck the portal and suddenly melted into slag. The slag proceeded to evaporate. The vapor then proceeded to cease existing.

Xavier motioned wildly to the hole in reality again. "See? Look at that! This is exactly why we do need a ship!"

"Batusi almost found that out the hard way earlier today," stated Tenebris, grinning as he slammed the portal shut. "It looks to me to be some sort of portal-blocking effect… Like a Phantom Device."

"My thoughts exactly," agreed Anima, walking over to stand beside Tenebris. "I am thinking the demons set up some crude projectors that shored up its end of the Imagination Energy continuum with Dimensional Energy. Basically anyone who tries to pass through using normal portals gets their very molecular makeup wiped from existence."

"… And that is why we are going to use an interdimensional ship." Tenebris continued. "Ship portals do not operate like our portals. The ships will simply drop us in by punching through the interdimensional walls between universes; not by using the labyrinthine continuum. We will not be effected... Probably... Maybe... If I squint my eyes."

At this moment Batusi exited the interdimensional ship. "The Barius Empire knew a thing or two about ship durability, I think. This thing is still functioning. Do we have everything we need?"

"Energy packs, weapons, the works," replied Anima, using his control over gravity to levitate crates into the ship's interior.

Tenebris nodded. "It seems the overly long wait is over, Xavier. Time for us to complete our mission."

The four teammates walked into the ship and settled down in the pilot's cockpit. Tenebris took the controls, and Xavier sat as co-pilot. In a minute a shudder racked the frame of the ship as the engines leapt to life. Silently the sleek, phantom-like ship rose above the treetops of the Nestorep forest and glided into the sky faster than a rocket. In an instant they were breaking free of the planet's orbit and drifting into free space.

"We're clear for a dimensional jump," stated Xavier, staring hard at a screen, trying to figure out why it was flashing red instead of the usual blue.

Tenebris nodded. "On it. Anima, input the coordinates for the Skylock dimension. Batusi, prep the drive for the jump. Let's get this puppy on its way."

The four of them set about quickly, ensuring everything was in order before they tried to make the jump.

"Coordinates set," stated Anima.

"Drive prepped and ready," stated Batusi.

"Red thingy is now flashing blue," stated Xavier.

Tenebris rubbed the back of his neck. "This probably will work. Hold on everyone. I'm beginning the jump in three… two… one…"

The Dimensional Traveler hit the jump button. The ship jerked and shook heavily as the drive blew a small hole in the fabric of dimensions. A red-hot portal ripped through space-time, distorting passing light and warping time. Still shuddering, the ship began to glide through the portal into the Skylock universe, without being accosted.

"Yeah, hey… Tenebris? The blue thingy is flashing red again," Xavier mentioned, looking closely at the screen that represented the structural integrity of the portal.

Tenebris glanced over at it and blanched. "Oh, that's not good. Guys? It looks like the jump drive was faulty. There is an energy loop in the system, and it is building in intensity every second."

"Sooooo… That's not good?" asked Xavier.

Tenebris shook his head, doing his best to stay calm. "Yeah. I guess this ship was more damaged than we had previously thought. We are in sooooo much trouble. Right, we need to stay calm. Anima? Suggestions?"

Anima's fingers flew across the holographic screen in front of him, running diagnostics as he desperately tried to think of a solution. "Ummmm… Er… Well, I know that we are running on a timer now. We won't be able to clear the portal and shut it off in time. By the time this whole ship makes it through the drive will simply explode, and probably vaporize us and a good portion of this planetary system… That would kill the Cale'anon and maybe even the Richard of this universe… that would cause this whole dimension to collapse upon itself. Trillions dead. I suggest we just shut the portal off now."

"Now?" exclaimed Batusi, "Need I point out that we are kind of only half-way through?"

"That is our only option," replied Anima, "It's either that or risk being vaporized. I will wield the hole in the ship that closing the portal will make shut the moment the drive is powered down and the hole in the dimension closes. Tenebris?"

Tenebris blinked, doing his best to weigh his choices. "If we sever this ship in two we will be utterly out of control and basically defenseless. I cannot have that. Batusi, you know quite a bit about the core elements of interdimensional travel, are there any other options…?"

"Too late! Time's up! Let's do this!" cried Xavier, suddenly slamming a fist on a button on the front terminal, deactivating the drive. The portal slammed shut, severing the ship in two, tossing the front half of the crippled vehicle, defenseless, into the Skylock dimension.

"Xavier!" shouted Batusi, "We could have thought of another plan!"

"Yeah, I would agree… If the front terminal thingy hadn't read '0.001 seconds left'!" Xavier snorted.

The front half of the ship listed away from the scene of the disaster, suddenly drifting to the right as it was caught in the gravitational pull of a nearby planet… the target planet. In less than an hour the ship was getting caught up in flames as it entered the atmosphere, set on a doomed crash course. Unfortunately for the Catalyst Corps, the shields responsible for protecting the ship had been disabled when the ship had been cut in half… and so the entire ship was beginning to disintegrate through the entry.

"You know… This could be our shortest mission ever if you think about it," stated Xavier as the windshield melted.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes. As I stated earlier: Action is on it's way! What will the Catalyst Corps do, now that they are stranded on an enemy planet, with no means of escape? Will they even make it to the surface at all? Find out in some other chapter when I finally get around to making it! Speaking of constructing chapters, I have an important question: Would you guys prefer that I start making more chapters for my story "The Salient Link" or for my story "Still Mountains, Silent Valleys"? I've been thinking about it, and I have found myself split with the decision. I really enjoy both of them, but I cannot take the time to work on this story and two others. I believe I can only take the time to focus on two different stories. So, aside from "A Mending Soul" which other story would you prefer that I work on? Let me know in a review! If you leave me a review, I will give you a interdimensional jump drive that is NOT faulty. Imagine the possibilities: Endless jumping between alternate dimensions! Endless exploration of the multiverse! The only problem I can see with such a reward is finding the "on" button. I mean... It will be invisible after all.<strong>


	142. Chapter 142 - Enter the Inquisitors

**Author's Notes. Alright, I am back! I said I would be back, didn't I? I always return! Actually, I was going to post last week, but I decided not to. The reason is because I decided to switch a couple chapters about. You see, the chapter that was supposed to be in place of this was was... Well... Really boring, frankly. More stage-setting. I decided that we had had enough of that for the moment... And so here is the replacement! We haven't seen the Inquisitors in a while, and so they are back now with an action-packed chapter! Now, before you are served this exciting chapter, give me a moment to answer reviews.**

**To Vibrant Sound: Thanks for your feedback! Oh... And sorry about the portal gun incident. I got quite a few complaints about that. It was a mess. But hey, at least it wasn't an invisible Gravity Gun. That could have ended a bit worse.**

**To AntiVillain1: Hey there! Glad to hear from you again! And yes... Xavier ended up exploding his own ship. Generally a bad idea. Especially when it technically isn't even your ship.**

**To SuperVegito33: Okay! I thank you for your feedback anyway.**

**To Russet Burbanks: You know, if you really think about it, all the things Richard always is just STUFF. But really "cool" stuff. Like blowing up a moon. And killing stuff. A WHOLE lot of stuff.**

**To madmanwithafork: I would suggest paint, but then you would have this massive pile of same-colored objects. Just don't choose neon yellow. It's a horrible color in my opinion. You know what? Water is a better idea, though I am sure some of the stuff is too glossy for water to cling to it.**

**To FocusedStream: Yay! Brag to the rescue! Good old Brag! We've always known for him to be rescuing ponies and stuff. Well, if we had known him for more than one chapter, that is.**

**I appreciate all your feedback about "The Salient Link" v.s. "Still Mountains, Silent Valleys." I will begin working on a new chapter of "The Salient Link" as soon as I can. Keep an eye out for it! Right! I think that is all I have for the moment! Now enjoy my newest chapter!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Star Wars<em>

_Planet: Belya, White Dwarf System just off the Inner Rim_

_Specific Location: Valley of Iron Whispers_

_Time: 3956 BBY; Three days after Summer and Lyric ventured into the Southern Jungle._

Blue stood at the ridge of a deep valley that stretched out before him like a bowl. The sides were high and rocky, but the land beneath was even more desolate. An ancient city lay before him, a wasteland of rubble and skeletal structures. However, despite its inhospitable looks, the filthy streets thrived with life. Imperial Troopers, the lackeys of the Sith Empire, patrolled the streets. Sith lords were there two, standing sentinel upon the ruined structures, looking over their outpost deep within the empty world. War vehicles of all sorts stood by along the perimeter of the city, like beasts just waiting to be awaken from a deep slumber. The sky was partially blocked out by a Dreadnaught, hovering low in the skies.

"Harold has gotten himself quite the protection here, planning a meeting with the Sith Lords," muttered Sunflower, checking his Sniper Rifle. "Are we going to wait until he exits the central building to take him out?"

Blue continued to stare quietly at the city. In the center of this dead dystopia was a massive domed building, blackened by hellfire. Most of its walls had collapsed, but where one wall had fallen, a dozen armored vehicles or weapon emplacements had taken its place. Lights flickered from behind crumbling windows. It was no doubt a meeting place of sorts. "No," said Blue after a moment. "We strike now, but we do so quietly. We need to kill Harold as he is having the meeting. There is no other reason for him to dwell here otherwise, and could simply teleport out without ever giving Sunflower a clear shot."

"That's a plan I can deal with," said Dark in his gravelly voice. He unshouldered his tri-barreled rocket launcher and snapped his fold-up hatchet back to his hips.

"I will go down the center. Dark, you will give me support until I have passed the city perimeter," said Blue. "When I have exceeded your spectral visual range, join me. We will traverse the rooftops."

"That will put you in direct contact with the Sith lords," commented Sunflower.

"They will be easier to kill than Imperial Troopers," replied Blue. "Sith fight with blades, not guns. They cannot best us, and they will each individually believe that they can fell us. It will not be until it is too late that they will realize that they cannot, and that they should have signaled for assistance. The Imperial Troopers are too clustered and will think upon raising the alarm immediately. Now, Sunflower, you will do as you will. Ensure clusters of hostiles are no more than four men thick before we engage them. Carve us a path through the rooftops as you are able."

Dark strolled to the rocks that lined the lip of the bowl-like valley. He proceeded to lie prostrate, with his rocket launcher pressing firmly against the side of his helmet. His HUD rippled as he brought up the rocket launcher battle systems. "I'm ready. Oh… And they have a force-field around the city."

Blue began to walk, almost nonchalantly, towards the lip of the valley as well. "Will that stop your missiles?"

Dark settled down even more. "No."

Blue didn't respond. He paused in his walk for a second, and then rushed the sheer drop from desert to valley down below. He fell. As he did, he folded his arms close to him and preformed a slow, deliberate flip as he positioned his legs beneath him. However, as he struck the ground a kilometer below him, he went into a roll immediately. It was timed beyond perfectly, and almost no sound escaped aside from the gentle scrape of earth and pebble against armor. Before he even came out of his roll Blue had his sword drawn. He dashed toward the perimeter of the city, passing through the force-field soundlessly. The distance between the sheer cliff and the first large building closed swiftly. As he drew closer, Blue looked up at the edge of the first target building. A large gun emplacement (similar to a plasma-hurling flak gun) stood sentinel upon it. Blue prepared to call upon Dark, but his comrade was ready.

A missile silently hissed from the rim of the valley far behind him, passing the jogging Blue in an instant. Just as it did that, Blue leapt high into the air, filling the vision of the Imperial Trooper that was manning the gun. The soldier was about to cry out in fear, but it was too late. The missile struck a nanosecond later. The weapon detonated, sending out a quiet shockwave. An instant later the wave of energy froze and then imploded without a sound, killing the solider in an instant and compressing the whole of the flak gun into a space the size of an electron. Not a second later, Blue landed, the tip of his armored boots landing on the edge of the crater created by the imploding missile. Blue continued to move. A turret was to his left, but Blue did not stop, instead bearing down on a nearby Sith. The turret turned to fire upon him, but was gone – destroyed silently by another one of Dark's missiles – before the soldier manning it could consider firing or calling for help.

The Sith, however, noticed Blue a second later and did not call for help. Instead, he hissed as he activated his blood-red lightsaber. Blue leapt in the air, his sword-arm rearing back to drive the sword downward. In a millisecond the Sith raised the blade, flashing it forwards to prepare to block the clearly signaled attack. That was exactly what Blue wanted to do. Moving with a speed that could be matched by no Jedi, Blue's other arm flashed forward and his wrist flicked downward. The wrist blade shot forward, and rammed into the forehead of the Sith. The entire body of the hostile disintegrated a couple seconds later as the blade of pure Imagination seared his flesh into non-reality.

Blue landed without breaking the pace. A second Sith suddenly leapt down upon him from a raised platform to his right as yet another rushed him from the front. The alarm had not yet been raised yet though; the assailants had not yet determined the threat level of this invader and were clearly underestimating him.

Blue went into a slide. His sword-arm (his right arm) rocketed outward, hurling the blade. The Sith motioned to use the Force to blow it aside, but the blade rammed into his chest anyway, killing him and pinning him to a wall. Inquisitor blades were immune to all forces enacted upon it aside from the ones that the bearer gave it. The other Sith did not falter in his mad rush, lightsaber held high. Neither did Blue. But just as the two met in the middle, the Sith leapt high, his lightsaber shrieking down to split Blue's head. Blue dodged to one side (still not changing speed) and grabbed the Sith's foot as he moved. He hurled the Sith to the ground in front. The Sith flipped to recover expertly, but the wrist blade found his stomach just as he landed. He disintegrated. A second later Blue's blade returned to his sword hand like it was drawn by an unseen force.

Blue looked to his left. Dark was running alongside him now on a different rooftop situated a dozen meters above and to the right. A Sith assaulted Dark, her blade flickering back and forth like an angry wasp. Delicate and deadly to the touch.

Dark just punched the Sith. The punch came with such force that the Sith's chest caved in and her body practically folded in on itself. The head snapped free as the spine came apart like cottage cheese, and her limbs flailed like a ragdoll's. The Sith didn't even fly backwards, the force was so great. She simply fell apart in place. Dark drew his hatchet a second later and jumped from his rooftop to one below. A group (seven) of Imperial Troopers were below on that rooftop below, rebuilding a damaged Imperial Shuttle. Blue glanced in Dark's direction but said and did nothing. He had warned against confronting a group of Imperial Troops, but Dark knew what he was doing.

Dark landed on the target rooftop, rolled, and leapt up. He hurled his hatchet, and the thing punched through four troopers before burying itself in the side of the shuttle which skittered a whole couple meters backwards from the sheer force of it. The three surviving troopers whirled to aim their weapons on him, but Dark was upon them before they could even sight him with their blasters. Dark grabbed the first one by the neck and used him as a flail against one of his comrades. He struck the two together with such force that their bones shattered, killing them both instantly without causing either to fall off the rooftop. The final one still hadn't fired a shot, and never would. Dark seized his hatchet from the side of a shuttle and spun. The blade of the weapon hit the trooper with such force that it was like cutting melting butter with a hot knife. The trooper just came apart, like the first Sith he had fought that day. Dark glanced above him at the rooftop he was approaching. A Sith stood there quietly like a vulture, looking down upon him. Their eyes locked, and then the Sith turned, almost sluggishly, around. He was going to raise an alarm and he was still too far away for Dark to break him apart with his fists. Or so the poor Sith thought.

"Not on my watch," muttered Dark. He hurled his hatchet. It arced high in the air, and curved around the lip of the building in an impossible manner. Well… It was impossible to everyone but an Inquisitor. Dark was upon the building a second later, and he didn't even stop running to inspect the Sith the hatchet had sliced clean in two.

"Burn in hell," whispered Dark as he pulled the hatchet from where it lay buried deep in the metallic rooftop where the Sith's head used to be. As he made it over the top of this building's roof, he noticed that there were quite a few hostiles around him and Blue, who was half a kilometer ahead of him… But all of these enemies were dead… Either piles of ash or lifeless corpses with neat holes punched in their heads. Sunflower was at work now, ensuring they had enough time to clear out any additional imposing forces that blocked their path to the meeting room where Harold was supposedly.

"Stupid Sunflower, taking all my kills," snarled Dark. He actually changed direction to where another group of Imperial Troopers were prepping a set of flak guns slightly to his right. Needless to say none of those hostiles would ever finish their work.

Kill counts were the last thing on Blue's mind, however, as he closed in on the central building. The alarm had still not been raised, but suddenly there was even more resistance. For the first time since the attack, Blue stopped his running.

Seven Sith stood quietly in a line, waiting for Blue at the end of the rooftop that Blue was currently standing upon. The roof was wide and made of rusting metal, circular in nature, like an arena. The Sith activated their lightsabers in unison, and began to move to Blue's position, slowly circling him. Blue didn't hesitate. He drew his Inquisitor Blaster in a blur and fired upon three of them. These Sith only had time to twitch before exploding in violent deaths. Blue was simply too fast for him, and he had no interest in honor of combat. They were dead, they could not judge him.

Three of the four remaining Sith hesitated, but the last Sith that had begun to approach Blue from the front initially did not back up like the other three did.

"You must be the leader of this rabble," said Blue quietly. "I respect the hate and ruthlessness you must have had to exhibit in order to land yourself a position as lieutenant of this outpost in the inner rim… But you will fall. You cannot stop me."

This Sith said nothing. Instead he nodded to his compatriots and the four attacked in unison, like a well-oiled machine of death.

Blue shot to his left dodging and ducking under the first three attacks from the nearest of the three Siths. The fourth Sith jumped in, and Blue grabbed his lightsaber hand with incredible speed and then struck him across the face, snapping his neck. The remaining three attacked again with blurring speed, goaded on by their leader's courage. They were the Sith, they would not bend to this invader. They were faster than fast, more dangerous than a lightning strike, but sadly they all moved in slow motion to the Inquisitor. The third Sith shot in like a tornado, but Blue could see each of her perfect, well-trained moves being telegraphed like a rookie's. He grabbed her hand, and crushed every bone in that appendage to dust. She would have cried out in pain if Blue had not shoved her own lightsaber down her throat at almost the exact same time. Blue whirled in place smoothly like a danger, hurling the gutted Sith at the Sith leader, who leapt high in the air to avoid it. This left Blue alone with the other remaining Sith for a couple seconds. That was all he needed. This Sith shot forward and jabbing his lightsaber swiftly and then withdrew, careful not to expose too much of himself. Sunflower blew his head off from somewhere in the distance. This dead body hit the ground even before the Sith leader had recovered from his leap to avoid the thrown corpse of his comrade.

The Sith leader, even now, did not seemed too phased. He was a true fighter, and Blue respected them. He did not respect him enough to not have his teammates unceremoniously stab him in the back as they fought naturally, but now both Sunflower and Dark were occupied, so it was down to the Sith leader and him anyway.

The Sith danced forward; his blade a blur. Blue feinted forward, cut back, and stepped in close. Blue then dodged under the lightsaber as it swept above him and then slid backward to avoid a downward cut. Blue followed this up by jumping upwards to spin into a recovery to the rapid slide, purposefully exposing his back as he pretended to telegraph a back-handed slash coming out of his spin. The Sith lord flicked his blade forward to skewer Blue. Blue suddenly kicked backward halfway through his spin, passing by the jabbing lightsaber with such speed that the Sith could not even think of recovery. By the time the Sith attempted to sweep the outstretched blade to bisect Blue, it was too late. Blue grabbed the Sith's arm and rammed his exposed shoulder into the Sith's chest, practically ripping the hostile's hand off and sending it and the lightsaber flying away. Blue dodged around the shocked Sith and then severed the Sith's hamstrings cleanly. Then, in the same move, just as the Sith crumbled to his knees, he gently drew his blade across the Sith leader's throat, slitting it. He died just as his bloodied face struck the metallic ground.

By this time Dark had caught up. He leapt up from a rooftop below to land beside Blue. His dark armor was covered in blood. The Imperial Troopers he had encountered clearly had been killed in ways far more painful than a simple throat-slitting. Dark turned to look at the central building, its domed roof sloping high above the tallest of the skyscrapers. He glanced at Blue.

"The alarm was never raised," said Sunflower over the coms, answering the unsaid question with confidence.

Blue sheathed his blade and flicked out his wrist blade. This could fell and archangel, so it must be capable of felling a strange, god-like, Imagination-controlling human like Harold. Dark pulled out his tri-barreled rocket launcher again. Blue would handle any being that came in close contact with them. He would ensure anyone that would attempt to aid Harold would breathe their last the second they thought to lend assistance. The entered the building through one of the many large stain-glass windows set high in the dome. As the approached the colorful glass-like barrier, Blue telepathically activated a device. He and Dark began to shimmer and they passed through the window like ghosts. They returned to their initial tangibility on the other side and found themselves on rafters high above the ornate stone floor far below. Harold was strolling down there, side-by-side Sith Lord Darth Malgus. A cloak of purple and black aside a cloak of red and black. However, Harold looked like a specter, with his face utterly invisible under the shadows of a hood that swirled like the mists of a foreboding island. The usual.

"I don't understand what you want, Lord Harold. You have been speaking veritable gibberish since we met here today," said Malgus impatiently. "You know the position of the war. A stalemate. There have been no true advances in many a month."

"That would explain why there is no pizza around here. Are your delivery shuttles stuck because of these stalemates as well?" snorted Harold, sounding a little smug.

Malgus narrowed his eyes at Harold. "Since you arranged to meet with me, Lord Harold, you have done nothing but spout utter nonsense. There is no reason for you to consider meeting me… Unless…"

Malgus froze up as it dawned on him. Was Harold stalling? Was this an assassination of some sort? He quickly tapped communication situated on his wrist. There was no reply. He did again, and again, and again. Fourteen. The fourteen Sith that he had brought with him were gone. All of them. Malgus whirled on Harold, ripping out his lightsaber and activating it in a harsh, but calculated, movement.

"It's a trap. You're here to kill me."

"You have no idea how much irony there is in what you just said, Malgus. Why would I want to kill you? And why do you think I'm with the three beings that killed your Sith?"

"I never said three anything. You've slipped, and you've condemned yourself to death, Lord Harold."

"I also never said that my 'slipping up' was meant for your ears, Malgus."

Harold was backing up as he talked, getting as much space as he could between him and Malgus. Of course he was sounding quite calm, but that was because he was Harold. In his mind he was staring down a blind, obese quadriplegic who was threatening to take his life with his own hand.

Malgus never replied. He hurled the lightsaber. Harold saw it coming and stumbled backwards, the blade narrowly missing him. Malgus leapt high in the air and caught his thrown blade and landed, his blade flashing backwards for Malgus to deliver a killing blow.

Sadly for Malgus, this whole performance took a second too long. Harold snapped a finger. A massive shockwave rippled through the entirety of the building silently. Malgus simply dropped to the stone floor. Blue raised a fist to get Dark's attention. If Malgus was dead then the entirety of the Star Wars dimension would almost immediately erupt into cataclysmic chaos as the universal timeline thrashed and frothed in pain as it reorganized future events. Then Blue saw it: Malgus was unconscious, in a deep sleep. Harold hadn't killed him. Then Blue remembered Harold's motives. He was after the Inquisitors. There were few collateral deaths. People only died by Harold's hands if they got in his way, and he always made it look like Blue's call…

Blue snapped out of it. He could not let his past actions… The actions of the OLD Blue… Get in his way. He was August, he was the NEW Blue. He could take down Harold while the old one could not. He would prove it here and now. Like a ghost, Blue stalked the rafters above Harold's head. He was so stealthy that not even the most expert assassin would not know they he himself was being tracked. Dark took up a position giving him a clear view of the only exit. Anyone entering through there would be dead in an instant.

Harold tapped Malgus with a foot. Then he pulled out a small communication device. He tapped it a couple times and held it up. He was making a call. Blue waited. If there was some information he could glean from Harold before killing him, he would take a chance.

"Yo! What's up? Yeah, I'd like four pepperoni pizzas. One for me… And one each for my friends Blue, Dark, and Sunflower. Yeah, we are having this huge party at Belya, in the Valley of Iron Whispers in the Star Wars dimension. We're all here hanging out together, but I think Blue thinks he's Batman or something weird. Must be the hunger. I suggest you get here quick. What's that? You don't deliver anywhere outside New Jersey? That's too bad. Is this a prank call? No, no, no… Well, yes. To an extent. I'm really only doing this to let Blue now that he's not hiding very well. His signature is here, so I can feel him even if I cannot physically see, smell, or hear him. What? No, I'm good. Chao."

Harold put the communication device away. He paused, and then turned around. Blue was standing directly behind him, a couple meters away, staring at him. Blue had jumped from a height of 100 meters, and had landed without a sound upon the stone floor.

Harold raised a hand. "Hey Blue! How are-"

Blue pulled out his blaster and shot at Harold without saying a word. Harold actually jumped in shock, but he had already surrounded himself with his cloak. The bullets ceased to exist as they struck the barrier. Harold stumbled backwards and tripped over the unconscious body of Malgus. He fell flat on his back, but then quickly jumped up and recovered.

"I'm okay! I'm okay… Yeah…"

Blue slowly holstered his gun. He stared at Harold quietly.

"So what now?" he whispered. "Are you going to flee again? Are you going to run like you always do? We will follow you if you do."

The cloaked Harold shrugged. "I dunno really. I was thinking we could chill here a bit. I mean-"

For the second time Harold was interrupted. But this time it wasn't from Blue flat-out assaulting him. It was from Sunflower. Sunflower fell from the rafters, as silently as death. He landed directly on top of Harold and he, with Blue's wrist blade device firmly in hand, drove the Pure Imagination blade deep into Harold's skull.

Harold screamed. It was high-pitched and pitiful, like a wounded dog as it is being eaten alive by a larger animal. Strange. Then he collapsed.

"Quick, his face!" This was August had ever shouted since he had become Blue. He dashed to the dissolving body and ripped off the cloak that was now smoking as the Imagination that had clung to it like an extra layer of cloth dissolved like the body it protected. Blue flicked the hood back and saw the face.

The victim was a dark green Twi'lek. A non-human alien species native to the Star Wars dimension. This was not Harold. The Twi'lek's eyes were tinged the same purple as the way his cloak had been. His mind had clearly been under the control of Harold. But now his eyes that reflected his mind-controlled soul disintegrated like the rest of him. Blue sighed quietly in disappointment, a feeling that an Inquisitor almost never felt.

"This wasn't Harold. This was a decoy. That would explain his odd scream, and the way he stumbled about," Blue said.

Sunflower sighed as well as he tossed back Blue's wrist blade. It jumped and snapped to Blue's wrist like it had a mind of its own.

"Harold in cleverer than we previously thought," murmured Dark, annoyed.

"Right you are, Dark!"

A voice came out from nowhere. It was Harold's. The shadows to their left, just by the entrance, darkened and corrupted Imagination seeped from the darkness like a sickening mist. All three Inquisitors fired upon the shadow. Sunflower fired his Sniper Rifle. Blue shot his Inquisitor Blaster. Dark hurled a volley of rockets. All of their offensive projectiles simply vanished into nothing before they reached the shadow, as if nothing had ever been shot in that general direction in the first place.

"Well! What an odd way to be reunited! I must say this about you all though: You are decisive. Most heroes just stand back dramatically as they take in the horror of my trickery with faces twisted in shock and dismay. Soap-opera quality really. But then there are you guys: I say hello and you all immediately shoot at my face. Whatever. Oh, another thing: Nice trick with Sunflower and the wrist blade! Good idea. Really good idea. You just forgot that I never come in direct contact with any of these dumbbells. Too much of a chance to take."

Blue holstered his Inquisitor Blaster again. "Now what?"

"I'm going to give you guys a little mission: You see, I have a neat plan to get my revenge all retro-style. However, it requires this awfully pricey and ancient tablet thingy that is hidden deep within the Skylock dimension. I've already sent a bunch of Dimensional Traveler dudes – The Catalyst Corps, I believe – to retrieve it for me, but now I am giving you a chance to stop me!"

Dark actually laughed out loud. "You sent DIMENSIONAL TRAVELERS after this artifact? And now you are setting us against them? What thinks they stand a chance against us? And how do you know that they will not simply aid us in destroying this tablet artifact when we encounter them?"

Harold chuckled. "I don't! But this plan is of no consequence really. But there are some really unique attributes that the Skylock dimension possesses – which is why I don't retrieve the tablet myself, you see – and so it will give me great joy to see you all jump through hoops like trained monkeys to foil me. I mean, you all were jumping through Sith-shaped loops to get to me earlier today, right?

Dark whipped out his hatchet and snapped it into its ready-position. He took a step forward menacingly, but Harold just laughed.

"Watcha gonna do, Darky? Hit the shadows with your axe and scream 'Here's Johnny!'?"

Dark shook his head. "I'm going to hit the shadows with my axe and laugh as it actually splits your physical skull open."

Harold's laughter stopped. There was thirty seconds of silence. Finally Harold said: "Yeah, I have nothing to say to that. Right. Imma go now."

The shadows deepened for a moment, and then shifted as if the nigh-unmoving sun outside had performed a full cycle in an instant. Harold was gone.

Dark turned to Blue. "What's our move?" He asked. Blue paused for a moment as he realized that Dark was finally awaiting direction for once. However, this thought passed by in an instant.

"We need to be careful about this," replied Blue quietly. "This could be a trap. We need to outguess him. Does he actually need this tablet? What will happen if we let him get it? What will happen if we let it stay? What will happen if we destroy it?"

Dark cocked his head to one side slightly as if he was listening to something. "We will need to wonder these possibilities elsewhere. There are soldiers bearing down on this location. They must have become aware of the prolonged radio silence and are coming to investigate."

Blue nodded decisively. "We shall go to the Skylock dimension now."

Blue opened up a portal to said dimension promptly. Then he paused as he saw the barrier of Dimensional Energy before him that blocked off the portal's opening.

Sunflower poked his head over Blue's to take a glimpse at what was preventing Blue from strolling through the rip in space-time. "Huh. That was the 'unique attribute' that Harold was talking about."

Shrugging, Blue replied, "It is of no consequence."

Blue activated his wrist blade. He drove it into the barrier of power. The Pure Imagination Energy blade sent ripples through the dirty Dimensional Energy. Generally Dimensional Energy and Imagination Energy were polar opposites, but the purity of the blade of Blue's wrist blade was almost infinitely purer than the Dimensional Energy from the crude Phantom Device that the demon's used to shield their dimension from invaders. Consequently, Blue's weapon sliced through the wall like a stick through clear water. Blue began to cut a hole large enough for him and his teammates to slip through.

"What will we do if we encounter the Dimensional Travelers that Harold employed to retrieve the tablet for him? Clearly they took this mission without knowing that they were being employed by Harold." Sunflower's voice sound mildly worried as it cut through Blue's thoughts as he worked on clearing an opening.

"We shall wait and see, Sunflower," Blue replied in hushed tones. "I know very little of the Catalyst Corps. There are whispers of them and their exploits that have shimmered through the Traveler Database like leaves on the wind but I know nothing of the team itself. And so it truly depends on who they are... And the situation in which we meet them. A small group of Dimensional Travelers is of no consequence, and their deaths will go by unnoticed if we deem them troublesome… But this era is uncertain. We might have use or perhaps even need of their assistance. Their skills might prove to be extremely helpful. We will wait and see."

Blue finished cutting the hole in the barrier that blocked his rip in reality. A portal within a portal. He then signaled silently for his team to form up behind them. Then, one-by-one, they dashed through the hole in the wall of power. The portal slammed shut behind them, vanishing with a small "pop" just as the large double doors of the massive domed building swung open and hostiles rushed in.

But, of course, they were too late. The Inquisitors were gone.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes. Right! That is all we have for now! I hope you enjoyed it. Now I will point out that I am not too familiar with the Old Republic age, as I prefer to stay within the Clone Wars, but I have played SWTOR enough to get the general gist of its actual underlying story. Don't forget to review! A review always helps me move along. <strong>

**Also, while you are doing that, I have a rather important question to ask you: When you read "A Mending Soul" do you come here looking forward to reading about the My Little Pony dimension and its inhabitants, or do you look forward to the Dimensional Travelers and the Dimensional Lords and their adventures? Do you like reading about the Mane 6 and other canon characters or do you prefer to read about the OCs and the stuff I have added to this multiverse? What is it that you enjoy most about this all? I consider your enjoyment very seriously, so I would like some feedback about what you like best about "A Mending Soul." Let me know!**


	143. Chapter 143 - Duty Calls

**Author's notes. I have returned to bring you a new chapter! It's been a while, but I had to rework this chapter several times. I wanted to have the right balance of action and talk, and that is usually hard to achieve. I think I did a fairly good job. Anyway, I really appreciate the feedback you gave me about what you look for in chapters. I've always been trying to find the right balance between MLP characters and OC's as well, and the "equilibrium state" for this is far more difficult to find. It was nice to find out that you enjoy my writing in general! Right, now to answer some reviews.**

**To BlazeWriters69: You know Dark pretty well, my friend. He is not a happy camper, and, if given the chance, will kill anyone that stands in his way. Hopefully Sunflower has been working on his tackling skills to prevent Dark from pummeling the Catalyst Corps.**

**To Anivillainn1: Excellent question! And, interestingly enough, the mystery of the Q Continuum was something I turned to a long, long time ago! You see, the Star Trek dimension is one of the most advanced, with technology spanning from replicators to weapons capable of erasing objects from time. This technology was so advanced compared to other dimensions in the Earth Multiverse that the U.I.P.F. (just before it fell apart and turned into the E.D.D.) selected a group of specialized Dimensional Lords to watch over the important dimension – despite the fact that the dimension had been closed off by the Amethyst Empire. This team was classified the Q Team operating under the Q Initiative, and they went into the Star Trek universe covertly to watch over its inhabitants. Unfortunately, a couple eons later, the U.I.P.F. fell apart and the Q Initiative went dark. The Q Team lost communication with their betters, and they were left to their own devices. That usually is a bad thing, except that they are Dimensional Lords. And so, instead of quitting, they decided to use their abilities to forward themselves. They explored the Star Trek dimension, and studied it. Sadly, this eventually degraded into boredom and lethargy over the millennium. And in the end, the Q Team became the Q Continuum, a group of extremely bored and lazy Dimensional Lords, intent on bothering the Star Trek universe's denizens for their own amusement. They remain there, unbothered by the going-ons of the Earth Multiverse around them, and uninterrupted by other dimensional-travelling beings.**

**To SuperVegito33: Don't worry, the only one really interested in killing random people is Dark. Hopefully he won't have his way, though! I can understand your preferences as well. I mean, the multiverses are so vast! There is so much to write about and so many things to visualize! **

**To Guest: Thanks for taking the time to leave a review! I appreciate your feedback, and I am really glad that you understand how difficult it is to find the balance between OC's and MLP Characters. I try!**

**To xCrysis-x: You made your own version of "A Mending Soul"? Really? Cool! Have you written it yet? Can I read it?**

**To FocusedStream: I can't wait to get back to writing about Summer and Lyric (and Brag) as well! They are always to most fun to write about!**

**I think that is it for now! Enjoy the latest chapter!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Three days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungles._

"Lemme get this straight, sugar cube," sighed Applejack tiredly, rubbing her temples with the tip of her hooves. "Harvest Snowfall – the pony you've been hired to protect…"

"Sounded more like she was drafted," snorted Rainbow Dash, waving a hoof languidly as she leaned on her personal throne in the Friendship Castle where the remaining four of the Mane 6 were assembled. Twilight and Fluttershy were absent as per usual. Derpy and Lyra (who usually took the place of the two missing ponies now) sat in Twilight and Fluttershy's respective thrones.

Applejack just glanced at Rainbow Dash before continuing. "Harvest Snowfall – the pony you've been DRAFTED to protect – is supposed to be dead, but here he is, live n' well."

Starlight nodded vigorously. "Yes! I have no idea what is going on!"

"I don't know, darling," commented Rarity. "It sounds like something is amiss, but if this is a conspiracy as you claim, why didn't the Stallion Empire cover their tracks better? Wasn't this news worldwide? If so, then goodness, I am sure you're not the only pony to notice such an error."

"That's another thing," commented Starlight. "I had some papers pulled from the Royal Canterlot Library. The newspapers calling off the search distributed to all other lands never mentioned Harvest Snowfall's name. In fact…"

Starlight paused to rummage through a file that she was carrying with her. She pulled out another Ponyville newspaper identical to the one that she had found in Flaming Star's basement and tossed it upon the table that sat inside the circle of friendship thrones.

Derpy picked up the newspaper upside-down and began to scrutinize it with a very serious face. Then her face brightened After a moment she said, "Oooooh! It's a lil' bit different. Look: After a month-long search in the far reaches of the Northern Mountains in the Stallion Empire, the Stallion Empire branch of the international search-and-rescue organization has called off the search for the remaining wreckage of downed Grand Pegasus flight X67319, which was supposedly destroyed by a meteorite fragment. This decision was made by the branch co-director of the organization, Caramel Paradise, after the leader of this search-and-rescue mission... Was killed in an avalanche, along with half of his team. The bodies of the fallen team members have been recovered and are awaiting burial at the Stallion Empire capital."

Rainbow Dash took the paper from Derpy and looked at it as well (this time holding it right-side-up). "She's right! There are commas and whitespace in the place that Harvest Snowfall's death was declared, but the name is missing, as if the name was removed at the last minute."

"That's weird!" exclaimed Lyra, looking over Rainbow Dash's shoulder. "That was some years ago, but I remember Bon Bon always complaining about the errors in papers! But she always notices things like that."

"An' look at that!" cried Derpy, hovering upside-down in order to keep the text on the newspaper upside-down in her perspective. "There's a footnote: Article taken directly from Stallion Empire reports. Legally protected under Free Information Pact. All the other ones don' have that. Whassa Free Information Pact?"

"That was when Equestria and the Stallion Empire decided that they 'should keep no secrets from each other', darling," answered Rarity. "Naturally that just means all the 'secrets' they were planning to leak out as tricks were released publically sooner than later. It really means nothing… But perhaps this time the Free Information Pact actually came in handy."

Applejack, who had been thinking hard, finally said, "You bet yer nelly that it did. It seems to me that the one that Flaming Star's got was leaked directly from the Stallion Empire presses before the name could be removed fer good. Handy."

"Now all we need to figure out is if this was on purpose or not," commented Lyra, settling down again. When the group looked curiously at her, she rolled her eyes. "Come on, you all. These things were printed world-wide, and taking into account how ruthless the Stallion Empire guards their information we know that only a couple of these could have ever made it overseas… So what are the chances that one of these extremely rare 'misprints' could have made it to the hooves of Flaming Star?"

"Well, Flaming Star is thorough, and Twilight is a princess for starters," replied Rainbow Dash, tossing the newspaper back to Starlight. "He could have noticed the misprint like Bonbon did and hunted down one that didn't have one. But due to the fact that little Summer is not with us today means he didn't get very far with his thoroughness."

There was a moment of silence as all the present ponies sadly remembered the funeral and the empty casket when the whole of Ponyville mourned the loss of a young Equestrian princess. Derpy sighed sadly, but then suddenly brightened as she pulled out a muffin and munched on it. With her mouth still full of crumbs she exclaimed, "Well… He might have not gotten very far… But maybe we can! We have all the information now… An' little Starry is going to be in close proximity to Harvest Snowfall."

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Yeah. Starlight, we all remember when you wrestled the tobacco juice out of Applejack's cousin during the Appleoosa rodeo. Do it again with Harvest Snowfall except with more bone-breaking… Until he gives us what he know, of course."

Seeing Starlight blanch a little, Rarity immediately came to her rescue. "Rainbow Dash!" she admonished sharply, "Don't be so eager to rush to violence!"

Rainbow Dash pulled a face and muttered, "Says the pony who once wielded the power to collapse a planet."

If Rarity heard Rainbow Dash's mumblings, she paid no heed as she continued, "Starlight, dear, we in no way suggest you drag information out like that… But we all know how much it will mean to Twilight if you get to the bottom of this… even if it is a dead end like all the others."

Starlight nodded. "You're right. I'm not too much into bone-breaking anymore, but I can certainly ask questions."

Derpy, who was now on her seventh muffin, nodded. "Yeah! But keep both your eyes open, Starry! I'm on the Rerenhaw Council; I know how confuddling these politics can be!"

Sighing, Starlight nodded once more. "Yeah. I've sat in on a couple conferences like that in Canterlot. It always makes me question the morality of even Celestia. So many lies and deceptions… Well, I really appreciate you all taking the time to meet me and talk."

"Anything for friendship!" exclaimed Pinkie, who had actually been rather quiet, listening with great interest. She had been the most crushed when Summer had been reported dead, aside from Twilight and Flaming Star.

"Anything for friendship, little Starry," repeated Applejack. "An' tell you what: If we find anythin' else out, we'll get a message to you faster than a chicken bein' chased by a coon. We all care about Twilight and Flaming Star, and if this case can be opened wide, then it will mean just that much more to them."

"Now if only they would come back from where ever the hay they are to help us out," sighed Rainbow Dash. "I know it must be hard for them to even be here nowadays, but they have friends. They can't run from that."

"That seems to be the common theme in Ponyville in recent years… I mean seriously." mentioned Lyra, who was thinking of August Dellor, who had been her good friend up to when he left them to become a feared Inquisitor.

Starlight grimaced. "The world was such a perfect place. I heard the tales of how things were before my dad came to Ponyville. It was peaceful. But now all we have is war, deceit, and violence."

"… And love, Starlight, don't forget that… Everypony always forgets that one," interjected Lyra as she patted Fluttershy's throne, reminding everyone why that particular element of harmony was absent from the meeting.

"I guess so," muttered Starlight, her mind muddled. There were so many different thoughts rushing through her head. Slowly she got to all fours, collected the files she had gathered, and then began to trot away as the Mane 6 (Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Derpy, and Lyra) conversed in hushed tones about this new news.

Still confused and dejected, Starlight trotted out into the sunlight, making her way through the streets of Ponyville. The sun shone brightly, reflecting off of the windows of the houses that she passed by. A contented hum reverberated through the town, denoting the fact that it was midsummer. A group of fillies rushed by her, stopping only for a moment to greet her, their teacher. Even though it seemed peaceful, however, Starlight refused to shake the sense of foreboding… That is, until it was shaken from her when a pony jumped her from behind her and seized her in a crushing hug.

"Little sister! How are you?"

It was Desmond, her adopted big brother. He had arrived a day early from Manehattan.

"Desmond? I thought you weren't getting here until tomorrow!" exclaimed Starlight, trying in vain to wriggle free from his hug. He held on doggedly, determined to give her a proper knuckle sandwich. "Let go of me before you smother me!"

"Drowning in hugs isn't that bad," laughed Desmond, letting her go and giving her shoulder a gentle shove.

Starlight pulled a face. "There are worse ways to go."

Then she paused, and then proceeded to nuzzle his shoulder. "I'm glad you're home. I guess it's about time too!"

"You guess?! You clearly haven't been nearly killed enough times to appreciate the little things."

"I've been almost killed more times than you, at least."

"Touché."

Desmond stood there for a moment, smiling at his sister. Then his countenance darkened a bit as he remembered something. "I received a message early today from dad. He said you got a job as a bodyguard to some Stallion Empire representative, is this true?"

Starlight pulled another face. "Yeah. You see… Well… Um… Yeah." She really couldn't think of anything else to say. She was going to act as a bodyguard to a representative of a nation that was probably hated more than the memory of the Dimensional Lord Paradox.

Desmond sighed. "This better have not been voluntary. You know what? I BET it wasn't voluntary."

"Of course it wasn't voluntary!" exclaimed Starlight, "But Equestria needs to seem like they aren't being hostile just yet. Celestia asked me… And I couldn't refuse."

"Well, sis, technically you could. But I understand," replied Desmond. "I'll let it go… This time. You going home?"

Starlight nodded, dodging Desmond's second attempt at giving her a knuckle sandwich. "You know, Dessy, I don't think dad would be too thrilled if I came home missing half of my head because you rubbed it off with that diamond-hard hoof of yours."

Desmond smiled. "Point made, sis. Let's go home."

As they trotted toward the outskirts where their home was situated, Starlight could not help but look over and say: "Soooo… Big brother… What were you doing in Manehattan?"

Desmond pulled a face. "Nothing really. I was just… Talking to ponies. Visiting friends."

Starlight laughed out loud. "You? Talk to ponies? Since when have you mustered enough courage to openly start a conversation?"

"Hey!" snorted Desmond, "I can bring myself to start conversations when I need to! Sometimes… Probably…"

"Riiiggghhhtttt…" Starlight lapsed into silence for a moment. Then she glanced sideways at her adopted brother. "By the way, I heard that you had actually flown to Manehattan to carry out another mission for the Canterlot Secret Monster Fighting Unit."

Desmond facehoofed hard. "Damn. I told Bon Bon to cover my tracks. She blabbed, didn't she?"

Starlight grinned brightly. She couldn't help herself. She giggled like a filly. "No! You just did! How many times have we played this 'game' now? A thousand?"

Desmond grimaced despondently when he realized that she had just tricked him into telling her of his activities himself. "A thousand… And I've lost a thousand times."

"That you have! So now that your cover is blown, tell me: What was it this time?"

"Manticore. A mutated one from the swamps of Hollow Shades. It was making its way towards Manehattan… I stopped it."

"Oh, Desmond! My hero! Still determined to keep the world safe despite the fact he doesn't have a Dimensional-Traveler-Powered bone in his body anymore. Ya know, if we had known you were going to continuously attempt to commit suicide we would have suggested that you keep your Dimensional Traveler powers instead of letting the Kytax take them away from you."

Desmond rolled his eyes and fruitlessly attempted to give Starlight yet another knuckle sandwich. She was ready, and ducked beneath his outstretched hooves. He winked at her. "And risk not scaring you to death every time I go on an adventure? Not on your life. I don't know what I would do without my little sister running to me every time I return home to tell me that she's glad I'm back."

Starlight just smiled. She had no response for that. They reached their house and eased open the open door. There was Sunset Shadow, still sleeping on the couch. He was drooling all over the cushions.

"I bet he's thinkin' about mom with that smile on his face."

Starlight shoved Desmond, who had just spoken, and gave him a mock version of the no-nonsense look that Fluttershy would give him when he was rowdier than Angel.

The two tip-hoofed into the kitchen and closed the sliding door to that specific room behind him. The two cracked open a box of goldfish and flung themselves on two chairs. They giggled over the fact they were secretly snacking like they had once done many, many years ago when they were still foals.

"I'll admit that with my job as a monster-fighting agent I haven't really found the time to look into foreign politics as of yet. So, tell me Starry: WHY exactly has it been decided that you stick out your skinny little neck for one of Stallion Empire's weasel-like representatives?"

Starlight rubbed the back of her neck and stuck her tongue out at him. "My neck isn't TOO skinny, meanie! You just eat too much! Anyway, the Princesses want my protection of Harvest Snowfall to act as sort of an 'act of goodwill' to deter those ponies in higher places in the Stallion Empire from considering blindly starting a war on two fronts and attack us as well."

"Two fronts? Ah, that's right… They are picking a bone with the… Ummmmm… The Saddle Arabians, right?"

"Equidorians."

"Same thing."

"You wish. Now, this is a rather delicate position really, as this action puts us at odds with the Equidorians to an extent as well. War is almost certain between them and the Stallion Empire, so the act of the Princesses sending me to assist a Stallion Empire representative looks to the Equidorians like we are consorting with the enemies. Frankly I believe them."

Desmond leaned back in his chair, his hand stirring the bowl full of goldfish idly. "Don't be too quick to judge, sis."

"At least I'm quicker to judge than to break bones."

"Don't give me that look. I could have said the same thing to you several years ago. You were quite the fighter a decade ago."

Starlight rolled her eyes and said nothing, so Desmond continued.

"The Princesses need to keep the peace with both nations right now. The Equidorians will not attack us because of their current situation, but the same promises cannot be made of the Stallion Empire. They need to attack first before we take sides… And that attack cannot be made on our shoreline as well when that happens. We need to seem as neutral as possible. That buys us needed time to prepare for the defense of our homeland."

Starlight grudgingly grunted, giving him this point in the conversation. There was a pause, finally she said: "You think the Dimensional Travelers and the Dimensional Lords will come to our aid if war starts."

Desmond's face was grim and a bit sad. "Doubtful. Gene Grayson and August Dellor were the last of the ones who owed allegiance to Celestia, and there is no doubt they will never return. The multiverse is too different now… The My Little Pony dimension has been left behind."

"I guess you're right," sighed Starlight. "I was just hoping… Well, I was just hoping for some superweapon to use against the Stallion Empire. I mean, how did such a despotic place rise to such POWER?! I don't understand it!"

Desmond nodded. "The multiverse is not a kind place. Good rarely wins."

Starlight picked up a goldfish cracker and threw it up in the air in an attempt to catch it in her mouth. She missed; it hit the ground and skittered away across the tiled floor like a frightened mouse. She made no effort to pick it up.

"Again, I guess you're right. Well, I am now to resign myself to my fate and let myself get shipped off to Equidor, where I'll be forced to watch the backside of Harvest Snowfall. Though…"

Starlight's voice trailed off as she remembered the intriguing discovery she had made a while back. "Remember Summer Constellation?"

Desmond closed his eyes for a moment as he thought. His thoughtful expressions turned to one of pain. "The late daughter of Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle."

"Yeah. Well… Look at this…"

She got up and trotted to her saddle bag that she had kept by the kitchen door. She pulled out the file within it, and then slipped out the old newspaper she had found in Flaming Star's basement. She took it in her mouth and tossed it to Desmond. He caught it and looked over the headlines.

"Notice anything interesting about the main article?" mentioned Starlight, sidling up to Desmond.

There was a pause.

"Hey, isn't the guy you're supposed to bodyguard to a guy named 'Harvest Snowfall'?"

"EXACTLY," said Starlight. "It's weird isn't it? Let me tell you more about it."

For the next dozen or so minutes Starlight told Desmond about how this paper had been censored because of the mention of Harvest Snowfall, and how his name was not mentioned anywhere else. Desmond listened with growing interest.

"This is all very strange," he said slowly, thinking it all over. "I don't like it. I don't like it at all. You need to be careful."

Starlight nodded. "Yeah, I know."

"Somethings quite wrong with this whole situation. It reeks of Stallion Empire corruption. You know what? I don't think you should be doing this mission for Celestia at all."

"It's too late now," replied Starlight. "I've said yes and signed the papers. I'm just waiting for them to give me the actual assignment now. It could even be any minute now! However, it better not be. Mom still hasn't even had the baby yet!"

Starlight was about to say more, but was interrupted by knocking at the door. It was heavy and loud, suggesting that the one at the door didn't care much about the sleeping Sunset Shadow in the living room. It was urgent.

Starlight winced. "I bet you an apple to an acorn that's them right now. Figures."

They got up and tip-hoofed out of the kitchen and to the entrance hallway. It was a miracle the Sunset Shadow was still asleep.

"Dad must be completely exhausted to have slept through that racket," muttered Desmond, looking over his shoulder as Starlight opened it.

It was a Canterlot guard, clad in golden armor. "Miss Starlight Amber? Celestia is here in Ponyville and requires your immediate presence."

Desmond shouldered his way past Starlight. He was younger than this burly guard, be he was the same height. He went nose-to-nose with the pony.

"If my sister is going anywhere, then I am coming too," he said. Starlight tried to protest, but she stopped when he glanced at her. His eyes were reflecting back a stern look. He didn't like the strange things that were going on with the Stallion Empire and Harvest Snowfall, and his sister was determined to stick her nose in it.

The guard's eyes narrowed. "This is official government business, sir," he said. "No civilians are to be involved."

Desmond snatched his wallet from the small table just inside the hallway and flipped it open, revealing his agency badge.

"I'm a civilian now? Weird. Wasn't quite sure I was that last time I checked my service record."

The guard's eyes twitched the slightest when he looked at the badge. All soldiers knew of the existence of that specific agency, but almost none of them had actually seen an operative. He sighed lightly.

"This way, sir. You too, ma'am. Follow me to Princess Celesita."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Skylock<em>

_Planet: Scorch_

_Specific Location: The Land of Carrion_

_Time: Three days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungles._

Tenebris opened his eyes and rubbed them. He was lying flat-out amidst a thick layer of ashes. Blackened shards of steel and stone lay on him like a blanket, and the air was thick with heat and the smell of burning. He groaned as he sat up.

Shaking his head as if to clear it, he did his best to get his bearings. He was lying a dozen meters from a massive wreckage – undoubtedly the remains of their dimension-jumping ship. The twisted mass of metal sparked and shuddered as flames ate the thing from the inside-out. Tenebris squinted his eyes as he peered through the smoke and the flying ash that clogged the air like a thick mist. He could just make out the prone forms of what looked to be Xavier and Batusi. Anima was nowhere to be seen.

Tenebris got to his feet shakily. It wasn't until he was standing up that he realized that blood was oozing thickly from a wound. A long, sharp sliver of metal had punctured a hole in his side, and there it lay, buried, like a thorn growing from his torso. He grunted softly as he took the thing in a bloodied hand and yanked it out. Blood quickly squirted out as he tore it free, so he clasped his free hand over the open wound to clog the outflow. He grimaced harder. His brain was still to fuzzy to register any real pain, but he knew for sure that it would begin to hurt later on.

A noise echoed through the smoke, causing him to turn: Xavier was scrambling to his feet.

"I'm okay! I'm okay! 'Tis nothing but a flesh wound!"

It was probably the yelling that woke Batusi, who began to stir a moment later. He coughed up a bucket's worth of ash before rolling over, wheezing for breath. He lay in the fetal position for a minute to catch his breath, letting the falling ash to lay over his prone body like a blanket. After the minute had passed, he staggered to his feet, rubbing his red eyes that were stinging from the smoke. He looked around blearily until he laid eyes on Xavier who was standing only several meters from him.

"Xavier," gasped Batusi, "Are you… Are you okay?"

Xavier gave himself a quick pat-down. "Yeah. Weird. I'm fine."

"Good."

Batusi rammed into Xavier, plowing him over and sending him tumbling to the ground. In an instant Batusi was on top of him, yelling: "Did you SERIOUSLY have to break the ship?! SERIOUSLY?!"

Tenebris shot over, utilizing his super-speed abilities to be at the scene of the brawl in a flash. He grabbed Batusi and pulled him off of Xavier.

"Both of you! Usually I would just laugh my head off as you two fought, but right now we need to be working together to find Anima and prepare ourselves! We're in enemy territory right now, guys. We need to have our wits about us. We have no time to fight amongst ourselves!"

Batusi attempted one more time to grab at Xavier, who scurried out of the way. He practically stuck his tongue out at Batusi as he got a safe distance from him.

"Geez! Don't get yourself so worked up about this, Batusi! All I did was save our lives! We didn't have time! You're just jealous that I got to explode stuff before you did."

"No!" yelled Batusi. "I'm mad because we could have figured it out, and you made a major decision for all of us without consulting any of us! You almost got us all killed!"

"Well okay then," snorted Xavier. "Next time we have one millisecond to make an important decision, I will make sure to call for a vote. That will make everything better, right?"

"You know that's not what I mean!" yelled Batusi, trying yet again to get at his teammate.

"Both of you stop yelling!" shouted Tenebris. It was him yelling that reminded him that he was wounded. He grunted in pain and doubled over, clasping at the puncture in his side.

Seeing their friend wounded, Batusi and Xavier forgot their quarrel temporarily and dashed to his side.

"You okay, boss-man?" asked Xavier quietly, poking Tenebris's arm.

"Fine… Fine. Just dandy. I decided that I want my clothes to be stained excessively red."

"That puncture looks kind of deep, Tenebris," said Batusi. "I can fix a bit of it, but I don't know how deep it runs. It could be internal bleeding for all we know." Batusi tried to call up his Traveler Database, but all he got was a holographic projection of pure static. Nothing. No connection. He grunted in anger and resorted to calling up a healing aura about the palm of his right hand.

Tenebris sat down and let Batusi administer the healing energy. Tenebris grimaced and then looked to Xavier. "I need you to find Anima."

Xavier saluted and dashed off without a word. He approached the smoking wreak of their ship. With a sweep of his hand he called upon a fraction of his elemental control over air. He swept the smoke away with a gust of wind. The parting in the smoke revealed the battered entrance to their downed ship, nothing but a gaping hole now. He leapt inside, conjuring balls of water about his fists. He stepped inside, and a roar of flames met his vision. The inside of the ship had been cramped and narrow, but now it was even less than that. The metallic walls were battered and bent now, crushed inward. Smoke poured from cracks in the plates, and flames belched from rifts in the plating below.

Roaring flames rose up to meet Xavier as he passed through the entrance, but were immediately quenched by the water that Xavier hurled at it. Xavier ducked beneath a low-hanging pylon that had been knocked loose by the crash as he flexed his fists. Water shot from them, hissing as it rammed into the flames littering the narrow corridors. Xavier continued on his way, pressing through the debris to the cockpit, which was somehow still intact.

He made it up to the door before he met real resistance: The half-a-meter-thick metal sliding door was jammed shut. Xavier sighed and then reared back a fist. He altered its density to something practically stronger than steel and then charged it with kinetic energy, sending it hurtling forward at great speeds. The door buckled under the blow, and sparks showered, lighting the smoke-filled hallway like dark orange fireflies blinking harshly in a misty night. Xavier drew back his fist to perform the attack again. He did it again. Once, twice, thrice. Finally the door shot inward, crumpling inward on itself from the force of the blows. The walls themselves bent inward as the door gave way, shrieking in protest and sending up even more smoke and ash.

Xavier coughed loudly and covered his eyes, doing his best not to breathe in too much of the ash that hung thickly in the air like black snow, frozen in time. He stumbled inward, flailing his arms and gasping for breath. The cockpit was large and sprawling, with four seats set into the floor beside large glass controls. Everything had been trashed. The chairs were askew, and Tenebris's was on fire. Every one of the terminals was either shattered or covered in dirt and the lights were flickering as the last vestiges of power from the ship were consumed by fire and chaos. The windshields were long gone, and the entirety of the view that had been initially protected by said windshield was covered in earth. The ship's crash had been so forceful that the entirety of the cockpit, from nose to crown, had been buried beneath the loose earth. Fortunately the cockpit had not been flooded by the dirt, but it meant there was no quick escape through the windows. Slowly Xavier regained his bearings and moved over to the large swiveling seat that Anima had been sitting in just before the crash. He almost tripped over himself as he made his way there, still hacking and coughing. He came up behind the chair and spun it around.

Anima was there, still strapped into his seat by the seatbelts. He was unconscious, and his face was scorched and smeared by ash. Xavier moved clumsily, his brain muddled as his fingers numbly unbuckled his downed friend. Xavier swung the body of Anima over his shoulder and turned around to stumble away. Then the ship began to collapse. With a metallic shriek and a thunderous groan the roof caved in as smoking flames belched from every hole and gap in the hull. Earth poured in like a roaring ocean.

Outside, Tenebris could see the ship cave in on itself. With a cry he shot up and rushed to the site, Batusi right behind him.

"Xavier…? Xavier!"

There was silence.

Batusi bit his bottom lip hard. A dribble of blood fell from his mouth.

"Are they… Are they…?"

"I'm okay guys! I mean, we're okay!"

The twisted mass of metal heaved as a sphere of pure energy pushed itself outward, rising from the iron-wrought grave like the sun from behind dark hills. Xavier was inside the sphere, his hands glowing with power and with Anima slung across his back. Tenebris's left hand flew forward, and he used his power over gravity to pull the sphere out of the wreck. Xavier and Anima drifted forward, sidling through the air until they were out of the flames and on firm ground. Xavier dropped his shield and fell to the ground, still carrying Anima upon his back. He stumbled forward as his feet touched the earth and he fell, but he twisted at the last moment to ensure that the prone body of Anima fell upon him, cushioning the blow. He grunted as he struck the ground hard and Anima's limp form tumbled on him. Batusi rushed to help Xavier up as Tenebris – with one hand still clamped firmly upon his oozing wound – leaned to feverishly inspect Anima. He was still alive.

"Thank God," whispered Tenebris. He straightened up, and then doubled over again as his worry for his teammates died down and the pain of the hole in his side returned.

"We need to get out of here," murmured Batusi, shouldering his swords. "You're wounded, Anima is out, and we are disoriented. We need time to recover."

Tenebris nodded slowly. At that moment he would have tried to crack a joke to keep his teammates' hearts light, but darkness had begun to eat away at the edges of his vision and he knew he was not far from passing out. If that happened, then they were all fairly much doomed. "We need… To find cover…"

"Someplace preferably NOT crawling with demons, guys," added Xavier, still lying upon the ground. "Well… Actually, I've never had a conversation with one, so we can't be sure if they're all bad and all… You know, they might be nice! In reality all they might have ever wanted is to give us all big hugs!" Xavier chuckled at his own joke and held out a hand to be helped up.

Batusi obliged, dragging his friend out of the dust. He then shook Xavier's hand firmly with a stern look. Their quarrel was forgotten. "I don't think that would work, Xavier. Demons and Dimensional Travelers have been fighting since the rise of the Firstborn. There have been too many wars, too many deaths on each side. We will need to assume they want us dead."

Xavier grinned and shrugged, wincing as lifted the fallen body of Anima again. "Right… Right… Let's get moving."

And so the beleaguered four stumbled off through the scorched wasteland of Carrion. Dead grass beneath their feet, and a smoking ocean of flames swirling in their wake.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes. And that is a wrap! How many of you remember Desmond Butler the Dimensional Traveler adopted by Sunset Shadow in season 1? Anyways, once again, I will mention that I am a bit busy, so the projected release date for my next chapter is somewhat uncertain. Naturally it will come out on a Wednesday, but that is all I can say for sure now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, don't forget to leave a review. As I stated in the "author's notes" section above, I am always working to find the equilibrium between OC's and MLP characters, and so any feedback on how you are enjoying what I am doing is always greatly welcome! Oh... That's right... Also, if you give me a review, I'll give you a huge carton of goldfish! You know, the crackers. I bought a bunch a week ago, and now I am hopelessly addicted to them. I mean, they are sooooo good! I can't stop eating them. Help me.<strong>


	144. Chapter 144 - Rescue and Run

**Author's Notes. Right, I am back again. I am liking this "every other Wednesday" posting schedule. I think I may keep it; however, nothing is certain, so I won't speak about any kind of schedule too much yet. At this point I would like to thank everyone for the amount of reviews I have been receiving! Reviews are the lifeblood of a story, as they let me know what I've done right, and what I've done wrong. I would also like to mention that I will indeed fix errors that I have made in past chapters (from beginning to end) so if you spot anything (like BlazeWriters69 has been doing) do not hesitate to let me know! Again, thank you for all the reviews! I appreciate them to no end! Seriously, you have no idea how happy seeing all these reviews make me.**

**Speaking of reviews, let me take a moment to answer some.**

**To BlazeWriters69: I always make a point to answer reviews, either via this or by PM. And I agree that it is a good idea to know the characters of the stories you read inside out. It makes the immersion of yourself within a story that much more effective.**

**To Vibrant Sound: Oh, don't get the wrong idea! Wearing a seat belt is always in your best interests... And yes, Anima was the ONLY one to think (sensibly) of wearing a seat belt. I made sure to address it when I was writing the next section following the Catalyst Corps. (I did it way in advance, so I am unsure as to when I will actually post that particular section.)**

**To xCrysis-x: I like Xavier too. Wacky person that he is. Ooooh! Your idea for a story sounds interesting. Hey, if you ever make it into an actual story, let me know! I would love to check it out. I always encourage individual deviations from my original ideas by other authors. Have fun!**

**To madmanwithafork: Hmmmmm... I think I will try that out. I've been working really hard to stay away from goldfish currently (with limited success) and so a substitute might be of use. Thanks!**

**To FocusedStream: Thanks for the compliment. I really work hard to ensure that conversations maintain a sort of "natural" feel. I think it is resulting in me getting schizophrenia, but never you mind that. The quality of the work is all that matters! Probably... I hope... I think I'm going to go eat some goldfish now.**

**To SquirtlePWN: As I said in my PM, thank you soooo much for this exceptionally constructive review. I've taken a lot of your suggestions to heart (they are good ones, after all), and have begun to work out the best way to write up some of the things you asked for. I will do my best to take into account all that you have said, and I appreciate your honesty, as well as your opinion. Keep looking over stories with a keen eye, it makes you that much more valuable to writers. Oh, and one more thing... I am glad you like Lyric and Summer. They are, by far, my greatest work.**

**I do believe that is all for now! I will ramble a bit later after the chapter. Enjoy another section pertaining to the adventures of Lyric and Summer!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Southern Jungles, the Stallion Empire_

_Time: Four days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungles._

"Okay… I've changed my mind. I don't want to do this," said Lyric, breathing heavily. He looked like a little foal, his muscles locked up as he stared down the zip-line that stretched from the tree he perched on all the way down, through the canopy roof, to the unseen depths of the jungle below.

He was just so high up. The tree he clutched to was towering in the air, vastly taller than any of the others. It was like a lighthouse, surrounded by an ocean of musty green. A humid wind rustled the thick branches, and the clouds above rolled lazily along. The landscape was deathly quiet, with only a harsh bird call here and there to break the silence. The tree-scape below murmured and swayed, with green waves building up to a froth that dissolved into a flurry of small leaves that were carried away in gusts that caused them to spiral into the blue abyss above.

To most this would have been a breathtaking sight, but to Lyric it was breathtaking in a way that made him want to vomit. Though he had clambered over his fair share of massive mountain peaks during his time as a survivor in the Stallion Empire's Frozen North, he had never felt so completely isolated by sheer drops. A wrong step in any direction would send him tumbling to a death many, many meters below. At this point zip-lining sounded pretty much like suicide. But not to Brag.

He just laughed. "Don't get cold hooves now, kid! We've just started! Do you want to rescue your filly-friend or not?"

"She's not my filly-friend!" gasped Lyric, who instinctively denied the thought of an intimate attachment like any regular teenager would do. However, he then remembered how he would probably kill himself if he came to rescue Summer too late and found her dead. The thought of losing the only thing that mattered in his life scared him more than the sheer drops about him.

This realization hardened his fluttering stomach like iron. He gulped and then gritted his teeth. "I've changed my mind… About changing my mind. This drop doesn't look TOO bad!"

Brag laughed again. "You keep telling yourself that, mate! The sun is well past its zenith now. All we do is wait until it's dark, and then we can pay our Agrinian friends an unwelcomed visit! I hope your partner has held out this long!"

Lyric bit his bottom lip worriedly. "Oh please… Oh please be okay Summer."

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Stallion Empire, the Southern Jungles_

_Time: Four days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungles._

Summer groaned softly as she tugged gently at her bonds. The thick ropes that bound her were made of rough vines, and the coarse flesh of the bindings were eating away at her skin, cutting deep. She bent her knees inward a bit and sighed; there was no way for her to escape by herself, as exposed as she was. It was a miracle the Agrinians hadn't decided to cut her body open yet. However, she wasn't as scared as she had been when she had been initially captured. Thanks to not being absolutely terrified anymore, Summer decided she should get her bearings, just in case there was some tool lying around or some piece of the environment that she could exploit that would allow her to escape her predicament. Her ears twitched and she cocked her head to one side as she let her senses drift away.

The air was cool, and there was a quiet that almost beat against her ears like a cacophony. It was definitely sunset. Summer lifted her backside from the ground and let it fall to the ground with a "thump." She felt the vibrations spread out, and with that she was able to locate a massive jungle tree to her left. Something was wrong with it though. Summer stuck her tongue out in concentration as she lifted her rump up again and let it fall for a second time. Yes, there was definitely something off about the tree. Summer's eyes brightened a bit as she came to a realization: The tree to her left had deeply rotted roots. So decayed were they that if a significant push was provided, it could possibly fall in the direction of the Agrinian camp, which, from the noise and the coarse laughter, was probably located south from her.

Summer sighed. This knowledge was useful, and downing that tree would cause considerable damage and chaos, but there was really no way for her to utilize what she had learned. The tree's thick trunk was located just outside the cage (which was built beneath the massive shadow it cast) and her hooves were bound. There was no way for her to do anything. Summer cocked her head further as a new bit of information reached her: A cold wind blew through the trees, and a single cricket's chirp was carried with the vanishing sunrays. The coolness of night was definitely here; darkness had fallen.

Summer attempted to tug at her bonds again, fruitlessly. Now was the prime time to escape, as the night gave her cover, but there was still no conceivable way for her to get out of her bonds by herself. The vines that held her was just too strong. There was nothing she could do.

She let herself go limp, and let her mind wander. Her soul began to meander through the annals of her memory, thinking upon the first time she had met Lyric. It had only been a year since they had met, and yet he had matured so much. He had gone from being selfish, hurt, and morally-confused to the strong and kind colt she knew and loved today. She had almost never left his side through all of the trial and tribulations they had encountered, and the only time she could remember where she had been separated from him by force was when they had wandered into the earthly hell that was Haven of Star Circle. That had been a dark time, and the consequences of their foolishness had cost Lyric a limb. But that danger was past… And had led up to this, another danger, another trial. Summer brushed away the sickening sense of panic and fear that ate away at her stomach. She couldn't let herself dwell upon her death, which lingered as a gruesome possibility in the near future. Summer shook the sense and dived deeper into her memories. From entering the Southern Jungles… To exiting the Frozen North to wander into the unknown… To being dragged from the frozen wreckage of a downed airplane by a bemused colt… To nothing. Darkness within the darkness. That was as far as she could remember. That was it. She knew that there had to be more to her life, for she could not truly have been born from ice and snow as a child of the Frozen North of the Stallion Empire as she insisted nowadays. But her memories were blank from the time beyond opening her eyes and seeing the worried and slightly disgruntled eyes of Lyric for the first time. This blankness bothered her sometimes, but she always pushed this feeling away. The unknown was the unknown, and there was nothing to do about it yet. From the ramblings of Lyric – who insisted on learning more of her mysterious past – she had gleaned that she was certainly from Equestria, possibly even from Ponyville… But those names sounded foreign on her tongue. Equestria was as cold and unforgiving as the plane of ice in the north to her. There were many that praised the glorious land of Equestria, and praised the Men of Power, the Dimensional Travelers that were said to stand sentinel over the land of sun and moon. But Summer was not one of those. She had no interest in this place, all she wanted to have in her life was to be beside the side of Lyric. Summer cocked her head to one side slightly, her eyes still closed. This was love, wasn't it? She and Lyric had been with each other through thick and thin, but they had never slept together. But that didn't really matter, did it? Perhaps their love would never be consummated, perhaps it would… But in the end all that mattered is that she loved him, and he loved her. She wanted to be with him from the light of dawn to her final breath.

Summer sighed a little, half-sob, half-moan. Final breath. There was a good possibility that that was coming… And it wouldn't be with her beloved Lyric beside her. For the umpteenth time Summer tugged at her bonds, a little more vigorously this time. She twisted and pulled at the vines until the rough skin of the binding plant cut into her flesh, and blood seeped down the ropes, dripping into the dirt and staining the wood of the posts driven into the earth. There was no yield; the ropes did not even stretch a little bit.

"I'm a wimpy… Weak… Scared little filly," muttered Summer angrily. "Mattimeo would have broken these bonds, killed all the Agrinians with a look, and then proceeded to raze this entire continent with a gesture for good measure. I'm so useless…"

Suddenly, Summer heard a sound that had not been drifting through the night air before. It was soft, certainly inaudible to the average ear, but she detected it even through her own mutterings. It was a gentle zipping sound, like something sliding down a metallic string. Then another sound similar to this one emanated throughout the air. There were two things sliding down this metal string. Then she heard it: Breathing. There were two beings sliding down this metal string… Then she recognized it: One of the breathing patterns. It was Lyric. She could recognize his breathing pattern and heartbeat anywhere, and now his scent drifted lazily in the night air to permeate her sensitive nostrils with the aroma-equivalent of pure hope. Lyric was sliding down the metal wire… And he was undoubtedly heading in her direction. The zipping sound was getting closer and closer, and soon Summer began to worry that the zipping sound would soon become audible to ears other than hers, but whoever had prepared the metal wire was skilled at their craft. Probably the owner of the heartbeat that she had heard with Lyric was the one to do this. Odd. Ponies generally didn't help other ponies in the Stallion Empire. It was killed or be killed; climb to the top or be climbed upon.

Nonetheless, Lyric was coming, and he was coming for her. It was all Summer could do from squealing out loud like a filly that had just found out that she was going to an amusement park. She was still a filly, technically, despite the fact most of her childhood had been burned away by the crash of an airplane, or frozen away by the ice and snow of the harsh north. A single tear of utter joy squeezed from her right eye and trickled down her cheek.

The metal wire seemed to be attached to a tree just outside the camp. Summer nodded to herself slightly. That was a good idea, as their arrival would be shrouded in shadows. The two arrived, and she heard the hooves as the gently clambered over branch and leaf to near her. Then she heard them begin to whisper. First came the voice of the stranger.

"Now that wasn't too bad, was it mate?"

"I… I guess so, Brag. But don't expect me to do that again… EVER."

"Your loss! You will never feel more alive than when you're diving in like that!"

"I think you've gotten alive and dead mixed up… Ohhhhhh… That explains a lot actually!"

"Very funny. Say, is that your filly friend down there?"

"S-S-Summer! Oh thank the Emperor… Oh my God… Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…"

"Get a hold of yourself, kid! She's not out of the red yet! Hmmmmm… She's got a damn nice body, young'un. What a sight…"

"She's fourteen."

"… And I was talking about that female Agrinian keeping watch by the fire there. Look at that flank."

Summer sighed quietly in exasperation. A rogue. Of course Lyric would end up getting help from some over-the-top, loony loner who only was rescuing her for the kicks and a chance to get himself gloriously killed in combat. She tilted her head back and her blank eyes stared straight in the direction that Lyric's quiet whispers were echoing from. She shook her head vigorously and scrunched up her muzzle in annoyance to show him that she did not appreciate that he was unknowingly prolonging the conversation with his unwitting remarks.

"Hey… Mate… I think your filly friend is shaking her head at us. How can she know exactly where we are? She's blind… Ohhhhh… Super-hearing and the likes. I get it. Neat."

"Sorry, Summer. W-we're working on freeing you down. Here, hand me the knife and that rope. I'll climb down and…"

"Whoa there… Not so fast. Remember that Agrinian I was 'oogling' just seconds earlier? She's a guard, and she is facing this way. If we climbed down now we would be spotted in an instant. We need a subtle distraction. Something important enough for her to leave her post but also subtle enough that she will not even think upon calling for help."

Summer bobbed her head slightly. This "Brag" pony knew what he was talking about. She tilted her head and her blank eyes stared quizzically towards the direction of Brag's voice, silently asking him for a solution.

"Huh. Hmmmmmm… Right, I have an idea. I'm going to circle around and cause a minor distraction to draw that Agrinian away. When you hear a macaw call twice, then you'll be free to lower yourself down and cut your filly friend free. You game, kid?"

"Y-y-yeah…"

"Chin up mate. Don't look so terrified. You'll look bad to your filly friend. An unimpressed filly is a gone filly."

"Summer loves me. I love her. I will save her despite my fear."

"You're no fun. Right then, lovebird, let's get moving."

Summer held her breath as she listened to the movements of Brag as he moved away, as silent as a phantom, invisible and inaudible to all but herself. Then she heard Lyric. He was muttering under his breath, but he was speaking to her, like he would when he wanted only her to hear in a crowded room or across great distances. A great joy filled her and she listened to his voice carefully.

"Hey Summer. I'm so sorry for leaving you and getting stuck like that. Do you forgive me?"

Summer knew that he had left to find a safe place. It wasn't his fault he got trapped. She also knew that he must be torturing himself over the fact that when she needed him most to protect her, he had been helpless as well. It wasn't his fault either way, but she smiled gently and nodded her head.

A small sob escaped Lyric's lips. There was a pause before he continued. "I… I love you Summer. I… I want you to know that."

Summer nodded her head again knowingly. There was another pause as Lyric fought for words.

"I… I… Ever since I've found you, all I've wanted is to protect you… To keep you safe. You are the only thing that can keep me attached to this life, Summer. You are my life."

Summer smile softened and she slowly closed her eyes, willing her own feelings to drift out to Lyric, waiting to rescue her high above her head. She stayed like that for a whole minute, willing peace and joy upon the pony that she loved more than life itself. Then she heard rustling in the bushes on the far side of the Agrinian camp. It was Brag, positioning himself to distract the guard.

Brag was as silent as a wraith as he set himself up for the feinting maneuver. As soon as he was pressed up against a large tree, consumed in shadows, he reached forward with a stick in his right hoof and struck a bush in front of him. He rustled it so that it was audible, but just barely. Then from deep within his throat he made a burbling noise, simulating the sound of a wild wildebeest, foraging for food near the camp's outer perimeter. The Agrinian guard immediately got up with vigor. An animal, that meant food for her as a reward for her overnight watch. She snuck toward the bush as quietly as possible. She would kill it and consume it in silence, no need for her brethren to know about this.

That was precisely what Brag wanted her to think. The moment she snuck in close enough, he shuffled forward and snuck around her as she searched the bushes. He kept to the shadows until his back was to the campfire, framing his shadow in its dull orange light. The Agrinian guard turned around when she realized she was being engulfed in the shadow of another being, but it was too late. Brag slit her throat with a rusty dagger and gently lowered her body to the ground. He then retreated with her corpse, dragging the body with himself deep into the lair of the darkness once more. But as he did that, he made sure to cup his hooves about his muzzle and squawk like a macaw twice.

Summer heard it practically almost before the sound actually left Brag's mouth. Lyric heard it too. He whispered what sounded like a prayer and then began to lower himself toward Summer's cage. Soon he was above her, standing on the top of the barred container. He pulled a knife out of a strap about his waist via magic, and levitated it high above his head. He swung it down and sliced the ropes holding the top open. The wood tumbled down, swinging inward by the ropes that still bound the poles to the walls like hinges. The falling wood was not particularly loud, but it caused both Lyric and Summer to wince painfully and clench their teeth in horror. Lyric clung to his rope, his eyes scanning the camp feverishly.

The camp was quiet, with nothing but the crackling of the dying campfire to break the silence. The orange light that emanated from the aging flames illuminating the rough skin tents that were scattered about the natural clearing, casting shadows, long and harsh. The sky above was dark, with a thin waning crescent failing to do much but illuminate its own state. The sky above was speckled with countless dots of light, framed by the thick foliage of jungle trees high above in the dark canopy. Almost no light escaped to the mottled earth below, bound by moss and rotting plants. An archaic scene of true nature, and yet not a single sound reached out from anywhere, almost as if the entire forest was at a stand-still, watching Lyric's rescue of Summer like a crowd watches a play.

Lyric almost vomited as the pressure and consequences of what he was doing finally reached his brain. His hooves trembled and he felt very small, but as he doubled over, clutching at his butterfly-filled belly, his eyes landed on Summer. She was still suspended, belly-up, between the four posts, blood trickling from her hooves where the rough vines had cut into her. She was looking up at Lyric, straight into her eyes. He wasn't quite sure if she was doing that on purpose, but he saw what reflected within the two pupils staring back: Hope and love. She was waiting for him to save her. If he didn't, she would die… And then he would, in soul, and then in body.

Lyric bit his lip and slowly let himself down, sweating heavily as he neared his goal. She was so close… Almost close enough to touch. Then he was there, beside her side. He veritably tacked her, practically throwing himself upon her as he hugged her tightly. She began to cry silently as he whispered to her.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry…"

"Oh Lyric," sobbed Summer in hushed tones, tears falling from her eyes without a sound. "Oh Lyric, you came back for me…"

Lyric gently eased away from her and gently ran a hoof down her body, from cheek to lower abdomen, tracing the deep scratches, heavy bruises and dark burns she had received from the Agrinians and the Fire Swamp. He tried his best not to cry as he took up the knife and cut away at her bonds, freeing her.

Summer fell to the earth, but she immediately scrambled up, despite being in pain and being exhausted. She embraced Lyric and kissed him on the cheek, hugging him close. Lyric leaned in and closed his eyes.

"You know, I would say this is sweet and all, but we need to get a move-on, kiddies."

It was Brag, standing in the tree above them, unravelling the rope so that it would be easier for them to climb up to him. His words were joking, but his eyes were deadly serious, his tough features set grimly.

Lyric looked up to Brag and nodded, his face changing from a picture of pure bliss and happiness to wariness.

"Brag is right, we need to move…"

It was too late. The flap to one of the skin tents was flung open. The Agrinian that had beat Summer with a rod trotted out, his eyes glinting with evil intent. His eyes immediately went to the cage, which denoted the evil idea which had caused him to leave the tent in the first place. But instead of seeing his captive, exposed and helpless, he saw that she was free, accompanied by another pony armed with a knife.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream that ripped from the Agrinian leader's throat was something between a shriek of anger and a battle cry, and it echoed throughout the camp, waking every single tribe member in the vicinity. They came flooding from their tents like technicolored ants, armed to the teeth and ready for war. They swarmed and bunched about their leader, preparing themselves to break upon and cover their targets like waves upon the sand.

"… Well, then. Time for us to go."

Brag slowly drew a long machete as he slowly lowered himself to the ground. The entire camp was silent as they waited for their chief's signal. However, it was Brag who made the first move.

"Run for it mates!" Roared Brag, shoving Summer in the rump and sending her skittering up the rope with Lyric supporting her from behind. The Agrinian leader screamed out a war cry, and the savages rushed Brag. But he was a warrior, a veteran. He was not deterred by their large numbers and their savage features, and he immediately cut down the first dozen to come at him. His blade flickered in the night, reflecting the dull light of the campfire like a lightning bug of death, dealing out the end of existence to anyone that drew near. Another group of savages grouped behind their Agrinian leader like another wave swelling before the shoreline. They rushed in again to assault Brag, this time circling him to perform a crude pincer movement. But Brag, again, was ready. He dodged outside of the crushing grip of the assault pattern and broke into their ranks as they ignored the climbing Lyric and Summer and turned to face him as a group. However, Brag was amidst them before they could react, with his machete swinging left and right.

He was an expert at the art of fighting, and he drove them back once… Then twice… Then thrice. But as the fourth wave assaulted him, he faltered, and soon they were driving him back. The blunt of a spear struck him across the face once, and then twice. He stumbled.

Though all of this was transpiring unseen to Summer, she knew exactly what was going on as her other senses translated the equivalent of the scene to her flawlessly. Her eyes widened in horror as a spearhead missed Brag's left eyeball by a centimeter.

"That pony needs our help, Lyric!" she cried.

"I know," exclaimed Lyric, almost a wail. "But what can we do?!"

Then Summer remembered: The tree to the left of the cage had deeply rotted roots. If given a shove it would collapse, covering most of the camp in the splinters of its humongous trunk. That was the course of action they needed to take.

"I-I-I remember now!" she shouted. "That tree beside my cage! Its roots are nothing but mush! We can shove it over and send it toppling into the ground! That will give us all time to escape!"

Lyric didn't even stop to question her. He trusted her senses far beyond his own. He gently touched her cheek and then shouldered their equipment (which Brag had thought of bringing along). He then began to shimmy down the rope to topple the targeted tree.

Brag spotted Lyric returning to the earth and shouted: "What the hell are you doing, mate? I've got this!"

He stopped abruptly to dodge another spearhead. He straightened up and slew the wielder with a single expertly-aimed thrust. "Well… I THINK I've got this. I could be wrong. I've been wrong before."

Lyric didn't stop to explain. He rushed to the tree and situated himself behind it, bracing his powerful legs to deliver a strong kick.

"I'm going to topple this tree on top of this entire camp, Brag! Get ready to move?"

"THAT monster of a twig? You're mental! There is no way you can-"

"MOVE!"

"Moving right away kid!"

Brag feinted to the left, slashed to the right, and then dodged backwards with another quick feint to the left. He then went into a roll, and dashed for the outskirts of the natural clearing. Just as he did that, Lyric delivered a massive buck to the tree. It tilted a little bit. He bucked it again. And again. And again. Then, with a large, tumultuous groan, the giant of a tree tilted and began to fall, its roots coming apart like spider webs and sending earth and mulch skywards with a roar that rivaled the crash of thunder. Brag had gotten safely to the tree line just as the tree began to fall, but most of the Agrinians had not. They turned to look upon the tree as it fell earthward with a deafening rumble and began to scatter like dandelion seeds to a gale. Unfortunately for them, quite a few were too slow, and the massive tree crushed about a score of them beneath the untold megagrams of wood. Brag dashed back to Lyric (who was climbing the rope like a scared squirrel) as chaos and confusion reigned supreme and joined them at the top of the tree. He slashed at the zip line, severing it, just as he reached the top to join Summer and Lyric. As it snapped, and the two ends shot away like rubber bands, he nodded to Lyric.

"Thanks for the distraction mate, but we are going to have some really large problems on our hooves soon."

Lyric looked over Brag's shoulder. There were only a couple dozen Agrinian savages alive (in addition to the leader) and they all seemed a bit in shock.

Brag shook his head. "Listen."

Summer and Lyric did, and then the sound came: War cries. Countless. Distant, but still, too many to count.

"Reinforcements are coming," Brag explained grimly. "We need to get the hell out of here, and fast. Follow me, kids."

Brag pulled up the rope and stashed it. And then, like a phantom of smoke, he vanished into the trees beyond. Summer gently touched Lyric's shoulder, and then they too proceeded to vanish like ghosts in the mists of time.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes: And so Brag, Lyric, and Summer vanish into the depths of the jungle, pursued by countless blood-thirsty savages, intent on their demise! What will happen next? Find out... Sometime. I am still trying to figure out which story sections go well with each other. It's a process, but I'm getting there as I progressively work on an effective writing rhythm. Now, please let me know what you thought of this chapter! I would love to know what you think of this part of the overarching story. If you leave a review, I will send you goldfish! As I stated previously, I am doing my best to eat less of them, and so it would be a good idea if I just gave away all the boxes I have to you guys. I've gotten a teleportation machine all ready-made to send them to you all. However, there are a couple bugs, so the goldfish boxes might end up simply turning invisible as they arrive at your house. Let me know if this ends up being the case.<strong>


	145. Chapter 145 - Broken Valley

**Author's Notes. It is time again for my biweekly (in this case once every two weeks) chapter! I am really happy about the positive reaction everyone's been having about Brag; he is a really interesting character to write about, and I do indeed have plans for him and the dynamic duo (by this I mean Lyric and Summer, not to be confused with the dynamic duo of Doxia and Derpy). In other news: I have reached 100 favorites! I can tell you it's been quite a ride, but I don't think I've ever felt this accomplished since I hit 100 reviews, or 100,000 views. Thank you so much, everyone! I cannot say how grateful I am for your interest and attention. Hopefully I will be able to keep said interest and attention through this season, and the two that are following. Yeah, after much thought I've decided that the main story arc will come to an end in the fourth season, though it might actually come to an end next season if I change everything up by the time I start it. But that is in the distant future, and I hope to shove a lot of exciting events in between here and there. Anyways, enough of that, let me take a moment to answer some reviews.**

**To BlazeWriters69: I totally agree with you that Sherlock and the Doctor were an utterly awesome team. However, I don't know if they will show up this season because I am doing my best not to introduce too many Dimensional Traveler's this season. I went way over limit last season, and large amounts of characters can both stretch stories out too long and drown out important character development. Character development is something I'm doing my best to focus on this time around. But they were awesome, and they may show up again for season three and perhaps season four.**

**To Vibrant Sound: They are indeed the dynamic duo. My favorite group with no equal... But then again, they're not the dynamic duo anymore, are they? They have Brag now. I guess that would make them the terrific trio, or something similar to that. And don't worry, as I said previously, this season is all about character development, so I will do my best to unravel the secrets of this mysterious Brag character. You received a box of... Cheez-its? Oh no. It's happening again.**

**To R4ptorCS (formerly known as the great and glorious austin xj liu): Confused about what is going to happen next? By that do you mean you have no idea of what is to happen and now anticipate future installments? Or do you mean you are confused by something I've written previously and that has affected your assessment of what may happen next? If it is the latter of the two, hit me up; I would be more than happy to clear up any confusion you may have. And yes... There will be more on Brag, without a doubt.**

**To xCrysis-x: Disgruntled Summer is best Summer. Just kidding. But seriously, she is the coolest character ever, maybe besides Doxia. I think at this point it is safe to say that Brag, too, is awesome. I'm glad that I've managed to make a crowd favorite! Last time I did that the character subsequently died a couple chapters later! Don't worry, I'll probably be smart and not follow the same formula. Don't worry about the story, either. Just think about it and let the creativity flow! You can always get a beta reader to help you chisel it into perfection. Again: no worries. And thank you for your encouragement. I'm really glad you enjoy each chapter, I do really try my hardest.**

**To FocusedStream: SUMMER AND LYRIC FOR THE WIN. I could basically say that to everyone everywhere, and it wouldn't make it any less true. And yes, do not worry, Brag will tag along and be all "cool and mysterious" like all outback explorers are. Except this isn't the outback. It's a jungle full of flesh-eating savages. Well, if you squint your eyes they look similar though, so I guess we could go with it either way. And thanks! I try my best to make each chapter amazing!**

**That's it for now. Enjoy the latest installment!**

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><p><em>Dimension: Skylock<em>

_Planet: Scorch_

_Specific Location: The Broken Valleys, Carrion_

_Time: Four days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungles._

Blue stood quietly, looking over the broken plateaus that were scattered across the Broken Valley like small flat-headed monuments. Though most life in the Skylock dimension had met its premature end already, some tough grasses, parasitic and persisting weeds, and deadly herbs still dotted the brown landscape. Large natural stone pillars filled the land as well, crumbling with the wear and tear of time. On the top of the small plateau ahead of Blue was a makeshift tower of stone and iron, acting as a sentry point for a demon scout. And, sure enough, a demon was patrolling the tower, a longbow charged with demonic energy in its claws.

"Do you want to incapacitate him? Your call."

Blue turned. It was Sunflower, hefting his sniper rifle. He could have hit that clearly exposed monster during a hurricane, blindfolded, with both hands tied behind his back. Blue shook his head. "It is unnecessary as of yet. We can still learn from him."

"We could also learn from him if you let me tear out his innards and scatter them over a two-dozen kilometer radius."

That was Dark. He was still determined to kill at least something once every other minute. Blue sighed.

"No. We need to watch them before we strike. Analyze them. We will spend hours doing it if we must. Find a pattern. Find a weakness. Then we exploit it until they are utterly destroyed."

Sunflower cocked his head to one side. "Understandable, but we are not going to learn anything from that sentry. He is alone."

"Not for long."

Blue motioned for them to look below. A group of demons were wandering in a sort of half-regiment formation, making their way between the stone pillars to the outpost ahead. Blue tilted his head to one side and his armor systems began to pick up the conversations down below with potent clarity.

"Blord is taking his sweet time taking us to the meeting place."

"That is only natural. Nistor is his rival, and Blord wants to make it clear he is going to be at this meeting on his own terms."

"That is folly in its purest form. Captain Caprum is at this meeting as well. If Blord wants to keep his head he will be prompt."

"I do not care for either outcome really. If Blord dies at the hand of Caprum then we are all relocated and join another taskforce. If Blord eventually rises to power, we will still be relocated as he recruits more trustworthy and more powerful demons to be his entourage."

"That is another issue. Why these taskforces? The Dimensional Travelers are scattered and few. They are no longer a threat. The only other rival is the Amethyst Empire, but we cannot fight them. They are too powerful."

"We are not here to prepare for war, fool. We are guarding something, did you not know? It is irrelevant really. Only the captains truly know what is going on."

Blue had heard all he needed from that conversation. He leaned back a little and deactivated the hearing-aid system. He quickly took refuge behind the outcropping of rocks that he and his teammates had camped out since they had arrived in Skylock to foil Harold Dellor. Well, the believed they were foiling him. They still were unsure as to whether or not they were simply playing into his hands.

"Did you hear that?" murmured Blue, pertaining to the conversation they had just eavesdropped upon. Sunflower had nodded. He had tapped into the data transfer and listened to everything. Dark had heard it all as well; however, he cared the least of the three.

"So we now know that the captains are working with taskforces to protect an object that is most probably the tablet that Harold Dellor wants," muttered Dark. "I couldn't care less. Can I kill them now?"

Sunflower shook his head. "The stress is on 'probably', Dark," he said. "We have no idea what the true value of this tablet is. To the demons it could basically be a large rock with weird scribbles on it… Or it could be the most valuable thing they've seen since the fruit of the tree of good and evil. We still do not know enough, and it seems the Inquisitor databases does not operate thanks to this phantom device that cloaks the dimension. I will hand it to these demons: The device's energy-based constitution is crude, but effective. It has cancelled out any connection to the multiverse by any form of Imagination Stream or sub-dimension wave."

"Yes," said Blue. "We need to know more. And, as you said, Dark, the captains are the ones that are operating these taskforces. The demons we listened to also implied that the captains are the ones with the answers… Even if they are not, there will be some fraction of truth in their confessions. There always is."

Sunflower glanced at Blue. "Confessions? Oh. You're planning to take on this Captain Caprum."

Blue nodded briefly. "Indeed. He will give us answers."

Dark unhooked his hatchet from his right thigh and unlocked it, flipping it into its ready position. "I can live with this plan."

"You can only live when you kill stuff, really," Sunflower muttered under his breath. If Dark heard he made no implications, as he began to sharpen the edge of the hatchet against the impenetrable metal of his left gauntlet.

Blue looked over the outcropping rocks again. His HUD tracked the wandering taskforce as they made their way past the outpost he had been looking at previously. After a bit more intense scanning and sorting of through the waves of interference that the demon's phantom device was giving off, Blue was able to detect a set of tents on the other side of the outpost. This revelation took ten minutes to decipher from the interference, and the demons were already almost upon it when Blue had managed to uplink this new data to his teammates.

"This interference from the phantom device is slowing everything down," growled Dark. "We need to move if we want to catch this captain."

"Indeed," replied Blue. "It seems that the set meeting place is at the base of that small plateau ahead of us on the other side. Sunflower, take out the sentry, but hit him so that he leans against the steel railing. Make him look as if he is resting or leaning over."

Sunflower nodded wordlessly. He turned off his HUD and aimed with his sniper rifle. It was just him and his weapon. No aiming assistance; no modifications. But the gun itself was really all Sunflower needed. There was a pause, and then Sunflower pulled the trigger. An energy beam exited the barrel of Sunflower's sniper rifle soundlessly; burning its way through the air to the target. It struck the sentry in the back of the head. It was perfectly timed. The demon was in mid-step when he died in an instant. He jumped a little, and then leaned forward, his lifted foot falling limply. As his foot hit the floor, his ankle rolled and he twisted to the side and collapsed against the railing. However, his arms swung forward as he struck railing and wrapped around it. Though his head was limp as a ragdoll's, it looked perfectly like the demon was simply leaning on the rail, observing the "scenery" beyond. One demon down. Countless to go.

"First K.O." Sunflower whispered to Dark. Dark just growled. He swished his hatchet through the air and leapt over the outcropping rocks at the edge of the wide-based plateau they were hiding upon to the ground meters below. He landed silently and stole away behind some bushes. Blue and Sunflower were right behind him, moving as silent as shadows. They worked their way to the base of the plateau that held the outpost and the dead sentry. Quickly the climbed to the peak of the outpost and looked over. Sure enough, on the other side, there was a large encampment, where a group of demons numbering at least two-score gathered around fires.

Blue began to eavesdrop again on the conversations. He picked his way between news, gossip, and profanities until he settled on listening to the demons whom he had determined to be Blord and Nistor.

"You took your time to get here, Blord."

"I had other things to do, Nistor. I'm a busy demon. The Grand Devil holds me in high regard."

"Hah! I bet you were just dragging your feet to make it look like everyone is to work about your schedule. Well, joke's on you: Caprum has yet to get here!"

"Damn. The captains do take their time."

"You bet your hide they do. Shouldn't you have known this little quirk, being important and all?"

"Shut your gob. We have other things to worry about now. Did you hear about the reports of a crashing ship?"

"Yes. The Intel seems to imply that it was a dimensional-jumping ship. Belonging to the Barius Nation."

"The Barius Nation? They vanished into the dust eons ago, disbanded when the Maelstrom fell."

"Regardless, one came down and crashed. There had to be drivers, and despite the violence of the crash there is a chance they still live. Undoubtedly taskforces will be sent to hunt them down."

"But of course. My team is adept at hunting and killing. I am sure my demons will be up to the task."

"And I'm sure your mother was up to the… Wait! Here comes the 'great and glorious' captain Caprum now…"

Blue peaked his visor over the edge of the outpost railing to peer down at the camp below. Though the top half of the demons Blord and Nistor were hidden by the outstretching flaps of the tent they were in, he could see them step aside to allow a third pair of heavily scaled and clawed feet to join the circle. This was undoubtedly the captain Caprum.

"Blord and Nistor. So nice to see you." It was Caprum. His voice was gravely but soft, like a snake singing to its prey before consuming it alive.

"Caprum." The two other demons responded glumly, but there was respect in their tones of voice nonetheless. They feared him.

"You two have heard about the fallen ship, right?" Caprum still was speaking softly with venom in his voice.

"Yes," replied Blord. "I know all about it. Let me hunt down potential survivors, Caprum. I swear to the Grand Devil that I will find them and serve you their blood in a golden chalice."

Caprum just laughed callously. "Ah yes… Blord… Always looking for a way up. Your time will come, ambitious demon… But not yet. The hunters to the south will look for them, for they are the closest. We cannot spare any of our forces here. The tablet of power must be protected."

Blord snarled out something and tried to convince Caprum to rethink his order, but Blue was not listening. Tablet. They were hunting down a tablet of power.

He turned to Dark. "It is highly likely that the table that this demon captain spoke of is the one we are looking for. Dark, Sunflower, ready yourselves. We must clear this campsite, killing all but the captain. No one must escape, no one must know.

Sunflower began to set up his sniper rifle. "I'll take the high ground here and activate a cloaking field."

"I'll be down there, murdering everybody," murmured Dark. He glanced to Blue. Blue nodded. The two began to back up, and then they dashed forward. Just as they reached the end of the raised platform, they leapt high into the air. Their jump carried them up and out, arching like a ballistic missile. Then they fell earthward, right toward the encampment. In an instant, the Inquisitors were among them.

Blue landed directly on top of a demon, hurling him to the ground and puncturing his brain with his wrist blade in the same movement. For a second all the demons stared at him in shock. There was no movement. Dark immediately took advantage of that. He came in like a meteorite, scattering the demons like chaff before the scythe. His hatchet bisected seven whole demons before they could scatter and regroup. Three or four demons spread their bat-like wings to raise the alarm, but each demons that tried to do that tumbled to the ground with holes between their eyes. The rest rushed Dark and Blue, not realizing they were up against the Inquisitors. Dark swung his hatchet, catching two whole demons and hurling them to the earth with such force that the ground beneath cracked and sent dark blood shooting in the air like a bottle rocket. Blue dodged and weaved, cutting throats and stabbing hearts as fluidly as a hot knives through melting butter.

Blord shot toward Blue, screaming: "I'll gut you like our shield gutted your ship!"

Blue cocked his head to one side. So, they thought they were the survivors of that ship crash. There were probably no survivors of that in reality, but it was best that they thought they were the survivors to conceal the fact that the Inquisitors were among them. Blue ducked under a demonic energy blast, spun past a poorly-aimed demon-sword swing (he proceeded to snap the wielder's neck in a fluid movement) and then leapt over another energy blast. He landed on top of Blord, driving the wrist blade into his face. He came out in a roll, and finished it with firing his Inquisitor Blaster, which blew the head off of Nistor in an instant. The now headless demon stumbled and collapsed next to the dead Blord. Blue leapt up in time to stab another demon and shoot two more. The demons began to falter as their numbers began to thin; but they were demons, they never surrendered. With an eerie howl the rabble regrouped and rushed the two Inquisitors for a second time. Only twelve were left.

Blue raised his Inquisitor Blaster and aimed it deftly. Then something odd happened: His HUD, which had been monitoring the demon activity of the surrounding areas, flickered and then shut off. An instant later it turned back on like nothing had happened. His HUD had just rebooted. That never happened. An Inquisitor's HUD was powered by a nigh-endless energy source, and was self-sustaining. There was never a need for the HUD to reboot unless the system itself was being refitted with new software or hardware. Then the screen's flickered again, shimmering and stuttering as it readjusted. Odd.

The loud, blood-thirsty shrieking of a demon brought Blue back to reality. A large demon was bearing down on him, an axe charged with demon energy held high. Blue quickly dove forward, striking the demon in its stomach and seizing the monster's head. He brought the head down on his knee hard as the two went into a roll, shattering the demon's skull and driving the broken bone deep into its skull. The demon died with a gurgle. Blue came out of the roll and hoisted the body high and hurled it at the two demons that were too close. As they fell with the corpse on top of them, Sunflower took their heads with well-aimed shots. Two more demons rushed Blue from the other side, their swords at the ready, demonic energy flying from their claws. Blue instinctively dodged their energy shots, moving in for the kill. Swiftly he stabbed one with the wrist blade and shot the other in the stomach. Dodging back, he viewed his handiwork: All demons were dead beside Caprum, who stood there, a pike hanging loosely by his side as Dark tore the innards from the last surviving demon out with a bloody fist.

Caprum bared his teeth. "You'll never take me alive!"

Dark shrugged. "We never intended to."

Caprum immediately tried to turn the pike on himself to commit suicide, but Dark was too quick for him. He wrest the weapon for the demon's claws and reduced the whole thing to dust in less than a second. Caprum turned to run, but Sunflower shot out his legs. Grunting in pain, Caprum tried to drag his bloodied and disabled body through the dust like a snake. Blue simply walked up to him and flipped him about. He then placed the palm of his right hand on the demon's forehead. In less than a minute he had downloaded all of the demon's highest-priority memories; anything and everything pertaining to the "tablet" he had mentioned when conversing with Blord and Nistor. Blue withdrew, quickly storing the data.

Caprum hissed long and low. "You're not just any ordinary being… You're an Inquisitor!"

Dark crushed Caprum's skull under the sole of his armored boot, scattering his brains like corn meal. Blue shrugged as he replied to the late demon's question. "That should have been obvious the second we attacked."

Sunflower leapt down from the outpost he had commandeered. "I ran a scan of the surrounding area. There have been no communications, and no hostile activity… I think. The phantom device is scattering most scanners."

Blue shrugged one more time. "Very well. We will just have to be careful. Demons in the dozens and in the scores is not an issue. All will be well as long as we can operate without having to combat thousands of demons at once."

Dark wiped the bottom of his boot on the dead grass beside the corpse of Caprum. "We have the data. We should get moving."

"Indeed." Blue nodded and quickly brought up the memory data that he had stolen from Caprum. To his surprise, the data had been automatically sorted and cleaned of all noise. That usually took untold hours, perhaps even longer now that they were blocked from the rest of the multiverse by the phantom device. But yet here it was. Was this efficiency a result of the unauthorized reboot that had taken control of his system for a millisecond a couple of minutes ago? Had Rerenhaw pushed out an update or something of the like? Was something like that even possible, especially since they actually had no contact with Rerenhaw in this dimension?

Blue had no time to bother himself over these quandaries. This land was no place for questions and wonderings; they had to move before more demons arrived.

Blue motioned for Sunflower and Dark to follow them. As they began to slink off, Blue began to sift through the data that had magically provided itself in an orderly fashion. It took him moments to notice the most important bit of memory data (which had conveniently been placed at the top of the list of data points). It related to him a meeting between Caprum and another captain the day before. Blue activated the audio clip.

"Caprum," said a gravelly voice, rougher and tougher than the venom-lined tone of Caprum.

"Lorgas," replied Carpum. "How are you?"

"Not too well. There have been reports of a crashed ship than somehow made it into this dimension."

"A ship? Our phantom device cannot stop ships. It crashed, you say? Well, that is better than it landing, for that means its pilots could have been slain in the collision."

"Perhaps. Perhaps not. They may yet be alive. I am preparing the hunters of the south to search the area."

"Why not my taskmasters? We all know the northern demons are better at this type of hunt."

"Indeed. You and Captain Kanla won't let us forget it. But you know the drill: Protect the tablet at all costs. That is what the Grand Devil told us. That is what we need to do. I will send in the hunters. You keep watch of the north with the rest of the captains."

"This is foolishness. You know it is foolishness."

"I do not care, Caprum. I do not care. If you have complaints, then go to a higher-up. They are in closer connection to the Watcher. Ah, yes… Commander Istir is securing the old ruins of the Skyfort the day after tomorrow at sundown. Go to him and whine. Perhaps he will explain the situation better… Or put your head on a spike."

"You can go to hell."

"We're demons. We are spawn of hell. You are going to have to try better than that."

There was a snarling insult from Caprum, and then the audio of the memory cut out. Blue considered the information very carefully. According to this, there were four – possibly even more – layers of command. First there were the grunts. Demons that acted like cannon fodder for their betters. Those betters were the captains, controlling taskforces across the planet. Then there were the higher-ups, the commanders; probably demons in control of groups of captains, or rule over a region. Then there was the Watcher, some unnamed being that was apparently the highest of the high, if Blue understood the grudging respect and reverence that had slipped out in Captain Lorgas's tone of voice when he had spoken of that being.

"The ruins of the Skyfort," said Blue out loud. Dark looked at Blue curiously.

"What?"

"We are looking for a Commander Istir, who will be at the ruins of the Skyfort by nightfall tomorrow."

Sunflower gauged the time as he looked at the sun. It was lazily slipping past its zenith. "We have several hours before night is cast upon this side of the planet… So almost twenty four hours, I believe. Hmmmmm… Blue… How did you find this information so fast? It takes an hour minimum to clear neural noise from memory data, and that is with direct connection to the supercomputers of Amethyst. How did you find this data point so quickly?"

"My systems have been operating at peak capacity for the last couple minutes."

That was all Sunflower got out of Blue on that subject. Sunflower let the mystery slip by him, this was not a time to be curious.

A minute later Blue suddenly said, "My HUD is showing us the location of the Skyfort. Follow me. When we get there we will lie in wait."

Sunflower looked at Dark and shrugged. Even Blue sounded surprised when he stated that his scanning systems had located the Skyfort already despite the heavy jamming. The phantom device was messing heavily with all electronic devices, including Inquisitor equipment, and yet Blue's information systems were operating more efficiently than they had ever before they had entered the dimension. Had Blue's suit's electronic systems been updated remotely by the Rerenhaw? They had no way of knowing. They had no time to find out either.

Blue signaled for his team to form up on him, and the trio stole away, keeping to the bushes and the shadows as they worked their way to the unknown.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Skylock<em>

_Planet: Scorch_

_Specific Location: The border between the Stone Desert and the Broken Valleys, Carrion_

_Time: Four days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungles._

Tenebris gritted his teeth, squeezing his hands into hard fists as pain tore through his body. He held onto a stalactite that protruded from the low-hanging stone cave that they were taking refuge in, several meters beneath the shattered stone wasteland above. After being on the run for a whole day, the group stopped to rest in one of the many caves that lined the dip in the wasteland as the broken-stone-filled valley conjoined with a large valley full of odd island-like plateaus.

Tenebris gasped in pain again. "Are you… Are you trying to kill me, Batusi?!"

"Stop squirming," snorted Batusi as he poured glowing healing-energy into the open wound in Tenebris's side. "The more you move the less effective this healing power is! I'm not a Designated Healer, so I can't patch you up so quickly!"

Tenebris winced. "You keep talking and I'm just going to squeal like a baby who lost his lollipop. Then we all die. Deal?"

Xavier, who had been using the limp body of Anima as a pillow, peered at Tenebris from under the rim of his giant pointed hat. "You wouldn't ever do such a thing, boss-man. You know the moment you do something as silly as that I'm going to have it on video and uploaded to YouTube in minutes."

Tenebris arched his back and grunted as Batusi finished administering healing-energy to his wound. His flesh stretched over the bloody hole, bubbling and fusing together as the glowing aura of power practically cauterized the wound. Batusi backed away.

"You're good now," he said. "Don't kill me."

Breathing heavily, Tenebris checked the wound. It was puffy and red, and it looked like there would undoubtedly be a scar, but there was no more oozing blood, and his head was beginning to clear. "Well… Can't argue with results."

Batusi nodded. Tenebris shook his head as if to clear it. Then he looked to Xavier. After a moment he rolled his eyes.

"Xavier. Get off of Anima."

Xavier rolled his eyes in return. "Yeah, yeah, yeah… Whatever you say. He was so comfy! And what's even better: He doesn't whine."

"He never whined," snorted Batusi. "He spoke sense. Oh yeah… All logical talk sounds like whining and gibberish to you."

"Maybe that's because I'm right," replied Xavier without missing a beat, grinning.

Tenebris groaned, a little louder than usual, to get his teammates' attention. "You two arguing like an old couple is good and all, but I would appreciate it if we worked towards waking Anima up. We need to move before those demons find us."

Xavier actually looked a little more alert now. "You said THOSE demons. Do you see any?"

Tenebris motioned out of the small cave exit, signaling Xavier to join him. The two peeked out the exit. At least a dozen groups of four demons were scattered about the slopes of stone, scouring all caves and rocky outcroppings.

"They've been at it for at least half an hour now," murmured Tenebris. "They haven't found us as of yet, but they are getting pretty close. We need to move, and fast."

"Let's get Anima up then," said Batusi. He squatted down beside the prone form of his downed friend and shook him. Gently first, then roughly. Neither times roused him.

Xavier just chuckled. "This is what you get from wearing a seat belt. 'Wear a seat belt' they said. 'It'll be safer' they said. Now just look at this poor young soul! Only one to actually wear the seat belt… And now here he is: Knocked out cold like Sylvester Stallone's punching bag."

"I don't need one of your sermons right now, Xavier," said Batusi, a little sharply. "You heard Tenebris: We need to move. NOW. I need your help."

Xavier stretched. "Right then. Out of the way, kind sir. Let the expert handle this!"

Xavier sauntered in close to Anima. He then leaned in close and took a deep breath. Both Tenebris and Batusi braced themselves for Xavier screaming at the top of his lungs – which would effectively sentence them all to death at the claws of the demons. But instead of screaming, Tenebris just cupped his hands and quietly whispered in one of Anima's ears.

"Anima… Your sister-in-law called. She needs you to take her shopping in Manehattan again."

Anima shot up, breathing heavily. "No. NO. You tell her that I…"

His voice trailed off as he deliriously looked about, regaining his bearings. Then he remembered the events that had lead up to the rough landing upon this strange land. He glared at Xavier.

"Thanks a bunch, Xavier."

Xavier just rolled his eyes. "Oh yes. Like I said to Batusi here: Next time we have less than a millisecond to make a pivotal decision I will make sure to call for a vote and a couple of hearings."

Anima just ignored Xavier. He looked at Tenebris. "You don't look too well. Your face is pale. Wounded? In the side?"

Tenebris smiled ruefully. "Is it that obvious? I'm fine now. Don't worry about it, Anima. Are you okay?"

Anima rubbed the back of his head. "Actually… Yeah. I mean, my head is pounding and I think a couple of my ribs are bruised, but I don't feel too knocked about. I just was knocked out by the collision. It looks like we all are pretty well-off considering that horrible landing."

"Yeah. I wonder who we have to thank for such a glorious crash?" muttered Batusi, looking pointedly at Xavier.

"Alright, break it up," interjected Tenebris. "As I have said probably a million times now since we got here, we need to be with each other, not against each other. We are in enemy territory now and so we need to act like a team. Anima, can you walk?"

Anima got to his legs slowly. His knees wobbled a bit, but Xavier steadied him. There was a minute or two of silence as Anima gently tried out each of his limbs to ensure he was fine. He blinked.

"I seem to be mostly unhurt."

Tenebris nodded readily. "That is good news. Give me a second."

He quickly doubled back to look outside the mouth of the cave once more. The demon hunting groups were still a good couple of minutes away from covering the area that their cave was situated in. That was good. He turned back to his beleaguered and battered team.

"We need to decide what to do now," he said, looking at each one of his teammates in turn.

Anima nodded. "Agreed. We have time now to do so, I hope. What was the status of the ship when we evacuated?"

"Exploded. Dead. Broken. Brotinn. Kaput." Xavier did not mince his words.

Anima pulled a face. "Right. Escape that way is no longer an option. We also know that the phantom device prevents us from escaping by natural means. That leaves us with only one option: Find the phantom device and disable it long enough for us to escape."

Tenebris cocked his head to one side as he listened to Anima. After he finished he said: "I agree that that is one of our priorities… But… But perhaps we need to remember to grab the tablet."

Anima looked to Tenebris with a curious expression upon his face. "Are you sure we should still be working toward that?"

"Well, we DO have a nearly perfect track-record," mentioned Xavier. "Would be a shame to break the streak now. We've had it worse, right?"

Anima thought about it for a moment. "I suppose. Right then, we have two primary objectives: Find the tablet, and find the portal-blocking machine. We need to grab the tablet and disable the phantom device within minutes of each other."

Tenebris nodded. "Right. We are going to have to move soon, but we will have to search for a safe location to base our operations. Without our ship and our instantaneous-travel abilities at our fingertips we are going to have ensure we have a safehouse as our mission stretches over the next several days."

Anima blinked in agreement. He approached the cave entrance and looked out, activating telescopic vision. With his visual capabilities increased tenfold, he began to look about the valley before him, searching for any semblance of a location that would offer protection. Then he saw it.

"Guys… I think I found something useful." He signaled for the rest of the team to gather by his side and look out the window. They were beside him in an instant, scouring the area he had indicated. It was a large ruined fort, stretching high into the air. A skeletal thing, with many exposed interiors and crumbling walls. However, it was not really the looks of the building that were intriguing; it was the state of occupancy. There were a couple demons camps position around it within a nine kilometer radius, but no fires or movement was detected within the fortress itself. It was abandoned and unused.

"A fort… Are you sure that is a good idea?" murmured Batusi, scoping out the place with a critical eye. "I mean… It's a fort. A pre-built structure designed to easily defend insiders. Sooner or later the demons will want to utilize it… For protective reasons or maybe even just for aesthetics."

Anima cocked his head to one side as he considered Batusi's argument. "True… But due to the fact that the demons have been here for a long time and clearly have not taken to the place as of yet I think it is safe to say that we are free to at least investigate the place. It is practically a skeleton of a fortress, but it would be an unlikely hiding spot thanks to its proximity to those demons camps and it would provide an effective roof over our heads."

Tenebris nodded. "You're right. Everyone else in agreement?"

"Sure."

"What were we talking about? Oh, Batusi said 'sure.' Sure, I'll say sure too. Sure."

Tenebris nodded his head one more time, glancing briefly at Xavier, who had just spoken. "We need to move quickly and quietly. The sun is already beginning to set, so we need to have secured a possible base location by tonight. The demons hunting the slopes currently are not here yet, so I suggest we move now before it is too late."

Tenebris did not have to say anything else. The team silently began to move out without another word, crawling out of the cave into the cover of the rocks that cropped up around the small opening in the hillside. Pressing their battered bodies close to the ground, the team of four made their way out into the dying light of dusk.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes. Hmmmmm... It seems to me that since the Catalyst Corps are on the edge of the Broken Valley; there is a small chance that the ruined fortress that they are approaching could maybe possibly be the Skyfort! Does this mean that they're going to run into the Inquisitors? Will they (by "they" I exclusively mean Dark) try to kill each other immediately? Find out at some arbitrary time in the future! Now, at this time I would like to say, again, thank you for helping me reach the 100-favorite-mark. I really, really, really appreciate it. Kudos to you all.<strong>

**If you enjoyed the action of this chapter, please let me know! And don't worry, the Catalyst Corps will be showing their abilities in the fire of combat soon enough. Explosions and stuff. Boom. Now please leave a review! If you leave a review, I will start an Indiegogo campaign to fund my Kickstarter campaign to fund my repairs to my teleporter. Apparently it's been sending Cheez-its and bread with small green tumors inside to everyone instead of boxes of gold fish crackers. Weird. **


	146. Chapter 146 - An Escort to Equidor

**Author's Notes. Well... I just want to say that you should never teleport bread. Ever. Bad, bad, bad idea. I have no idea how I survived. If you recieved any of my teleported bread, I suggest you either eliminate said bread, or vacate the premises with all haste. So that's been my week. How's everyone else's been? I certainly hope all has gone well, despite the fact that the summer is indeed coming to a close. Either way, I hope whatever kind of summer you did have was enjoyable, and I hope you all enjoyed reading "A Mending Soul" while you were at it. That has been my goal, after all. Now on to answering some reviews.**

**To SuperVegito33: Oh yes. My teleporter was REALLY broken. Needless to say I'm going to build a time machine out of the scraps of my teleporter so I can go back in time in order to prevent the construction of said teleporter from ever teleporting. Next time I send you guys gold fish, I'm going to use Fed-Ex. And yes, I'm glad you are excited for the fight scenes. I've already written them... And they are (in my own words) pretty darn awesome. I hope you will enjoy them when the time comes!**

**To Vibrant Sound: I've actually never gone shopping with my sister-in-law. But then again I almost never see my sister-in-law. About a four thousand kilometer difference between us, you see. However, I also know Anima's sister-in-law, and I can tell you that you do not want to go shopping with her. You ever heard of the Infernal Realm? Imagine that... But WORSE. And oh man, I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally have the Inquisitors and the Catalyst Corps run into each other. The end of that particular event reveals an extremely important plot point that will be hanging around till the very end of "A Mending Soul." It's going to be pretty great (in my mind, at least). And don't worry about how I know where to send your stuff. I just typed in "Vibrant Sound" into its terminal and it sends it off. Fool-proof right? I mean... I thought it was fool-proof. Until the bread. Damn that bread.**

**To xCrysis-x: Yes. Definitely. The Inquisitors ARE completely and utterly overpowered, and I know it. But remember, they have to be. They are in charge of hunting down and killing Dimensional Lords, the beings that can crush whole universes if called for. However, with every great power comes a small weakness that can bring the power-wielder down. The weakness for the Inquisitors is that they are NOT a team. They may stand in a similar radius and shoot at the same dudes, but that is the extent of it. Sunflower is the only one to show any semblance of loyalty to his "teammates" and even that will not hold the Inquisitors together. Only time will tell whether or not they will continue to stand together like the house of cards that they are. If they don't, we all know who will be the first to raise his hand in violence against his former friends. Oh, and where do I get my ideas for my OCs? Some of them I get from you guys (I used to get pretty much an OC a day from someone, it was pretty awesome). The others come from stories that I myself wrote a long, long time ago. "A Mending Soul" isn't so much a super-long story as it is a massive collection of things that I have planned years in advance, finally showcased to you guys. So I guess that answers your very last question. Yes! I do accept other people's OCs. I generally prefer if they are tailored toward "A Mending Soul" instead of a story they have personally written (as it makes it easier to avoid coordinating stories, but I actually have done that before plenty of times now, in fact I make a quick reference to another FF story in this very chapter), but if I'm given a character that is very unique, I will not pass up the chance to use them. That is why the Catalyst Corps are here. They were not part of my plan for season 2, but I couldn't stand not using them when offered.**

**To georgparka: Welcome back! I hope you enjoy what has been made in the time that you were gone! Let me know what you think when you catch up again.**

**To FocusedStream: YES. That is an AWESOME idea. I think I should make a non-invisible one as well, so that I can wear it and chuckle at the joke that only a couple hundred people will understand.**

**That is all for now! I have an important update in the Author's Notes below, so do not forget to take a peek at it when you've finished today's journey.**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Rerenhaw<em>

_Planet: Rerenhaw_

_Specific Location: The Platinum Terrace_

_Time: Four days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungle_

"We've lost contact with the John 3 Inquisition team for over 24 hours now," stated Mattimeo, strolling to join Doxia, who was standing on the terrace, looking out from the incredible height upon a glorious dawn. The sun was peeking from the cold range of the east mountains, spraying long tendrils of golden-hue fire into the sky, curdling it into a crimson stew that frothed with creamy white puffs of vapor. The moon still had yet to retire, and sat like a displaced disk of redish gray upon the waking firmament.

Doxia, a little disgruntled that his quiet time had been disturbed by his best friend, snorted. "I've lost contact with my grandmother for over 24 quintillion hours and you don't see me complaining, do you?"

Mattimeo shook his head, still not one for Doxia's theatrics. "I do believe that they've entered a zone protected by a Phantom Device. The location they were planning on heading before we lost contact was the Skylock dimension. Intelligence states that it is in the claws of demons as of yet, so my deduction would make sense."

Doxia glanced at Mattimeo. "Right you are. Don't think we should invade it though, bro. The moment we show up with a billion ships blotting out the sky, the demons will panic and pack up, taking whatever it is the Inquisitors want with them. I don't trust Dark, but I trust August. Whatever they are after will definitely assist us in bringing down Harold Dellor."

That was all there was to say about that. The two old friends lapsed into silence, watching the sun continue to rise, rolling from its bed in the dew-cooled earth to the gloriously blue zenith above. Finally Doxia looked to Mattimeo and said: "You haven't talked to Summer in a while. Why?"

Mattimeo sighed. "I want to give her space. She has made it clear she wants to forge her own way. I may be over a trillion years old, but I will not pretend that I know what is best for her. The memories of her old family are entirely gone. Her brain has removed and replaced them. If she is to ever reconnect with a past that has been officially forgotten, it will be on her own terms, not mine. I will not play God for a young one that has made her own way and found her own love. She is safe with Lyric, I know that. I will watch and care from a distance."

Doxia smiled from beneath his helmet. "You are the only Dimensional Lord left sane enough to speak sense in a multiverse of chaos, my friend."

Mattimeo nodded slowly. Then he gave Doxia a side-long glance. "Why have you not gone out with the gray mare named Ditzy Doo? Why have you been deliberating?"

Doxia smacked his forehead lightly. "Oh noes! Mattimeo is asking me about my love-life again! Last time he did that was when Allison tried to chop off my arm and I kept her in a headlock for four days... Well, I can tell you that I'm still a little... Well... I'm still scared, Matty. I'm scared. Sure, the wounds of my poor Allison are old and faded, but the blow of watching her die still rings my skull like a bell of rusty iron. It'll not go away for a good time yet. But... But you're right. Derpy is one-of-a-kind. She understands me like no one else will... Aside from you, of course. She makes me feel alive again, and the ruinous shards of my mind feel at peace. But there is also fear. She is naught but a falling leaf to us, Mattimeo. If I connect myself to her, I will be sipping from a cup whose fluid will all but turn to ash in my throat. Parching my dry tongue and salting my old wounds. When I lose her... Not if, mind you... WHEN I lose her, I think that will be it for me. When she breathes her final breath, I will be by her side, as a mortal, breathing my last as well."

Mattimeo stared at Doxia for a long, long time. "So if you decide to be with this being that you love... You will give up your Dimensional Lord powers?"

Doxia nodded. "That's about right. I cannot keep doing this, Matty. I can't keep watching the Multiverse restart over and over and over and over and over and over again. I just can't. The only thing that has kept me at my post upon this Rock of Ages is you... And my duty to Kytax and the Amethyst Empire. But Kytax is gone, and the Amethyst Empire is a specter, a shade. The Earth Multiverse doesn't need us anymore."

Mattimeo gently patted Doxia's shoulder. "I understand. But my own time has not yet come. If you give up the mantle of power draped upon you in the trillions of years past, I will still be here. Do not worry for the Multiverse's future. I shall do that. You worry for your own future."

Doxia grabbed Mattimeo in a hug. After a moment Mattimeo eased a way. Doxia grinned, his usual vim and vigor returning. "Thanks, bro. But mind you: I'm not about to give up now. We still have a dumb H.D. to catch. In addition to that, who knows? The Maelstrom might come back looking for a second helping of butt-kicking. If that happens I surely won't turn away from my responsibility."

Suddenly Doxia's HUD blinked as he received a PM from Rerenhaw intelligence. He waved a gauntlet in an animated manner. "See? Look at that: I've just received a notification that something in some random alternate My Little Pony dimension somewhere needs a-checkin'! Looks like some Dimensional Traveler who is supposed to be dead has activated their Traveler's database. Probably Regal Crescent. I've been tracking him and two others for a little while now. Still weird though. Gonna check it out. I'll see you later!"

With that, Doxia opened a interdimensional portal and hopped through, leaving Mattimeo alone with sun, the sky, and the mountains. The lone Dimensional Lord turned to look upon the glorious display of nature, feeling the might of the sun and the coolness of the dew bathe the land in the sweet mixture called dawn.

"Truly breathtaking," murmured Mattimeo to himself. "Incredible. But am I destined to stand sentinel over this all... For eternity?"

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville, Equestria_

_Time: Three days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungles._

The door to Mayor Mare's mansion swung open, allowing the guard outside to escort Starlight inside. Just down the hallway was the lounge, where Celestia was sitting patiently, awaiting Starlight.

Upon seeing Starlight enter, Celestia got to her hooves and nodded sagely to her.

"Starlight Amber," she said, "I am glad you were willing to come. We…"

Her voice trailed off as she spotted Desmond, who came walking in behind her. She looked at him curiously. Desmond went up to her and said, "Are you really sending my sister off to Equidor to guard some Stallion Empire swine?" There was iron in his voice, and he was staring accusingly at her. Though he was just a normal pony now, with no power, the authority granted to him by once being a glorious Dimensional Traveler still rang in his tone. Celestia may be his ruler, but according to him she was not his better. He had seen eternity; he had seen the void. He was the better.

"Desmond!" snapped Starlight. She rushed forward and attempted to shove her adopted brother back. He gave way grudgingly, giving her a sharp look. He wasn't happy, but he loved her too much to cause her TOO much distress.

"Princess Celestia, I'm sorry," Starlight said quickly.

Celestia bowed her head. "There is no need to apologize. I understand why Desmond is infuriated. This whole situation is taxing us all. The Stallion Empire is powerful, though. We cannot afford to anger them. Verily, we are still recovering from the reign of the Paradox, and since then there has been nothing but peace. Our military hasn't been called upon since the war with Equus and Irrum over a score of years ago. We need to prepare, but if the Stallion Empire attacks before then, innocent ponies will die. Desmond, do you realize this? Do you understand how important Starlight is to this operation?"

Celestia's voice took on the same iron that Desmond had used to address her, looking to him almost accusingly. Desmond did not back down, but his eyes did soften a bit as his brain ran the diagnostics on Equestria's situation. It was indeed dire. "Why Starlight? Why my sister? Wouldn't I be a better candidate? Or Bon Bon? How about Flaming Star or Discord? Those two still have their powers."

"You and Bon Bon are registered specialist agents, we do not want to make the Stallion Empire suspicious," replied Celestia, taking her time to carefully address each and every one of his concerns. "Flaming Star has been considered missing with Princess Twilight Sparkle for over a year now… And the duumvirate still does not trust Discord, not even now. He is too unpredictable."

Desmond didn't even blink. "Why my sister?"

"Your sister, though you refuse to acknowledge it, is one of the most dangerous individuals in the nation. She is skilled in countless weapons, and knows the nuances of every conceivable combat style… And despite that she gave it all up to teach the young ones in the town of Ponyville. If anypony knows the value of life, it is her. She will show the Stallion Empire that we will do our best to bring peace to every land. If all goes well… There will be no war. Between either us or the Equidorians."

Desmond snorted softly, and thought about what she said carefully. He was extremely reluctant to give up his sister, like a meal course on a silver platter. However, he knew Celestia spoke the truth. If anyone was qualified to help correct the failing negotiations between the Equidorians and the Stallion Empire without making Equestria a scapegoat, it was Starlight Amber. Desmond bowed his head slightly after a prolonged silence. "I suppose… I suppose you're right, Celestia."

Starlight sighed, not too loud, but loud enough that both would look to her. "I'm really glad that you both have faith in my abilities," she said quietly, "But I want to say that I cannot promise you anything. This is war we're talking about. If both sides are unwilling to yield, then there is nothing I can do. I will do my very best, Celestia, but I want you to prepare for the worst."

Faint fear shone in Celestia's eyes as she bobbed her head. "I know, Starlight. I know. Again, thank you for doing this."

Starlight blinked in acknowledgment. "When… When do I start?"

The fear in Celestia's eyes turned to pain. "Immediately."

Desmond was not too happy about that. "No. No. No. You can't make her leave now. Our mother is about to give birth and you just want to-"

Starlight held up a hoof, silencing Desmond. She closed her eyes and sighed one more time, loud and long. "Okay. Okay. I'll go."

Celestia bowed deeply to Starlight. "Thank you, Starlight Amber. Thank you."

Starlight closed her eyes and began to breath in and out quietly, her frame shuddering as she spent a second trying to get her emotions under control.

Celestia gave Starlight a look of anguish and then walked slowly away, her hooves almost dragging in denial. She had no choice but to send Starlight immediately. The negotiations between Equidor and the Stallion Empire had deteriorated into almost nothing. If Equestria does nothing, war would be certain, and the duumvirate was painfully aware of it.

Desmond put a hoof gently on Starlight's shoulder. "Hey, hey… Look at me. You don't have to do anything she tells you."

"No," mumbled Starlight, "This is about duty now. I've seen the reports. I know the situation. Equestria needs a voice in these negotiations now."

Desmond looked away for a moment as he thought for a way out of this predicament. Nothing came to mind. "I understand. But I'm coming with you."

He looked determined, but Starlight knew that that was not for the best. She gave him a pained look, and said, "I'd like that, you know that, but… But you have your own duties… And by the grace of Kytax we need at least one of us to be here when the baby is born. Damn, I am such a terrible daughter to mom and dad."

Starlight sighed, looking at Desmond with large eyes, sparkling with tears.

"No. You know they would be proud of you," Desmond replied evenly. After a pause he said, "And I will stay here for mom. But that doesn't mean I won't come and join you once the baby is born and my own duties have expired."

At this moment a guard promptly entered the room. "Miss Starlight Amber," he said stoutly, "The private train is at the station. If you would follow me, please."

Starlight sighed loud and long a final time, and then straightened up. With one final look back at Desmond, she followed the guard, who led her out of Mayor Mare's mansion, through Ponyville, to the train station. As Starlight followed the guard through the town, she only paused a couple times to stop and wave to a couple of her old friends, and tell Derpy to tell Sunset Shadow of the sudden development when he finally woke up if Desmond didn't carry through with his promise and promptly vanished again on yet another top secret mission.

"Some family we turned out to be for dad," muttered Starlight bitterly. Though she didn't look too fondly on her past (she had always been a rather feisty filly), she could not help but wish for it again. Life had been so much simpler back then. She would wake up, go to school, and then play with her friends while looking for her cutie mark (which ended up being yet another infinity sign, marking her as a relation to a great Dimensional Traveler). Then she would meet up with Desmond and they would go on an adventure in the outskirts of the Everfree forest. They would pretend to be Dimensional Lords, fighting the nasty demons of the Infernal Realm. Nowadays Desmond was always missing, doing his very best to get himself killed during one of his missions to protect the inside of Equestria from supernatural threats. And then there was her, a schoolteacher that was constantly called upon by the government to do extremely stupid things because she had trained to be a killer when she had been younger.

"Neither Desmond nor I deserve dad or mom," said Starlight to herself, silently. Her parents had always been there for them both, despite the shenanigans they pulled off. Those two loved her and Desmond unconditionally, and all they did was go run off for what they insisted was "duty." It wasn't. They just didn't love the quiet life that Sunset Shadow had built for them. And so they were missing almost all the time, and yet Sunset Shadow and Fluttershy waited patiently for them to come home; staunchly believing in a lasting peace at the end of all things. At least during her foalhood she and Desmond could go home each night and sleep in their own bed, looking forward to a new exciting day.

She was still thinking wistfully of the days gone by as she entered the shiny bullet train that awaited her at the train station. It stood out like a sore (yet shiny) thumb; a gleaming, streamline piece of technology, shimmering and steaming right beside the rustic and quaint train station of Ponyville. Above the metal sliding door that she entered was an LED strip that projected the words: "TO EQUIDOR."

Starlight walked into the spacious, lush interior of the private train and lay down in one of the satin couches. At least these were comfortable. It would take over twenty-four hours nonstop for the train to make it to Equidor. It would be a long ride.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Somewhere between the Unicorn Range and the Frozen North; approaching the Yolk Pass_

_Time: Four days after Summer and Lyric ventured into the Southern Jungle._

"Staarrrrrryyy… Wake up."

Starlight didn't shift. She flicked an ear and mumbled something incoherent that sounded similar to "five more minutes." But that is all that escaped her lips. She shut her eyes tighter.

"Staaarryyyy… Wake up! We have caaakkkeeee…"

"Three more minutes," mumbled Starlight, rolling over to turn her back on the voice.

The voice quieted down for a minute, leaving Starlight to slumber, with the soft reverberant rumblings of train wheel over track and tile echoing in the spacious luxury car. Then the voice returned. It was clearly the same, but it was now trying to sound gruff and sinister.

"Hand me the syringe, Doctor Evilness. Starlight is in our clutches now. Hold the needles."

Starlight's eyes opened up. In an instant she was on the alert. She rolled over, and readier to tackle the speaker, but stopped in the nick of time: the speaker was Pumpkin Cake.

Starlight actually let out a long breath of relief. She settled down into the couch, lying with her belly facing the ceiling.

"By Kytax, Pumpkin. You scared the living daylights out of me."

"I'm sorry," said Pumpkin, doing her very best to not break out into giggles, and failing miserably to do so.

Starlight gave Pumpkin an almost baleful glance. "Really mature, Pumpkin Cake. How old are you now? Twenty-something? You're an adult! Act like one and stop giving young-uns like me heart attacks. You know I'm jumpy around needles."

"Alright, alright, alright… You've invoked me with a sense of responsibility," replied Pumpkin in a mock tone of authority.

Starlight was about to retort, but then thought better of it. Pumpkin thrived off of these kinds of situations. "Silliness aside, what are you doing here? And where is Pound?"

"Pound? He's reading a book. I thought it was best not to disturb you until we were far away from the Vanhoover train station."

"Vanhoover? Did we make a stop there?"

"Well, I'm guessing you weren't supposed to originally, but we convinced Luna to let us come with you!"

"You… Convinced… Luna to let you two come with me on a highly delicate political mission? Nice try."

"Hey. Giving the guards escorting us to the Vanhoover conference room the slip, giving the train false orders to make a stop to admit us, and stowing away in one of the cargo cars as it made said stop is quite similar to 'convincing Luna' if you don't think too much about it. One could even call them synonyms!"

Starlight closed her eyes and groaned. According to Pumpkin, she and her brother had managed to discover that Starlight was going to Equidor now, sneak away from being Luna's aides, remotely convince Starlight's train to make an emergency stop, and get on board without anyone noticing. Overall, it was quite impressive, but Starlight would only admit this to herself. "Great. Now I have to stowaways on the train. I can tell you now that this mission is already not going as duumvirate planned it."

Pumpkin threw herself onto the couch that Starlight way lying upon, causing Starlight to bounce in the air like an object on a trampoline.

"I bet you that this is what they wanted all along," said Pumpkin, giving Starlight a wink. "And even if it wasn't, did you think your two best friends would let you go on an adventure without any backup?"

"Pumpkin, this isn't an 'adventure.' This is a sensitive diplomatic mission that… That… Never mind." Starlight gave up. Pound was reasonable, but Pumpkin was not. And Pumpkin always got what she wanted, so there was no use arguing. Undoubtedly Luna and Celestia were aware of this change in plans, but it was too late to turn around. They had probably already lost time with the temporary stop at the Vanhoover train station, and they couldn't afford to be even a second late to the summit meetings in Equidor. Starlight decided to let her arguing simmer down to her just grumbling, which Pumpkin payed no heed to.

Pumpkin Cake looked very lively, and bounced up and down on the couch, looking outside the window of the car, watching the world outside pass by in a blur of gradient color; brown and green turning to white and gray. Suddenly she exclaimed: "Pound! Come in here! We're coming up on the Yolk Pass!"

A couple seconds later Pound was walking in. He gave Starlight what looked to be an apologetic smile before he joined his sister, almost crowding Starlight off of her sleeping spot. She gave up trying to be disgruntled and looked outside as well. The large cleft in the Crystal Mountains was clear, with the railroad slicing between the unforgiving rocks like a thin wire of steel. To either side now there were mountainous rocks, beginning to loom above them with sheer faces or stone and earth. If they looked hard enough, they could see rusting debris and metal scraps; ghostly leftovers from the Equus-Irrum war over two decades ago.

"This was the place where Flaming Star attempted to bottleneck the Equus-Irrum wartrains that had begun to invade Equestria," stated Pound in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. Naturally he was the one who remembered all the important points of this location. Pumpkin just grinned wildly as Pound continued. "However, the Equus-Irrum armies had been weaponized by the evil Paradox, so they were able to blast their way through. See the deep scars in the mountainsides? You can still witness the blast marks of that skirmish. Fortunately Flaming Star was able to derail the trains, effectively stopping the assault."

"That must have been an amazing time," said Pumpkin. "Dimensional Travelers running amok, Dimensional Lords and Archangels descending from the sky in burning pillars of light. So many beings of power; all of them living here in peace and harmony… We were just foals then, and Starlight was newborn."

"It must have been an amazing time," agreed Starlight. She found it hard to believe that both her brother and her father had been beings of such power. Now Desmond was just crazy, running insanely dangerous missions in countless locations… And her father was, well, her father. Spending most of his time in one place, enjoying life. It seemed like the best lifestyle possible, really, but she knew it was not for her.

"We'll be coming out of the pass and into Bray," said Pound softly, breaking her from her deep thoughts. "We should be in Equidor by the end of the day. Right on schedule, if my calculations are correct."

"The sun is almost at its zenith," said Pumpkin pressing her face up to the glass like she was a foal staring at candy bars from behind a shop window. "We have pleeeennnttttyyy of time! Wanna explore?"

Starlight rolled her eyes. Out of the two Cake children, Pumpkin Cake had definitely learned a thing or two about being overly hyper from their Aunt Pinkie Pie.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Equidor International Train Station_

_Time: Four days after Summer and Lyric ventured into the Southern Jungle._

The sun was just starting to set in the ranges of the west as the train pulled up to the Equidor international train station. With an exhausted sigh, the streamline bullet of a train came to a stop, with a small shuddering shake rocking the cars as it finally stopped moving. Steam shot from the sides, clouding the boarding platform in mist; and the air was filled with the tangy smell of hot oil and burning fuel. Starlight rubbed her eyes and peered out the window. Through the steam, she could see the train station itself. Large stone pillars suspended a massive domed roof above, decorated with ornate carvings that celebrated the cultural history of the Equidorians. The train track stretched beyond the platform, slicing through two double doors of solid iron that undoubtedly led to a train shed and repair shop. Arching exits of stone and steel branched off from the platform like a spider web, with carpets of crisp velvet and brass barriers. At this point Starlight spotted two ponies dressed in dark suits and shades standing just beyond the boarding platform, standing beside one of the barriers that led to an exit. They were the only inhabitants visible, as the station seemed almost entirely abandoned otherwise. One of the ponies turned to look at Starlight. Though he did nothing other than stare, Starlight was pretty sure he was beckoning to her. Sighing, she pushed away from the window and signaled to Pound to wake up Pumpkin, who was snoring loudly on one of the plush couches, exhausted from a day of running aimlessly through the train "exploring."

"Pumpkin… We're here," murmured Pound, shaking her gently.

"Already…? Weird…"

Pumpkin groaned groggily and rolled off the couch to lie on the pressed carpet. "Is it too much to ask for five more minutes?"

Starlight just gave her a reproachful look, so Pumpkin groaned again and climbed to all fours. She smacked her lips and looked around blearily. "Next step?"

Starlight shrugged. "I see two stallions outside dressed in suits. I think they're waiting for us."

"I think you mean 'you'," corrected Pound nervously. When Starlight gave him a curious glance, he elaborated. "We're technically not supposed to be here. Stowaways, remember?"

Starlight blew her mane up in frustration when she remembered. "That's right. One more complication to deal with. Well, I suppose there is no use sweating it out here. The worst they'll do is send you home."

"Oooohhh no. They're NOT sending me back," snorted Pumpkin. "I've spent way too much time in Ponyville. Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow and your mom may be perfectly fine with sitting on their hindquarters in that small town, but I think it's about time I saw the rest of the world! I mean, you saw stuff when you were younger, right? Explosions and things!"

Starlight just gave Pumpkin another reproachful look, reminding her that she was overstepping her bounds. "I don't want to think about my past. It wasn't good. Come on, let's go and see what we can do."

Starlight trotted to the streamline door of steel that kept the separated this "lap of luxury" of a train car from the rest of the world. It opened with a gentle hiss, causing the wisps of steam remaining in the air to twist and turn in swirly patterns about the edges of the exit. Starlight got down onto the platform self-consciously, finding herself checking the state of her coat and mane to make sure it was in order. She was followed by a very nervous Pound and a very indifferent Pumpkin. The two stallions trotted up to her in a business-like manner. However, they stopped when they spotted Pumpkin and Pound.

"Who are they?" said the one to the left. His common tongue was pretty clear, but there was definitely a foreign hint that slurred his speech.

"There are my two compatriots," replied Starlight evenly, staring hard at the pony as if she was trying to melt through his dark shades with imaginary laser vision.

"We were told no one else would be with you," added the one to the right. His voice was much deeper and sharper; like a trombone, still slurred with lingering remnants of his native tongue.

Starlight turned to him and treated him with a "Fluttershy Stare," one of the things she had inherited from her mother. As she visually ground him to fine dust, she slowly said "I'm the one in charge of the mediation between Equidor and Equestria. I make my own calls. You were simply misinformed."

The one to the right turned to the one on the left and spoke to him sharply in Equidorian. It was a question. The one on the left replied quietly. He looked to Starlight and said "Please wait here while we consult our superiors for our next steps."

They turned away and pulled out a phone. As they did that, Pound beckoned for Starlight and Pumpkin to draw near. They huddled like football players before the play.

"The one with the deep voice asked him what he wanted to do," Pound said slowly. "I think they are two of Equidor's federal agents from the way they are addressing each other."

"You can speak Equidorian?!" spluttered Pumpkin. She grabbed Pound and immediately attempted to give him a knuckle sandwich, but was stopped by Starlight. She rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him instead. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Keep your voice down," muttered Pound. "I didn't tell you because you never asked. And didn't you see all my Equidorian books lying around my room when you raid it for candy?"

Pumpkin was about to say something else, but Starlight quickly interjected "That's all well and good, but I think we should talk about that later. Pound: Keep your knowledge of the Equidorian tongue a secret. This will give us an edge on them if they become careless. What did the other one say in answer to the question?"

Pound closed his eyes as he recalled the minor details. "Uh… He said that nothing had changed. They would… They would simply ready two more rooms and talk to you about you escorting Harvest Snowfall."

Starlight had to stifle a sigh of relief. She had been really worried that the mission would be comprised because something had gone off schedule. Fortunately it had not. So far so good. She turned around just in time to see the two agents put away the phone and turn back to her. She immediately tried to look like they she had been doing nothing but engaging in casual talk with her friends. To her relief both Pumpkin and Pound did the same.

Not a single emotion or telltale sign was given to her from behind the dark shades of the agents, though. They simply looked at her in silence for a minute. Finally the one on the right said in his deep voice: "All is well. We have prepared two additional rooms at the Ambassador's Hotel. It is right across from the central government building. Come: We have a limousine waiting. Your bags will be moved in a separate vehicle. You will find them in your rooms when we arrive. Follow my compatriot. I must go now."

He left hurriedly, leaving Starlight with the other agent. He nodded to her in an almost amiable manner. He then beckoned to her and her friends, turning around and taking one of the exits. Starlight glanced at Pumpkin and Pound and then followed him with unsure steps.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes. Oh, I will mention at this time that I will be adding a new addition to the guide soon! So please keep an eye out for it!<strong>

**Now, I will admit that despite my love for Summer, Starlight is one of the coolest characters ever as well. Expect a whole lot more of her (and a whole lot more of Summer, coincidentally) in the future. Now allow me to elaborate. Despite me finally getting comfortable with this posting schedule, I am planning to add a whole set of intriguing flashback chapters to the mix (per SquirtlePWN's suggestions). A lot of them. It is going to be rather exciting if I do say so myself. Don't forget to leave a review! I am particularly curious about how many of you are interested in having a set of flashback chapters. A lot has stuff has happened, I think it is about time I focused on what I have missed.**

**You know, I think I might try this time machine idea... Tell you what. If you leave me a review, I will go back in time and give a past version of you some gold fish. And so, after writing a review, if you suddenly remember that you had gold fish sometime within the last decade, you can know that I made good on my promise.**


	147. Chapter 147 - A Familiar Face

**Author's Notes. Hello everyone! Nice to have you all back. As a side note: did anyone notice that FF was down yesterday? It was maintenance, and I am assuming they were reworking the website in some way in order to fix the fact that the view-counters had stopped working in its entirety. Anyways, how are all you doing? I hope you are all faring well, despite the fact I am sure school has started for the majority of you. Now, about this chapter... I am going to say that this was one of my most favorite to write, almost passing by the chapter "Haven" on my "favorites" list. I certainly hope you all find this chapter equally enjoyable, but be wary: You may find run into surprises along the way.**

**Also: I have released a new addition to the guide for "A Mending Soul"! This new section makes a consensus on the physical appearances of my OCs, as well as adds some new information about them. In addition to that, it gives some in-depth descriptions on the nature of the mysterious Imagination Energy and Dimensional Energy. I suggest you read it. You may not understand it, but it will give you some insight into what will be happening with the Catalyst Corps and the Inquisitors in upcoming chapters. Now onto answering some reviews.**

**To Vibrant Sound: You nose is serving you well. We have reached the major pivoting point in this latter half of season 2. I timed it so that most of the major plot developments would come into being around the same time. (About 5-7 days after Lyric and Summer started their little adventure in the southern jungles of the Stallion Empire.) Expect these new development to occur soon!**

**To SuperVegito33: Hah! I knew my time travelling powers worked! By the way, sorry about your house. I didn't know you weren't supposed to not keep stoves running in the 21st century. Anyways, I have indeed given a lot of thought as to whether or not offspring of Dimensional Travelers' should inherit powers, even if they are only technically "half-bloods". However, if you refer to the guide, you will see that Starlight in particular had them, but also had them taken away. As for Summer, she just was dealt a bad hand, and is lacking that gift among other things. She doesn't have very good luck, now does she?**

**To R4ptorCS: I knew my time machine would yield something fruitful. I'm also glad that you look forward to the flashbacks! I do too! It's something entirely fresh, and will return the joy of writing to me. Oh, if you ever find that mistake in that chapter, or find any other mistake for the matter, do not hesitate to hit me up! Things like that must be fixed immediately. I hope you've been doing well... Besides high school. But trust me, you have a whole lot more school ahead of you, so don't fall apart on me now. By the way... I have a feeling that you'll rather enjoy the ending of this chapter. Read on.**

**To xCrysis-x: Honestly I never thought of that! The idea of the Inquisitors and the Mane 6 was never in my general story line, but I can certainly add that. Thanks... This give me a whole lot to think about. I really appreciate the fact that you appreciate my writing! I've actually spent years working and refining it, and so seeing it impact people like this makes me quite happy. Would you really give me $50? I'm honored. But keep it on you. If I lose everything in a fluke sharknado or something I'll call on a favor then. Also, you need some writing tips? I'd be happy to give you some! I'll send you a PM with some stuff. Just let me know if you ever start on that one story. I'd be happy to help beta read it or even co-author it! (If I have the time.) Keep holding onto your drive to create and write. Imagination is something this world will always need.**

**To BlazeWriters69: The death of Regal Crescent is something of a staple in AMS culture. I'm pretty sure that even if I brought him back to life in here, no one would believe it. RIP Regal Crescent. May your ill-spent life serve as an example to all writers of how not to kill fan-favorites.**

**To FocusedStream: Why, thank you! I love them both too. And honestly I'll just have to say I love them equally. They're like the sisters that I never had. (Don't tell my sisters I said that.)**

**That just about finishes the reviews! Now read on and enjoy my latest chapter!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Southern Jungles_

_Time: Five days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungle._

Lyric grunted in pain as he leapt from one tree branch to another. The burns and bruises that covered his body still hurt like fire, sending shudders throughout his body. However, adrenaline was also pumping through his frame counteracting the wildfire within his nerves. It wasn't until Summer leapt from the branch he had been on seconds before and landed beside him with the help of him and Brag that he realized how much pain he and she must have been enduring. As she landed, Summer gave a small feminine squeak and then shut her mouth tight, but she couldn't fool Lyric. That squeak had pretty much conceal a scream of pain. At that moment Lyric didn't know what hurt more: his burns or the realization that this fourteen-year-old filly had learned to hide excruciating pain with the skill of a tired veteran.

"We… We need to stop," mumbled Lyric, doing his best not to sob. Not only was his body a mess, but his mind was also in shambles.

Something in the trembling undertone of Lyric's voice tipped off Brag. He bit his bottom lip and sighed. They had been running from the savages throughout the night entirely through the canopy of trees, not touching the ground once. It had been hard going, and though it was not as taxing on him as he had thought it would be, he could definitely see the wear and tear on his two friends. Then again he was neither blind nor crippled like them. He shook his head and cursed silently. Neither of them should even been in this kind of situation.

"We need to keep going, but we're going to take to the ground for a bit. Just a little further mate, that good?" He made sure he made eye-contact with Lyric.

Lyric put a hoof on Summer's cheek and leaned in to whisper in her ear. Summer's body was trembling, and Brag could see her bones through her seared flesh. Her mane was long and straggly, clinging to her small frame by sweat and blood. Summer's breath came in short gasps and her eyes swept the dark surroundings without seeing a thing. She nodded jerkily as Lyric touched her shoulder inquisitively.

Lyric looked back to Brag who felt close to desperation as well. "She says okay. How much further?"

Brag dragged a sweaty hoof across his rough-hewn features as his brain whirled at the speed of light. "Let me think mate… Let me think… Ummmmm…"

His dark eyes scoured the surroundings with keen prejudice. Dawn was coming, filtering through the east-most clusters of jungle trees, just barely capable of dappling their faces. The jungle floor below was still engulfed in dank darkness; humid and buzzing like a hot mid-summer night. The war cries of the savages could still be heard: they had not given up on their quarry. It was unlikely that they would stop now. Brag squinted to the south. Though almost everything was drowned in a muddy ocean of decaying green and rotting brown he could see a rocky plane. He knew it would stretch out to a massive plateau that held up a desert biome that stuck out of the vast jungle like a bright pimple. That was their target. It was well beyond the territory of the Agrinians, and they revered it. They would not follow them there, but they needed to get there first…

"Okay kids… I've got an idea. We're going to keep heading south. We're only a score of kilometers or so from the rocky planes that lead up to the plateau. On top of the plateau is a safe-zone for us, but not the planes. If we try to cross while spotted we will be dead meat."

"Plateau?" asked Lyric suddenly. He looked excited, his eyes shining from his exhausted face like a beam of sunlight through a thick layer of dark clouds. "That is where we were headed in the first place! There's an illegal airstrip up at the top! Remember what we talked about earlier?"

Brag nodded. He remembered, and had factored it into his observations, but kept on going with his plan. He had no time to discuss a place that they would go to "if" they survived.

"Right, mate. We will be heading to the plateau, but we have to cross the planes before it first. But they are open, and we cannot cross it without being spotted and chased down. However, I know of a large tree that will act as perfect cover for us until the savages have passed us by… But we need to get there first. Summer… Summer, mate… Keep it together, 'kay?" Brag paused and looked directly at Summer, who had been listening intently.

Summer looked down at her hooves and mumbled: "… 'kay…"

Brag pulled some long twines of rope from his bag with his teeth and flung it around the branch they stood upon, securing it strongly. He hurled the remainder to the jungle floor below and helped Lyric onto the rope. He did his best to ignore the fact that he could feel the colt's ribs blatantly. Slowly he let Lyric to the earth, doing his best to keep the rope from zipping against the bark too loudly. He knew the savages were on them, but they had yet to pinpoint their exact location. That bought them a lot of extra time. When Lyric was on the ground he gently helped Summer hold on. Brag looked away, pretending not to see how boney and disheveled she was, though he had a pretty good idea now that Summer was one of those ponies who didn't care too much about how they looked when being chased by an army of savages. When the two foals were on the ground and waiting for him, Brag stretched his neck high into the air and took in a deep breath, inhaling the damp pre-dawn air like an elixir.

"Hmmmmm… A storm's a-brewin'," he muttered more to himself than anyone. Saying no more on this subject, he looped himself about the ropes and lowered himself to the ground far below, giving the end of the rope an expert flick as his hooves touched the earth. The action traveled up the twine like a wave, unraveling his knots that held it fastened to the branch high up above. The twine flipped loose, falling earthward where it was caught deftly by Summer, who was standing right beneath it. She shrugged and gave it to Brag who then looked to Lyric.

"Brag… Where to next?" said Lyric breathlessly.

Brag turned a full circle to make sure he had his bearings right. Then he nodded decisively and pointed a hoof in a definite direction. "Follow me, kiddies. If your ole' uncle Brag has got it right, then we might not be dining with those savages tonight."

The trio set off at a brisk gait into the dissipating shadows, doing their best to keep up a good pace in the musky atmosphere all the while trying also to not to collapse from complete and utter exhaustion and starvation. They moved like wraiths, with Brag leading the way, and Lyric leading Summer while she supported his lopsided movements. A couple of hours and several detours later and Brag decided to make a stop. The sun was beginning to reach its zenith, but that was hardly noticeable from beneath the umbrella of the jungle canopy. The war cries still echoed out into the mid-morn air now and then, but they were fainter than they had been before. They were safe for now. Summer crumpled to the earth where she just lay, her breath making soft whistling noises that rattled her throat. Lyric lay behind her, doing his best to fight his sheer worry for Summer and uncontrollable panic that ate away at his stomach and his mind.

Brag sidled up to Lyric and began to mutter in his ear.

"Hey mate. Lil' Summer doesn't look too good," he said softly. "I'm thinking I'm going to be having to carry her soon enough. That okay?"

"I don't… I don't know," replied Lyric breathlessly, making no effort to whisper. He knew that Summer would be listening very carefully to every word they said, no matter how quietly they tried to speak. "I think… I think… I think you should talk to her and ask her…"

Lyric rolled around a bit and let his tongue loll out of his mouth. Brag crept up to where Summer lay, her blind eyes staring off into the distance.

"Hey mate. Are you okay?" he said awkwardly. He wasn't quite sure how to approach her, as so far she had only done what Lyric had asked her to do, no more.

"I… I think I'm okay," she said. She definitely didn't sound okay.

"Kid… I mean Summer, your legs are shaking like jelly," continued Brag. "I want to know if you'll let me carry you. We're close, but not close enough. I don't think you're going to make it."

"If anypony… If… If anypony is going to carry me, it's going to be Lyric. No one else," mumbled Summer, still staring off into nothing as she battled to keep her breathing constant.

Brag looked to Lyric. "I can't work with her mate… But look at her…"

Lyric looked up from where he had been adjusting his artificial leg and bit his lip as he saw Summer. He knew very well that she needed help, but he also knew she wouldn't take it from anyone other than himself. After a second of thought he rolled his exhausted body over to where Summer lay. He glanced at Brag expectantly, who then quickly excused himself to scout the surroundings. Lyric turned back to Sumer.

"Hey," he said, bumping her hip with his.

Summer said nothing for a moment as she returned the bump. Then she sighed, "Lyric… How do you know we can trust him?"

Lyric snorted. "Come on Summer. He's already fought a whole horde to help us escape. I think that means he wants to help us."

"I also think that means he's as mad as a March hare."

"Don't be like that Summer! I don't know much about him, but he's honest. I'd trust him, and I'm asking you to trust him as well. Please. For me."

Summer gave him a side-long glance, despite not being able to see a thing. Finally she mumbled something about her killing him if he touched her wrong. That was as close to a consent as he was going to get. Lyric kissed Summer on the head before rolling over again to allow him easy access to his artificial leg. He began to tweak it, doing his best clear it up from the fire damage it had received. It was in pretty good condition now that he had readjusted it.

A couple minutes later Brag returned, a grim look on his face. Lyric felt his heart fall into the pits of his stomach when he saw the steely look in Brag's eyes. Even Summer's ears flicked back and forth in worry as she sensed the negative shift in the air.

"Damn savages are getting smarter every day," he said. "They're closer than we thought… In fact they've probably pinpointed our location already."

"I thought they sounded pretty distant…" sighed Lyric.

Summer groaned as she realized it. She looked in Lyric's general direction with a look of anguish upon her face. "The war cries were a distraction. They've given us a false sense of security as they crept in on us. I knew I heard some strange rustlings as we came to a stop. I'm sorry…"

"Not your fault kid, but your realization is right-on," Brag said immediately. "They are onto us… But this just means we need to start moving faster. Lyric, you ready to go mate?"

Lyric gave one of the wingnuts in his artificial lower calf a sharp twist. He then proceeded to get up with a wince. "I would like to say that it is a miracle that I'm actually up."

Summer immediately tried to get up as well, but collapsed with a body-wracking cough. Brag was the fastest and closer to Summer in the clearing, but Lyric somehow made it to her side faster than he could blink.

"Summer? Summer?! You okay?" he said, his voice becoming high-pitched with panic.

Summer nodded with a drawn-out grunt of exertion. "Just fine. Okay, Brag. I guess you get to carry me after all. Yay."

Brag lay down beside Summer without a word, letting Lyric roll Summer onto his back like a saddle bag. A minute later and the trio were dashing into the jungle once more, with Lyric now running vanguard, with Brag trailing with Summer and some of the supplies draped across his back. An hour later and they began to see a thinning of the jungle as it gave way to the rocky planes that acted as a prelude to the steep banks of the desert plateau. That was the good news. The bad news was that the savages definitely had pinpointed their location and were now bearing down on their position. They had still not given up the daunting chase, and now the true bloodthirsty war cries were back, as loud and fierce as they had been when the chase first began.

"Keep moving, mates, we're almost there," murmured Brag, breathing heavily, feeling the limp weight of Summer dragging him down. Then the first crude arrow tore its way to bury its rough-hewn flint head in a tree beside Brag. It was followed by another, and then another. Fortunately none of them hit the mark, all of them either splintering against jungle wood or buzzing harmlessly into passing foliage. However, if arrows were coming in, then hails of spears were not too far behind, and Brag knew this to be a fact. But he hadn't given into complete despair yet, for the tree he had been dashing for was coming into view, and he knew that they were still out of visual range of the attackers. They were being tracked closely by trail, not followed by sight. In a minute the surrounding jungle foliage cleared a bit more and the dusty stone planes that fed into the rises of the plateau became visible… And there was the tree.

Its bark was rough and mottled, and the trunk stretched high into an umbrella of extremely thick leaves and thin branches. The perfect cover. However, there were woeful few hoof-holds on the bark, making it seem to the average passerby to be impassable; that was exactly what Brag wanted ponies to think. As he drew up to the tree and Lyric looked to him in panic, he pulled out climbing spikes and strong rope from his pack.

"Tie this around your waist and hold on tight kid," said Brag in a low, urgent voice, tossing the colt the rope as he strapped Summer to his back with an extra strand of rope. The arrows were coming in thicker now, but they were still falling long and wide from their targets, denoting the fact that the savages were still shooting blind. Brag wrapped the climbing spikes about his fore- and hind-hooves and then attacked the bark of the tree with a will, digging in deep with his hooves. He then proceeded to climb the tree slowly, carrying the weight of supplies and two teenage foals with stoic bravado. He reached the leafy canopy and drew Lyric up with him just as the first spear clattered against the tree adjacent to him. A couple minutes later and the Agrinians leader rushed in, followed closely by over a score of his compatriots. Brag, hidden by the thick foliage, leaned in close and closed his eyes, listening carefully as he did his best to interpret the grunts and growls of the savages as the discussed the whereabouts of their quarry on the ground below.

"Where they go?" hissed one of the grunts, clearly disappointed that he did not get the blood he had been promised.

"Shuddap," snarled the leader, looking around carefully. "I know they be here…"

"Hey," piped up a spear-carrying grunt, trying to please his leader. "What if they climb this tree here?"

He pointed directly at Brag's face with his spear, waggling it to accentuate the cleverness of his little suggestion. The leader looked at him balefully.

"Aye… And mayhap they be in them trees over there… Or over there… Or over there. Use your brain idgit! The one we captured had no sight, and the one other has a bewitched leg. No way could they climb trees 'afore our warriors getcha them. No. They must be around here somewhere…"

Brag leaned back away from the screen of leaves and branches gave Lyric and Summer a side-long glance. Lyric was looking at him with apprehension, not understanding a word of what was going on below. Summer was lying there, her eyes closed, letting her small belly rise and fall in rhythm as she did her best to get the shaking of her limbs under control. Brag gave Lyric an almost apologetic grin, and then leaned close to the foliage that separated him from the savage-infested earth below. He took a deep breath and then shouted to the ponies below in perfect Agrinian tongue.

"Hey! Leader! I think I see them running over that way!"

The leader almost leapt a meter in the air in surprise. In an instant the horde was at the ready and impatient to start the chase once more.

"Who said that?" mused the spear-carrying grunt.

"Who cares?" snarled the leader, feeding off the adrenaline that was pumping into the air anew. "He said that-a-way! Follow me my warriors!"

He dashed off in no direction in particular, and his entire horde followed him unquestioningly, drawing them off to the east, along the border between the southern rock planes that fed into the desert plateau and the jungle lands. Brag leaned back and sighed a sigh of relief.

"You… You speak Agrinian?" asked Lyric, looking to Brag in surprise.

"I'm full of little surprises like that mate," chuckled Brag. Lyric shrugged and then turned to whisper something to Summer. She murmured something softly and gently touched his cheek. Brag cocked his head to one side as he considered them. They had been through hell, but had only been strengthened by their ordeals, becoming more and more dependent on each other. Trial by fire; forged in the flames of adversity. They were the true definition of a team, something even he had not witnessed properly. True, he had come very close to seeing something as true as this before, but nothing of this magnitude. Brag began to think upon his past and slowly lay down on the branch he sat upon, giving Lyric and Summer some privacy. An hour passed, and the storm that Brag had anticipated began to manifest itself in large dark storm clouds, building and frothing like angry waves of gray crashing upon a sickly blue beach. A single peal of thunder rumbled across the sky, charging it with the electricity of an oncoming monsoon. Brag pulled himself up onto all fours and balanced expertly upon the branch he was perched.

"Alright mates, up and at 'em. That storm is coming in fast and I want to be at the slopes of the plateau before it gets too bad."

Lyric scrambled to all fours and whispered to Summer. She nodded and pulled herself upright as well. She was still shaking, but not as bad as before and her breathing had gotten under control.

"I… I can walk fine now," she said.

Brag shook his head. "You still look weak, mate. I'm as right as rain, even more so with that hour of rest. You're riding shotgun on my back until I know we are safe from the savages."

Summer snorted sharply through her nostrils in protest, but said no more on the matter. She still looked an exhausted and disheveled no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Brag looked up at the sky and then pulled out the rope. He tied it upon the branch he stood upon and then motioned for Lyric to approach him. He helped the colt down, lowering him through the branches and leaves of the hiding spot to the earth below. When Lyric was safe on the ground he turned to Summer and looped the rope about her midriff in preparation for letting her down to Lyric. Then he heard it: A long, dry, snapping noise. The branch he was standing upon was milliseconds away from shattering from stress.

"Damn," muttered Brag. He no time to move, so he did the only thing that came to mind: He pulled Summer up to him and twisted his body so that his back was facing the ground. The branched snapped and the two ponies fell 10 meters. They landed with a grunt, but Brag's strong form absorbed the shock. He had bruises, but Summer was entirely unhurt. She scrambled to all fours and shook Brag.

"Are you okay?" she gasped, her unseeing eyes sweeping his features.

"I'm… I'm fine, kid," Brag replied with a rueful wince. He then got up and realized that he wasn't fine. He stumbled sideways with a soft gasp of pain. He was caught by Lyric, who held him up, preventing him from falling over.

"Damn," Brag growled in hushed tones. "My left back hoof is sprained. Not badly… But this is gonna keep me from running…"

The rest of what he was going to say was cut off by an arrow which shot through the air and stuck itself in the tree trunk, not two centimeters from his face. Brag looked up slowly. The Agrinian leader was standing upon a stony rise on at the tree line, less than two kilometers away. Though that was still quite some distance, Brag could have sworn he could see that the savage was grinning victoriously. The leader then threw back his head and let forth a war cry, as bloodthirsty and wild as ever. Lyric, Summer, and Brag had been spotted, and now each and every single one of the tired trio were hurt badly in one way or another.

Brag sighed. "Well mates… This doesn't look too good."

Lyric looked to Brag, then Summer, and then to the horde which was bearing down on them once more. He closed his eyes and groaned. "Right. I have an idea."

Brag raised an eyebrow. "Great kid. Spit it out."

Lyric didn't immediately reply. Instead he sat down on his haunches with his hind legs sticking out. He leaned over and began to fiddle with his artificial leg. Summer guessed his intentions immediately and looked in Lyric's direction with interest.

"Does it still work? I thought the professor stripped the power source out of it when he gave the leg to you…"

Lyric shook his head. "He left the emergency back-up power pack in. This thing can still be charged for a burst of speed."

"Waitwaitwaitwait…" interrupted Brag, giving Lyric a curious look. "What are you doin'?"

"I… I can charge my leg with a special energy," grunted Lyric as he continued to make adjustments to his artificial leg. "It may be damaged… But it should give me a couple hours of additional speed… I think… Just a little more… There! I got it. Right. Brag, you take Summer and make a break for the plateau; but make it as covert as possible. I'm going to intertwine these stray sticks and leaves to my tail and dash out onto the plane. If it is as dusty as it looks I should be able to kick up a noticeable cloud of dust. They will assume that the cloud is us three running for it. They'll chase after me and leave you two alone. I should be able to outrun them if all goes well… If that turns out well then I'll meet you… Ummmmm… Look! See there on the plateau's slopes? I think that's a cave…"

Brag turned to look to where Lyric was pointing and nodded his head, choosing to not question why Lyric had an artificial leg that had things like "back-up power packs".

His keen eyes spotted the target cave in an instant. "Aye. That's a cave. Don't know why I didn't see it before. Okay. I got you mate. You send them on a wild goose chase while I get Summer to safety. We'll meet up at the cave after you've outrun them."

Lyric nodded, and then there was a moment of silence, where the only thing that was head was the distant yelling of the incoming horde and the ragged breathing of Summer.

Lyric pulled a face. "Summer, aren't you going to tell me to be safe?"

Despite still being exhausted, Summer rolled her eyes and leaned in close so she could kiss him on the forehead. "I gave that up eons ago, silly. Run the heck out of them."

The next minute was spent feverishly attempting to prepare for their final maneuver. Brag searched for suitable branches and leaves as Summer intertwined whatever they could find into Lyric's tail. Soon later they were ready, with Lyric ready to run one way and Brag and Summer ready to run another. Summer kissed Lyric and Brag gave him a firm "good luck, kid" hoofshake. Lyric gave them a grin and then smacked his artificial leg hard. A long string of blue sparks shuddered up the frame of the mass of springs and pistons, and a strange whirring began to emanate from the depths of the machine. A second later and blue lights began to flicker from within. Lyric gave Brag and Summer a final nod and then shot off with incredible speed. He was moving three times faster than his usual gallop, using his artificial leg as a kind of pogo-stick to propel himself through the air. He shot off into the rock planes toward the charging Agrinians, suddenly changing directions to head a little more south, toward the plateau, but still well away from the cave. He was indeed kicking up a massive cloud of dust, and the entirety of the horde shifted like a cloud of insects to trail him. The plan, so far, was working.

"Oh Lyric, be safe," mumbled Summer, clutching herself worriedly.

"Godspeed, kid," said Brag, nodding his head slowly. A large dollop of water tumbled from the sky earthward to smack him on his forehead. That was followed by another fat water drop. Then another… Then another… Then another. Brag pulled a face.

"By Celestia… Here comes the rain."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The rocky planes before the desert plateau, the Stallion Empire._

_Time: Five days since Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungle._

Things weren't going exactly as Lyric had planned. The good news was that his artificial leg was still running, giving him great speed, albeit less than it had on the advent of its activation. The bad news was that it was midnight and the Agrinian leader had still not given up. Over 99% of the horde had collapsed from exhaustion or given up (or both), but the leader was still going after him, followed by three of his spear-wielding cohorts.

Though his mechanical leg showed no real signs of stress, Lyric himself was trembling from exhaustion. He couldn't keep up for much longer. The rain wasn't helping, either. It was still coming down in sheets, running in earthen rivulets through the rocks and dust. Thunder would rumble across the sky, occasionally tearing through the night with long, jagged bolts of sizzling lightning, illuminating the buckets and buckets of water being dumped onto the beleaguered runners. All of this did nothing to assist Lyric in his desperate dash to safety.

"Stupid… Agrinians…" he grumbled, glancing behind him. There they were, stumbling behind him, barely able to stand anymore. But they were following him nonetheless, and once and a while one of them was able to call upon a hidden ingot of strength that allowed them to hurl their spears at him. Fortunately they were so tired at this point that they had no ability to aim, and the spears would clatter harmlessly off the rocks around them.

At that very moment the Agrinian leader picked up one of the fallen spears and hurled it at Lyric himself. It missed, of course, but it fell closer to its mark than the others, letting the whole group know that they were closing in on their quarry. It was true: Despite the power that coursed through his mechanical leg, Lyric, in his starved and taxed state, could not keep ahead of them for much longer.

Irate with tiredness, Lyric could not help but turn his head and shout: "Is… Is that all you've got? You couldn't hit the water if you fell out of a boat!"

There was a good chance that he didn't understand the words, but the horde leader understood the tone all too well. With a howl of anger, the Agrinian and his compatriots redoubled their efforts, closing the gap further. Lyric groaned and poured even more energy into running as fast as he could, chiding himself all the way.

"I need to learn when to shut up," he muttered. "Summer always knew when to tell me to keep a lid on it…"

**…**

Far away to the south, inside the cave, Summer and Brag were waiting near a small smoldering campfire, doing their best to dry off. They had been soaked to the skin. Summer sat at the cave mouth, staring out into the distance. Even if she had sight, she wouldn't have been able to see a thing, the air was clogged with rain so. But she didn't stop. She just kept waiting and waiting with baited breath, hoping with every centimeter of her soul that Lyric would show up again.

"Where is he?" she mumbled to herself for the umpteenth time.

Brag looked up from where he had been banking up the small fire. He grimaced as he saw Summer. With her coat matted with rainwater, he could truly see how small and bony the little foal was. It was not a pretty sight. He turned his face away and called out: "I'm sure I don't know, mate. But I can tell you that ole' Lyric is somethin' else. He isn't going to let a couple drops o' water and a small group of savages keep him from you. Just keep that in mind."

Summer didn't reply. She just kept staring and staring and staring.

**…**

Lyric suddenly tripped over a rock jutting out of the wet slabs he had been dashing over. He fell bodily, his face splashing into a deep puddle. He lay there for a moment in a stupor, his limbs twitching.

"Stupid rocks… Idiots shouldn't be leaving their rocks around like this… Ponies could trip over them…" Slowly Lyric dragged himself to his feet again as a spear clattered to the ground to his left and began to gallop again. He looked behind him. One more of the horde had simply keeled over, leaving the Agrinian leader and two spear-throwing followers.

Through the sheeting rain Lyric could see a small splotch that represented the cave. He knew there was danger in leading even one of the Agrinians into the midst of his friends, but he also knew that Brag could deal with them without too much issue. Since these three refused to be shaken, he knew this was his last chance. It was either this or be caught and gutted alive. Lyric glanced behind him. The three trailing him had abandoned their spears, opting to run after him with teeth bared and nostrils flaring. Their limbs were shaking as bad as his, though, and he knew they were seconds away from collapsing… Just like him.

Lyric turned away and put in one final extra burst of speed, and then his artificial leg sizzled and its power-lights went out. He was out of juice. At almost the same second the Agrinian leader went down, collapsing from sheer exhaustion. He was immediately followed by his two followers, who tumbled to the earth like boulders. Lyric hobbled a couple meters more and then turned around. Breathing like a pair of bellows, he exclaimed: "I… I did it! I beat…"

He passed out, crumpling to the stony ground like a wet piece of paper.

The Agrinian leader actually grinned. His quarry was down completely. Utterly unconscious. He looked to his minions and barked out a breathless order. The two followers nodded and drew daggers, dragging themselves through the mud to slit the throat of the sleeping Lyric. Nothing could stop them now.

A small popping noise echoed from nowhere. One of the Agrinian minions stiffened and went slack, blood oozing gently from a neat hole that had suddenly just appeared in the back of his head. The other Agrinian minion met a similar fate, with a small puncture exploding through his throat in the wake of a second soft popping noise. The Agrinian leader blinked stupidly. What had happened? He growled angrily and shouted fruitlessly to his fallen comrades to get up and finish the job. That was the last thing he ever did. A second later and he too died: With a small bullet hole appearing between his eyes.

Lyric came two a moment later. He looked to the bodies of the savages, who lay around in a state of death not one meter away from him. He stared stupidly. They were dead… But how?

Suddenly a flash of lightning ripped through the water-choked sky once more, illuminating the form of another pony standing over him, armed with a long high-grade sniper rifle. The flash of light revealed a pair of tough-but-kind eyes and a battle-scarred muzzle. Brag?

"Nice… Shots… Brag…" gasped Lyric. He passed out again.

**…**

"Summer, it's one in the morning," said Brag tiredly. "You sitting out in the rain ain't going to make Lyric come any faster. Come on, mate. You need to get some sleep."

Summer didn't move from her spot. All she did was flick her ears, letting him know that she had heard his plea, but had opted to disregard him altogether.

Brag rolled his eyes. Summer wouldn't listen to anyone but Lyric, and she made that point very clear. He dropped a log onto the roaring flames of the campfire. He then settled back, using one of the packs of supplies as a pillow. "Suit yourself, missy. But you're going to have to explain to Lyric in the morning why you slept in when we get an early start tomorrow."

Summer glanced irritably in Brag's direction. There was a pause…

"Fine."

Summer got up on all fours and began to walk over to the campfire. Then she stopped. Brag was immediately on the alert. She had stiffened. That meant she had heard something out of the ordinary. Quietly he got up and drew a hunting dagger from his belt. Less than a minute later a strange pony with Lyric draped across his back trotted out of the curtains of rain to the campfire. He trotted straight past Summer with the casualness of an evening walk and sat down by the campfire. He set Lyric down gently and began to tend to the bruises and reopened wounds that covered the colt's body. Not a single word had been said, as both Summer and Brag just stared in dumbfound silence as this stranger welcomed himself in like he owned the cave.

Brag squinted at the stranger as he finished tending to Lyric's wounds and put him to bed. The stranger turned to face the fire and smiled a little. "He'll be okay, in case you were wondering. This guy is tougher than ponies twice his size… And he's missing a leg. Man, you still have good choice of travelling companions, Brag. Can't say much about that girl back there, though. She looks a little young, doesn't she?"

By the flickering firelight Brag could pick out the features of this new pony. He was middle-aged, with a long yellow mane and a brownish coat. A small scar ran down his left cheek. His eyes were a brilliant blue and the mark upon his flank looked like two sniper rifles, crossed in a large "X". Brag's eyes widened in shock.

"Well I'll be… Franklin Montgomery."

Franklin smiled tiredly. "The one and only."

Brag dragged his hoof across his forehead in disbelief. Then he laughed. "By Celestia… I thought for sure you were a goner when that old tub of a boat sank with you on it... I thought you were dead!"

Franklin shrugged. "I thought I was a goner too… But… Well… Surprise!"

"You two know each other?" interjected Summer, looking in Franklin's general direction curiously.

Franklin glanced at Summer. He stopped and stared hard at her for a moment as if trying to remember something. Then he gave up and just winked. "You bet we do. This dude and I were partners a while back."

"We were mercenaries, really," admitted Brag, almost apologetically. "We fought together as a team on this hellrock known as Redzion. It was just me and him against damn-near impossible odds."

"Brag, aren't you forgetting the third member of our team?" chuckled Franklin, smiling as if he was having a casual stroll down memory lane.

Brag thought about it for a minute, then he winked. "Ahhhh… That's right, mate. Little Starlight Amber. By my auntie's pinny… Now there was a fighter."

Summer blinked. That name sounded familiar somehow. But she tossed the feeling aside a moment later. "Who was she?"

"Oh, just a pony that joined our little group and helped us raze the whole damned place," chuckled Brag. "She was around your age too… I'll tell you, kid… Ponies your age are worth a whole lot more than society makes you out to be."

Brag shook his head slowly, chuckling to himself. Then he looked to Franklin. "Tell me mate… What brings you here? I mean, you were considered dead by the agency! You could have gone anywhere, been anything! Why end up here in this hellhole?"

Franklin sighed and lay himself down by the roaring campfire. "I technically am 'going anywhere.' After I managed to build a raft on Redzion – thanks for leaving me there, by the way – I decided to sail to the closest land… That was here! You know, the southernmost bay that feeds into this jungle. I was travelling north, hoping to find someplace to hold up in Stalliongrad. Eventually I would get on a boat and sail home to the Crystal Empire."

"You know that all international flight has been cancelled here, right?" commented Summer, her head cocked to one side; listening carefully.

Franklin blinked. There was a moment of silence. "Damn. I knew I should've checked the news more often."

Brag grinned. "Don't feel too down, mate. I mean, why you want to go back to the Crystal Empire? I thought you hated that place after your wife Sapphire Anemone… Well… You know."

Franklin winced as Brag's words brought back a memory he had been trying to repress for years. "Yeah, yeah, yeah… Well, after nearly meeting my Maker on Redzion and being trapped there for such a long time I decided that that was the only place I really could call home. It may have a few unpleasant memories hanging around, but I've traveled far and wide and I have never found a place that felt so like… Home."

Brag nodded. "Truer words have never been spoken, mate. Tell me, how do you plan to get home now?"

Franklin opened his mouth to speak, but Summer interrupted. "Ummm… Excuse me? On this very plateau is an illegal airstrip. Lyric and I were travelling to there before we fell in with Brag. If you want to leave, we can give you a ride."

Franklin facehoofed. "Shoot. I knew I should've climbed this plateau instead of going around it. Well… I would love that, little filly. Brag, you heading with them?"

Brag shrugged. "Guess I am, mate. Didn't really think about it. I don't intend to leave the Stallion Empire, but I'll take you kiddos as far as the airstrip."

Franklin nodded his head in appreciation. He was about to say more when he was interrupted by a soft groan from Lyric. He was waking up. The disheveled colt opened one eye, and immediately turned around to look for Summer. Summer was by his side in an instant. She nuzzled his face desperately and hugged him as if she would never let go again. Lyric just lay there with a huge smile plastered upon his face.

"I did it, didn't I?"

"You sure did," chuckled Franklin. "Oh yeah, I helped a bit, but don't worry about it. Bask in the glory of it."

Lyric looked to Franklin. "Oh, hello. You're the one that saved me from that trio of Agrinians, right? Thanks."

Franklin winked. "Nothing to it. All it took was three pulls of the trigger."

Lyric nodded his head in acknowledgement. He then looked to Summer. "I think I passed out for a bit. What did I miss?"

Summer sat back and composed herself, taking a second to actually comb back her straggly mane with a grubby hoof. Then she said, "Franklin and Brag knew each other. They were a team a while back on this island called Redzion."

"So, your name is Franklin?" asked Lyric. He leaned up with a pained grunt to shake Franklin's hoof.

"Sure am," replied Franklin. There was a minute of silence, and then Franklin laughed softly. "Okay, dude, I gotta ask: How old actually are you two?"

Lyric pulled a face as if Franklin had offended him. "Fourteen. Is that a problem?"

Franklin began to laugh more, a little louder this time. "Oh my God! Two fourteen-year-olds braved the jungle? By Kytax, that's crazy. You two are totally like little Starlight."

"That's not the half of it!" exclaimed Lyric indignantly. "Summer and I made our way through the Frozen North while we were thirteen!"

Franklin could not stop grinning. "That's incredible. Wow… Just wow… Okay, I know you're tired, but please humor me: Would you two mind telling me a little bit of what has happened to you guys in the past year? I'm really, really interested."

Lyric looked to Summer, and then back at Franklin. Then he smiled too. "Sure… But only if you two tell me about this 'Redzion' place and the adventures you had there."

Franklin nodded readily. "Sure thing, dude. Brag, want to go first?"

Brag thought about it for a moment, and then he nodded as well. "Sure thing, mate. But this story isn't really ours… It's really the story of little Starlight Amber. She did the bulk of the work I would think…"

Lyric sat up on his haunches, and Summer scooted close to him, laying her head on his shoulder lovingly. The duo began to listen as the rain continued to pour down in buckets outside the cave, drowning the midnight sky in rainwater. But that didn't matter to the four ponies inside the cave. Protected by the age-old rocks and shielded by the rays of heat from the crackling campfire, the small group of friends began to exchange old stories late into the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes. So... Does anyone remember Franklin? I'm sure some of you do. He was all the rage a while back. I know many of you have questions as to why he is here, and why he is a pony. I also know many of you are curious about why and how Lyric managed to get his artificial leg outfitted with special abilities. To all of those questions I'll simply say this: Just keep reading. Your queries will be answered in due time.<strong>

**Now! Let the flashbacks begin! I will still have the same cycle of chapter-posting, with one chapter on the Inquisitors/Catalyst Corps and one chapter on Starlight Amber, but now instead of there being one chapter on Summer and Lyric, there will be one chapter on the flashbacks. There are going to be two flashback mini-stories that I will be writing. The first is titled "Shadowchess". This story talks about Brag, Franklin, and Starlight. I will say now that Shadowchess is going to be dark. It'll be blatant in its bleakness, and very brazen with violence, language, and sexual content. I'm interested in seeing how close to the M-rated line I can press. Naturally I'll have an alpha-reader(s) whom will check my stories beforehand to see if I've gone too far and to help me keep it in the T-rated area. It may be dark, but I'm going to be careful to ensure that Shadowchess never truly crosses the M-rated border. The second mini-story is titled "Into the Storm." This story will talk about Summer and Lyric after they escaped Haven of Star Circle. This story will follow the usual pattern of AMS, being firmly planted in its T-rating. I'll use it to contrast Shadowchess. I'll (probably) post chapters of the flashback stories Into the Storm and Shadowchess intermittently in its own little pattern, but that really depends on how these mini-stories develop. I'll say now honestly that I've actually written three whole chapters of Shadowchess, each with 7k+ words, and not a single chapter of Into the Storm. Don't worry though, like always, my story will reach an equilibrium in the end, despite any perturbations.**

**Anyways, that is it for the flashbacks. Let me know what you thought of this chapter! As stated previously, I enjoyed making this particular addition to the story. Character development and descriptions have always been my forte (though apparently I'm mostly hailed for my use of combat). And so, please leave a review! If you leave a review... Hmmm... I guess if you leave a review I'll start my work towards the second version of my teleporter. Ever since the successful advent of my time-travelling device, I've been trying to work out what went wrong with the teleporter and its bread. You leaving a review will fund my Kickstarter for my Indiegogo for my Fundable that will fund my work towards Torrenta Teleporter 2.0. If I am successful, I will let you all know and will then proceed to teleport to you all a lifetime supply of gummy bears. (Gummy bears are the new gold fish... Well, not really, but you know what I mean.)**


	148. Chapter 148 - The Still Voice (Part 1)

**Author's Notes. Greetings! Sorry for posting this a bit late. I had a huge argument with myself over whether or not I should post this first part of the chapter with Harold in it. At first I decided I would (which is why some of you may have remembered the one extra section to the chapter), but then I finally decided to remove it because it really lacked purpose aside from illustrating upon Harold's nature. I know that such a thing as this is important, but I'm not sure if I should do it now. I'll consider adding the section somewhere else, and if not, then I'll find another way to elaborate on who Harold is, and why he is fighting Blue.**

**But enough of that. I hope all of are doing well. My experiments with gummy bears have reverted back to gold fish. (Those exquisite, delectable golden crackers. I cannot stop eating them.) I probably won't go back to teleporting them though until I get a feel for the power I'm harnessing. You know, the whole "man was never meant to possess such knowledge" spiel you get from 90% of the sci-fi/apocalypse movies we have. Anyways, on to answering some reviews!**

**To SuperVegito33: Thank you! In all honesty, I may be good at fight scenes, but I am at my best when I'm writing about character development through tribulation. I can tell you the follow-up will be interesting. Probably. I hope.**

**To FocusedStream: Thanks! Like I said to SuperVegito33, those types of chapters are my "bread and butter" to borrow the colloquialism. I thoroughly enjoyed making the chapter. One of my best, aside from chapter 134.**

**To xCrysis-x: You, my friend, are one of my most engaging reviewers. I cannot tell you how happy I am when you lend me your time to tell me what you think. I can say that I do take whatever you say into consideration. (I definitely took what you said about the flashbacks delaying chapters into consideration, and I'll address the issue in the second set of author's notes.) Also, if I do have time (which I don't currently, thanks to real life stuff) I will definitely go out of my way to help you with writing and stuff if you want it. I owe it to you. And speaking of that, I do believe I owe you a specialized, exclusive rewrite for "Through A Glass Darkly" ending. It might take a while since I need inspiration and the time to write it, but as long as I don't randomly forget I will get it to you within the year.**

** Right! That's all for reviews! Now, I will say - particularly to SuperVegito33 and Vibrant Sound (really cool name, by the way) - that this chapter does NOT contain the Inquisitor/Catalyst Corps combat that everyone has been looking forward to. That particular battle scene was so long (because of the amount of detail and care I put into it) that this chapter would have surpassed 10k words. And so, for convenience (and for the longevity of the amount of pre-written chapters I have stored away) I decided to split it into two. I am really sorry, but I think it's best this way. You guys will get the Inquisitor/Catalyst Corps action that was promised within the year though. The wait isn't as long as it sounds, I promise.**

**Regardless, you do get some robust action today in this chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Skylock<em>

_Planet: Scorch_

_Specific Location: The outskirts of the Skyfort, Carrion._

_Time: Five days after Summer and Lyric ventured into the Southern Jungle._

Blue stood observing the groups of demons slowly filing into the giant abandoned fortress. He looked as large groups milled outside, and took down mental notes on the flow of the traffic. He studied the ugly faces of the demons, watching for flickering signs of disdain or grudging respect; all in an effort to identify the leaders.

"This is going to be harder than I thought," murmured Sunflower as he looked at the scene through his scope. "It looks like they're setting up anti-infantry shields up outside the Skyfort. See there, just as the bridge feeds into the gateway?"

The Skyfort was set upon one of the largest island-like rises within the Broken Valleys. The fort was adjacent to another incredible large plateau, and the two raised islands were connected by a massive stone bridge. It was old naturally, but it was sturdy and grand, with large arcs and thick pillars holding it high in the air. The breadth of the bridge was also ample, allowing countless demons to cross it while carrying a giant shining shield-projector. The horde set it down carefully beneath the arching gateway of the Skyfort and began to tend to the pre-activation duties.

Sunflower shook his head. "That's an 'Umbrella-boom-boom-you-dead' shield. Doxia-made, of course. Second age I would think. Just before the first Amethyst-Emerald war. It's not the most technologically advanced, but it does its job properly. The only way to really shut the shield off is to destroy it, but thanks to the way it projects itself you can't really get to it unless you're within the shield-projection radius."

"I'm going in," murmured Dark, ripping his hatchet from its holster and snapping it into its ready position. "There are too many demons around for all three of us to get into the projection radius, but I can melt into the darkness and wait for everyone to go inside the Skyfort."

Blue nodded. "I agree," he said. "Wait until the shield is open and then take it out. But try to use a 'delicate touch.' Don't destroy it. Reboot it so that Sunflower and I can sneak in. Once we're all in we should climb to the top of the Skyfort so we can view the unfolding events of the assembly from above."

Dark chuckled humorlessly. "No one ever looks up."

Without another word Dark melted into the shadows, as if he had been made of wisps of darkness himself. The sun was almost done setting in the west ranges, shining dying light upon the hideously twisted rocks of Carrion, casting deranged shadows. Torch stands and small bonfires were being lit in a couple of locations as well (especially within the Skyfort) magnifying the eeriness. Fittingly enough, this only augmented Dark's ability to vanish into the void of the shadows.

Sunflower shuddered. "How have I been hanging out with that guy for almost a trillion years?"

"We were never a team," said Blue. "In fact, we weren't even a team when I took charge over the old Blue."

"I couldn't sworn you insisted on being called August for the first couple months you were in charge," sighed Sunflower, checking his sniper rifle. "You know, I liked you better then. You do realize that Blue never left right? He's basically integrated his psyche into yours. You're one in the same now, August."

Blue didn't say anything. There was nothing to say. Sunflower was right. There was a pause. Then Blue replied. "When Flaming Star and his team were looking for you, they said you had left messages expressing your regret for all the 'atrocities' that you had committed during the age of the Inquisitors. Why are you willing to kill again?"

Sunflower sat down as he thought. Picking his words carefully, he said: "I am who I was made to be. I don't remember a life before waking up from a coma with Grand Inquisitor Arcturus shoving a sniper rifle into my hands. This is who I am. Perhaps a little humanity will glimmer from my eyes now and then, but the Inquisition Initiative did its job too well. I'm not human anymore, am I? No… And neither are you."

Blue nodded. "I am not."

Blue's HUD flashed red and then distorted. Then it reverted to normal with internal diagnostics reading nothing unusual. The anomaly had lasted a millisecond, almost as if the system had hiccupped… Or snorted derisively.

Blue actually smacked the side of his helmet as if trying to knock it into submission. Sunflower stared blankly. That had never happened before. The Inquisitors were ready for any kind of hostile situation, but when it came to allies… They never knew how to deal with those types of anomalies.

"August… Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," murmured Blue, his tone tinged with annoyance. This had been happening for over a day now. His battle systems had been outperforming every piece of technology in existence, but it was also acting erratically, as if it had a mind of its own.

Suddenly Dark's voice came in through the comms. "The demons are stirring. I think something is happening."

Blue and Sunflower looked up from their hideout in unison. Where there had once been chaos, there was now order. All throughout the Skyfort the demons that had been milling, arguing, and brawling were now standing to attention as a small convoy beings made their way across the bridge. Blue's systems immediately pushed straight through the Phantom Device interference to give him a close-up visual of the convoy, going so far as to do facial match-ups between the members of the entourage and the demon faces drawn from the memories of the slain demon captain Caprum. In a second Blue's system had identified the face. Blue pointed. "There is the commander. Demon Istir. He's arrived."

Sunflower looked through his scope. After a pause he said, "He definitely is the one in command."

A second later Dark's voice came in through the comms again. "What's the plan?"

"We wait until the demons are assembled," said Blue, his mind working with the deadly efficiency of an Inquisitor. "When they are, Dark will force the shielding systems to reboot, bringing down the energy barriers long enough for Sunflower and I to make it through. Once we are regrouped we will move to the top of the fortress so that we may look down upon them –"

"… To see them like the insects they are," interjected Dark, his voice heavy with malicious foreboding.

Blue stopped talking for a moment. After the pause he said, "Be quiet, Dark. As I was saying: We will gain the high ground so it is easier to spot Istir. When we have identified them… We will proceed to kill every single demon but him."

Dark laughed. "There are over a thousand demons within that fortress. We will be outnumbered on an incredible scale… I love this plan beyond measure."

Dark went radio silent, disappearing into the void.

"… 'And then there are those special few, who don't feel truly alive unless the odds are stacked against them'." Sunflower murmured to himself, quoting an old and long-dead adversary.

Blue looked to Sunflower and nodded. "We were trained for this."

"Dark and I were, August. You're here because the universe needs one final hero," corrected Sunflower.

"Some hero you turned out to be."

Blue looked around. Had someone spoken? That voice was not of Sunflower, and Dark had gone radio silent. But someone had definitely spoken to him over the helmet speakers. Either way that left one final option: He was finally crumbling into insanity. Blue sighed to himself. This had been expected. The old Blue had warned him of it. Inquisitors were made to kill without heart, so that the heartless had something to fear, but such immorality always came with a cost…

"They're moving inside," reported Sunflower, looking through his scope. "They're following Commander Istir. We're almost to stage two."

The masses of demons lingering about the Skyfort began to shift, like a quiet lake disturbed by a single pebble: Istir. The hordes moved as one, following their leader into the giant fortress silently. The lack of sound was absolute now, and it was worse than when there had been foul language and course laughter drowning the air. The very last demon to enter turned to the shield and tapped a quick sequence of patterns into the holographic terminal. A second later the air in a one-kilometer radius about the Skyfort rippled ever so slightly, denoting the fact that the particles had now been charged with the power to disintegrate any organic matter that passed by its invisible buttresses. The first installment of Blue's plan did not go all the way as indented though: The second the shield was active, at least a score of demon guards strolled outside to stand on the bridge. They stood there like pawns upon a chessboard, looking in all directions, alert and resilient. Demons were chaotic by nature, so the fear and respect that Istir must be capable of holding over the spawn of hell had to no doubt be sizeable. Then Blue saw it: A small figure as silent as a wraith, moving along the underside of the bridge, clinging to the rising pillars of stone. It was Dark, moving straight for the shield as if the demons on the bridge directly above were not an issue.

"I bet you an apple to an acorn that Dark sees those demons… And he couldn't care less," said Sunflower airily.

He was right. Dark saw the demons, but he had no intention of detouring. Slowly he leapt from clinging to the supporting pillars to the arching underside of the bridge. There were no handholds, so he punched himself some. Using sheer force he swung himself across the bottom of the massive structure spanning the two adjacent mesas. Finally he came to the end of one side of the bridge. Here he halted, his fists buried half a meter in the stone and iron as if it was soft Styrofoam. He waited and listened to the demons directly above him.

"Croad, why do we have to wait outside? The damn Istir is speaking! I heard he could charm the heart out of a female arch-demon… And then rip it out of her in the same move. He's the type of commander I'm going to be someday."

"Hah! You keep wishin' that, grunt," came the voice of another demon. "We ain't ever going to get out of this place like that unless you kill yourself at least a dozen Dimensional Travelers… And that ain't gonna happen cuz' the Dimensional Travelers are almost extinct now! Tough luck."

The demon Croad swore harshly, and then stomped away from his compatriots to stand at the edge of the bridge so that he could look down at the rotting expanses of the Broken Valleys. Little did he know that the only thing separating him from one of the most powerful being in the Multiverses was a couple meters of stone-and-iron flooring… And apparently that was not going to do much for him either. A second later Dark swung up deftly, flipping straight over Croad. As he passed over the demon's head, Dark snapped the grunt's neck with a prompt hand movement. Without even a gurgle the dead monster tumbled head-over-heels off the edge of the bridge. Dark melted into the shadows casted by the torch emplacements on the ridges of the bridge once more just as the bulk of the demons guarding the outside moved by him to group together.

"Where'd Croad go?" grumbled another demon.

"Who cares?" replied the first demon to laugh at Croad. "He's probably gone off to sulk. I tell you, though, he does have a point. I would give a barrel of grog to go inside to listen to Istir. Some say he was once the right-hand man of the Grand Devil himself. I could believe it. There is nothing scarier than Commander Istir."

"Wanna bet?"

The whole demon group turned to the new voice. It was very different. The tone was soft, but filled with more malice, hate, and loathing than even they had heard. It was as if death itself was talking, and they were demons; they knew death. The guards whirled to see one single being: Dark. Light flickered off of his ebony armor, giving it a blood-red glow. The eternal void shimmered in his visor, showing the demons that there was more to fear than they had ever known. Then Dark rushed them before the demons could even fumble with their weapons.

He hit them like the rushing winds of time, blowing them away as if they were all naught but grains of sand. With a single swing of his hatchet he decapitated five of them, sending their bodies flying across the bridge. Blood exploded from their bodies, staining the slabs of stone with messy splashes of crimson. The rest of the demons tried to run, but they were too late. Dark hurled his hatchet, bisecting the two farthest of his targets. He then grabbed two more and crushed their throats with his fists, hurling the corpses to knock another screaming from the bridge. Then he grabbed the closest living demon and hoisted him into the air. Before the horrified eyes of the surviving four demons, Dark tore the demon clean in two, ripping his spine free like a piece of string cheese. The blood gushed down upon Dark's head, but he welcomed it. The remaining demons didn't even fight. Silently they hurled themselves from the bridge, welcoming death.

Dark stood alone and listened. Silence. Not a single demon in the area was living, and no alarms had been raised. Silence. Like death. Dark needed this.

Slowly the shadowy Inquisitor picked up his hatchet from where it lay buried in the back of one of the demons and snapped it shut, strapping his weapon to his thigh. He then walked slowly and deliberately to the shield projector. Gauntlets stained in blood, he activated the holographic terminal. There was a passcode, but Dark typed in the Amethyst override. That was the one downside of using Doxia-made technology. There was always a secret override, only known by the Rerenhaw Council and the Inquisitors. Dark then proceeded to force a reboot to run security diagnostics. As the shield began a ten-second countdown Dark contacted Blue. "Shields going down in seven seconds. Stage two has begun. You have thirteen seconds."

Dark didn't even move as the shield shut down. He just stood there like a monument to all that was evil… Listening to the silence.

A kilometer away, Blue and Sunflower leapt down from the rubble of an ancient stone tower that they had been using as cover. They then leapt from the mesa that the ruin was perched upon and dashed toward the Skyfort, their eyes expertly fixed on the nigh-invisible shimmering of the shield. Then the shimmering stopped. Blue and Sunflower barreled past the border. Without breaking their stride, the two Inquisitors leapt high into the air in unison, easily rising a hundred meters into the air as they slammed into the side of the natural table that held the Skyfort. Their fists and feet dug into the sheer cliff-face, and they began to climb like the wind. In less than a minute they were at the top where they were joined by Dark.

"You should be called 'Red' now," commented Sunflower dryly as he looked over the red splotches that stained Dark's armor.

"That would only make sense two-thirds of the time though," replied Dark with the closest thing he could get to humor. It wasn't funny.

"We need to get to top of the Skyfort," said Blue briskly, his eyes scouring the heights of the ruined fortress. He paused. Something had moved in one of the many skeleton rooms that littered the gutted towers and decaying minarets. Blue didn't disregard the movement in the least.

"I saw something move up there," said Blue, pointing with the glimmering point of the all-powerful wrist blade. "We are going to avoid that area until we can confirm the location of Istir and have decided upon the best course of action."

"What do you mean by 'course of action'?" snarled Dark. "I thought you said 'kill them all.' That's what I intend to do, anyway."

"We might, we might not, depending," said Blue, his voice never once relinquishing the emotions locked deep within him. "Let's go."

The Inquisitors rushed the nearest wall of the Skyfort. With mighty leaps the trio latched onto the cobbled sides of one of the many crumbling bulwarks and began to climb as the very last ray of light from the setting sun sizzled into nothing and the true night enveloped the land. The three Inquisitors just kept on climbing, unhampered by the lack of light. Like creatures of the Black, the spirits of judgement rose higher and higher, until they reached one of the many minaret peaks. There they just hung, looking down upon a very worrying scene: Over a thousand demons, all armed to the teeth, gathered like grains of sand upon a beach. Torches lined the open-roofed interior of the Skyfort, illuminating the tawdry finery and decrepit weapons of the sea of monsters below. Not a single word was spoken down there. All was silent as each and every demon looked to Istir. He was speaking to them in a soft voice, hypnotizing them with honey and venom. Blue's systems altered him that they could hone in on the voice, but Blue declined the utility. He had no interest in the words of the demon. They meant nothing to him.

"They're all bunched together," breathed Sunflower. "And they are all heavily armed. I even see some charged projectile and laser weapons. There's a thousand of them too."

"Look," murmured Dark, his voice soft, almost meek. He was always the quietest and most soft-spoken before a massive, intensive battle. The literal embodiment of the calm before the storm. "Blue, look: the commander is standing upon a raised platform, and there are two exits behind him. We will need to prevent him from escaping through either of those ways."

There was a full minute of silence as Blue thought. Finally, he spoke. "Sunflower, do you have any portable bubble-shields? One of the hard-light ones, not one of the flesh-rending ones."

Sunflower tapped his utility belts. A small spiked disk with a greenish center popped out into his hand. "I do."

Blue nodded. "Hurl it at Istir's feet when I give the word. Dark, take out your rocket launcher. When I say 'go' I want you to shoot at everything. Set the missiles to 'explosive' mode. Destroy it all. Leave nothing standing. We will bring this whole fortress down on top of their heads, but Istir will be safe from the onslaught… Safe for us to interrogate."

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Skylock<em>

_Planet: Scorch_

_Specific Location: The Skyfort, Carrion_

_Time: Five days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungle._

"This was soooooooooooooooo bad of an idea. I mean, I cannot even begin to elaborate upon the terribleness of this idea. If there was an idea that was worse than this one, it would implode and bring the end of the Tri-Multiverse as we know it," hissed Batusi, looking through a large hole in the stone-slab floor; the only thing that separated their hiding spot high in the air and the open-roof hall below brimming with blood-thirsty demons. The Catalyst Corps had taken refuge in an old fire-gutted bedroom suspended like an empty and broken cage scores of meters in the air in an eviscerated tower attached to a bulwark. The tower itself was listing slightly, allowing a good top-down view of the going-ons below via multiple cannonball holes.

"Okay, Batusi, okay," grumbled Tenebris. "I get it. This was a bad idea. But hey: In my defense, it looked pretty abandoned when we got here."

"We should have vacated the place the moment that scouting party went through here," commented Anima, joining Batusi at the hole. "We should have known this was a rally."

"A rally?" snorted Xavier, who had not been listening to the conversation for the past half-hour and had immediately taken their words out of context. "Like for animal rights? Are they here to support the extinction of the mosquito? I heard that those poor, innocent little creatures are hunted and hated in Earth Prime… I even heard that they're killed for no purpose except for being a tad bit annoying! Poor critters!"

"Xavier, shut up," said Tenebris, joining Anima and Batusi. "Anima, you said this was a rally. What makes you think so?"

Anima nodded sagely and pointed to several locations that his keen eyes had spotted at a glance. "There's a platform with a demon at the front. I can't hear what he is saying, but notice how the demons below shift like a wave whenever there is a pause. The demon at the head is definitely the leader, a commander or something, and he is talking about something really important. See how he constantly pauses for effect? And see how the viewers are clinging to his every word? That demon is a really good speaker. He's starting to get them really riled up."

"You know what gets me really riled up?" interjected Xavier. "Marshmallows. The damn things are just so… Squishy. The Grand Devil couldn't have concocted a more diabolical vessel for evil."

Tenebris glared at Xavier. "Xavier. Shut up."

He turned back and said, "Right. Anima. We're running out of time here. What do you suggest-?"

"Everyone be quiet." It was Xavier again. But now his voice was tense.

In a second the rest of the Catalyst Corps was on the alert. Despite the fact that Xavier spouted tall tales and nonsense most of the time, whenever his voice went tense everyone went on high alert. Tenebris turned around slowly and looked to Xavier worriedly.

"What is it?"

Xavier put a finger to his lips and then cupped his other hand about an ear, indicating that they should listen. They did, and then they heard it: Demonic voices, coming their way up the old rickety staircase that wound about the tower like a disembodied spine.

"Why we got to make sure the damn place is secure? We know this place is!" That was one demon.

"We're going to be on high alert until the Watcher is sure that there were no survivors of that crash." That was two. There were two demons coming their way.

The first demon thought about what the second had said for a moment and then said: "Are they dead?"

"Hell no! Didn't you hear? Captain Caprum, Taskmaster Blord, and Taskmaster Nistor were found dead not far from here! I was there with a hunter party earlier. You shoulda' seen it: Caprum's head was crushed to bits. And poor demon Kahon… He had been torn apart. His guts were everywhere… In fact his intestines had been used to choke Targis to death! I tell ya, we're in trouble. Those were the survivors of the crash no doubt, and they are true warriors. The Watcher is going to need to bring in arch-demons when he hears of what happened to Caprum."

Batusi looked to Tenebris with a face twisted in horror. "Someone disemboweled a demon so he could choke his companion to death with his intestines? Who would do such a thing?!"

Tenebris's face was grim. Demons were their enemies, but a death like that was too terrible to comprehend. Whoever had done this was probably a greater threat than the demons outside. Tenebris immediately began to debate the validity of this last conclusion as the two demons stopped directly outside the termite-eaten door that housed him and his team. Nothing but a couple of centimeters off rotting wood separated them from being discovered. Xavier slowly stepped away from where he had been pressing his ear to the door and drew his shotguns, readying them. The two demons leaned against the door as they continued to talk.

"Damn," breathed the first demon to have spoken. "That's evil… And we're the epitome of evil! The survivors of the crash must have hearts blacker than the Grand Devil himself, and that's saying something."

"You can bet your flea-ridden hide on that, mate. Come on. Let's get this over with. Up to the peak we go."

The two demons pulled away from leaning on the door to walk away. The Catalyst Corps breathed a collective sigh of relief. Then the door swung open and the demons walked in.

"Let's just check in here just… In… Case…" The second demon to have talked initially slowly came to a halt and stared open-mouthed at the Catalyst Corps, huddled in the room. In a flash he reached for a revolver charged with demonic energy just as Xavier did the same with his shotgun. The demon drew his first. He pointed it at Xavier's face, who then slowly lowered his own weapons.

"Well, well, well... What do we have here?" The demon snarled, his face twisting in anger. He turned to the first demon. "Duton, go get the guards. I think we found the crash survivors."

Duton nodded. "Right Horth."

As Duton dashed downstairs, Horth stared at the Catalyst Corps with steely eyes. "I saw what you did to Kahon and Targis," he spat. "I remember. An' now I'm gonna do the same thing to you… You know what?"

Horth never finished his sentence, for his voice was suddenly drowned out by the sound of a massive explosion that tore through the entirety of the Skyfort. The very stones in the wall shuddered and cracked into splinters as a shockwave scattered a good section of the old relic of a fortress to the wind. The explosion was followed by another, then another, then another. Red and orange plumes of fire rose into the air to mingle with the screams and cries of dismayed demons. Horth stumbled backward, firing his revolver into the roof. That was the last thing he ever did. A second later Xavier pulled out his shotguns again and filled Horth's chest with the metallic spatter, sending the demon shooting through the rickety door. He tumbled past the safety-rail-less staircase and into the dark cool night air where he fell the sixty meters to his death. Another explosion shook the fortress. The tower that had acted as a refuge for the Catalyst Corps swayed… And then started to fall in on itself.

"What do we do now?!" shouted Batusi. "Not only is our cover blown, but we're about to fall straight into the claws of a sea of demons below!"

Tenebris paused a second too long, and so Xavier leapt in. He smiled wildly, his pointed hat askew. "Hasta la vista, babies."

He hurled himself through a newly-opened hole in the fast-crumbling tower wall, falling into the midst of the screaming demons below, his shotgun firing wildly.

Anima facepalmed. "Goddamnit Xavier!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes. Yes. "Goddamnit Xavier!" That needs to be a T-shirt. It really does. It needs to happen. Now to address an issue: The flashbacks. As I illustrated in the previous chapter, I had outlined that I had begun to prepare to release two sets of flashback mini-stories in "A Mending Soul." However, as xCrysis-x pointed out in his review, it would most probably end up adding unnecessary stress not only to myself, but also to the storyline segments not involved in mini-stories (namely the Catalyst CorpsInquisitor arc and the Doxia/Rerenhaw arc). In addition to that these flashbacks could lead to extensive delays of other chapters. He's right. It would. At this time I have 10k words for "Into the Storm" and 25k words for "Shadowchess." That's a lot. Like, a lot a lot. **

**In all honesty, I don't have a clue as to what I'm going to do next. If you have any suggestions, then please do let me know in a review or a PM. You see, if I cut them, then my storyline is off balance, as the Summer/Lyric is already coming to a close, and I'm not sure what I must add to have it's storyline segment length match the lengths of the Catalyst Corps/Inquisitor arc and the Starlight/Harvest Snowfall arc. If I don't cut them, then I'll be spending waaaayyyyy too much time on these mini-stories. I could also just squish a bunch of the mini-story chapters I have into really, really long chapters (we're talking 10k to 15k word chapters) but that would take away from the quality of the feedback I get, among other things. Finally, I could also just take these mini-story flashbacks and just make them their own stories that run in tandem to "A Mending Soul", but that would lead back to the first issue with cutting these flashbacks that I described, and also it wouldn't get as much coverage, as they would only be associated with my main story.**

**Hmmmmmm... I'm going to have to think about this one for a long, long time. I don't know if I'll be able to post on my regular schedule for a bit. Please forgive me, but you guys know how this works. Eh, enough of this rambling. Right, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! As always, I aim to please. If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to drop a review! Like I've said many times over, reviews are the lifeblood of a story! If you leave a review... Well, I'm not going to teleport you anything, but I will order you guys some invisible beats headphones (overpriced manifestations of pure marketing as they are). But hey, they do look nice!**


	149. Chapter 149 - The Still Voice (Part 2)

**Author's Notes. Right, so... Yeah. I kind of messed up my schedule. Not only did I miss a week, but also I've decided to release the second part of this particular section of the Catalyst Corps/Inquisitor story arc. On the bright side, you now get the final battle between the Catalyst Corps and the Inquisitors! I really DID throw off my schedule though. But I do have excuses. First: Last week was really busy, so I opted not to post as I had a lot on my plate. Second: This week is also really busy. I will admit that I DID have a Starlight chapter all ready to go, but I suddenly became extremely dissatisfied with it. I'm going to rewrite it. I'll be damned if my readers aren't going to get premium quality every time I release a chapter. And so the only thing that I had left in my doc manager pertaining to AMS was this, which I've had completed for over a month now. And so... Here you go! I've decided to release this in conjunction to the last chapter, which is now a two-part series. After this is over with, I'll make sure to get back on track. Oh, and I've also decided what I'm going to do with the flash-back chapters, but I'll talk about that more down below. Now on to answering some reviews!**

**To Vibrant Sound: Seriously, if Trump becomes president I'm moving back to Germany. And yes, I REALLY need to make a "Goddmanit Xavier" T-shirt, and I will give you guys some free ones before it becomes the most popular T-shirt in existence. Unfortunately, thanks to the unpredictable nature of life, the chapter you've all been waiting for has arrived a tad bit sooner than projected, so unless you have an invisible version of my T-shirt lying around, you won't have it for the final throw-down, though I can bet you won't care. The battle is just that awesome. (Well, at least I hope it is. I'm honestly not sure, but then again I'm rarely satisfied by what I write anymore.)**

**To SuperVegito33: I appreciate your enthusiasm! I certainly think those Xavier T-shirts will be a hit. Now go and read the chapter, my friend! I hope you will not be disappointed.**

**To xCrysis-x: You are totally right, I do have a habit of introducing characters a bit too speedily. After you said that I removed that one section about Harold from the last chapter. I didn't need it anyway, and gave you guys one too many things to consider. Thanks for the feedback! It was very appreciated (and needed)! As I have said previously, if you have constructive criticism, I'm more than ready to work on useful changes.**

**To R4ptorCS: Yeah. There are a lot of characters. I was very good at keeping the count down during the former half of season 2, but it got out of hand AGAIN. It's just so difficult, with so many unique ideas either popping into my head or being offered to me by guys like you! But I made sure to remove that one section from before to leave room for more characters... And... Yeah. I introduce another new player in this chapter too. I'm not going to lie. But honestly they, unlike many others, are really quite needed for when the next season rolls around. And yes, Doxia/Rerenhaw has definitely gone on the back burner... For now. I will admit they will be back as a big part as this part of season 2 comes to a close. Keep an eye out for them. And I'm also quite happy you ship Derpy and Doxia! They do make a good pair, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to developing a relationship between them. Dimensional Lords are very strange, and their social skills have atrophied over time, so it will take major dedication for me to outline a worthwhile arc for the two respective characters to develop more than what they have now. But thanks for your opinion, I'll make a note of all that you have said.**

**To The French MeeM: As I said in the PM: Go ahead! I've seen what you've done already, and I like it! Your OC is now in the "Primary Travelers" section of the guide now as well, if you are interested. Keep working!**

**To FocusedStream: Oh man, I would LOVE for that to become a meme. Not sure how that's possible, but it does have so much potential. And thank you! I'll take that cookie gratefully!**

**Right! That's all for now! Enjoy this chapter! It is jam-packed with action!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: Skylock<em>

_Planet: Scorch_

_Specific Location: The Skyfort, Carrion_

_Time: Five days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungle._

There was a horrified half-second of silence as Tenebris, Anima, and Batusi tried to process exactly what Xavier had just done. The screams of the demons engulfed in bloody chaos below reminded them of their situation rather quickly. Another whole second passed, though, before Tenebris fully came to his senses and realized what he must do.

Tenebris gave Batusi one half-horrified-half-apologetic glance before jumping through the same hole to join Xavier in the fray below. Batusi and Anima hesitated, and then followed Tenebris in unison. Below was a state of chaos. The explosions were massive and all-consuming, eating up earth, stone, and flesh alike, leaving giant craters and fire in their wake. Walls were falling inward, and the many towers were buckling and swaying like palm trees in a hurricane. More fire rained from above, scattering demon and stone to the wind. No one could see the assailant, but the demons sure as heck could see the Catalyst Corps. The hordes immediately made a connection between their misery and death and the newly appeared strangers. With a collective howl, the demons rushed the group of four.

Xavier met them. With a scream that rivaled the demonic howling, he jumped feet-first into the starting wave, his shotguns blazing wildly. In an instant at least seven demons fell, killed or disabled by the spread-shot of the shotguns. Xavier landed and ducked under a sweeping cutlass while flipping his shotguns about, unloading the smoking and empty caps and reloading them with new slugs in one fluent movement. He dodged back, barely missing the second sweep while dancing about a spatter of gun-fire from a demonic machine gun. He pulled the first trigger of his first shotgun into the face of the cutlass-wielder, and then emptied the second barrel of gun into the stomach of a nearby spear-wielder. The spear flew high into the air as the dead demon stumbled backwards to collapse into a heap. Xavier caught the spear and flung it with accuracy, spearing the owner of the demonic machine gun in the face. Xavier proceeded to empty the two barrels of his second shotgun into the horde while reloading the two slots in his first. A demon saw the opening and lunged at Xavier, trying to impale the crazy Dimensional Traveler with a claymore as he reloaded. However, just as the demon go close enough to find purchase, a bolt of plasma reduced his face to ash. Xavier glanced back and waved to Tenebris, who had delivered the attack.

Tenebris smiled and waved back before he turned to the task of downing as many demons as possible. Tenebris raised a fist and willed a ball of power about his knuckles. He aimed it at the faces of the hordes. The ball distorted, spiking and shuddering. The ball exploded, firing a long spike of energy toward the enemy, cutting down at least a dozen monsters like chaff before the scythe. The beam held its integrity, and Tenebris swept it to the left beside Xavier, cutting down another dozen. Tenebris then raised his free hand and conjured up a glowing disk of power. He hurled it, and it swept in low, bisecting yet another dozen demons before detonating with a shockwave that scattered even more demons. Tenebris then rose into the air, beams of power spiking from his hands to vaporize the hordes below. With a sweeping gesture he vanished, teleporting out of the way of a hail of demonic bullets. He reappeared a second later and hurled a blast of power. The orange-glowing pillar landed at the feet of the oncoming demons and exploded into a sparkling cascade of flesh-rending sparks. Suddenly an arch-demon rose from a sea of his comrades on wings of flame and blood and drew a cutlass the was practically radiating pure darkness. The arch-demon flashed toward Tenebris, just as the Dimensional Traveler raised his fists, altering the density of the flesh upon his hands to become stronger than steel and harder than diamonds. The demon rammed Tenebris, but it was almost as it was striking a wall, blade meeting hardened fist with a shower of sparks. The monster ricocheted off though, but then quickly spun and hurled a wave of throwing daggers, charged with demonic energy. Tenebris unleashed a shockwave of power, draining the kinetic energy from the daggers, causing them to drop like stones. Tenebris then coalesced the stolen energy into a single ingot, and hurled over 200,000 joules of energy pack at his opponent. The demon just barely dodged the attack (which subsequently struck one of the few towers not turned to rubble and sliced a neat hole in the lower half). The arch-demon straightened up and let out a blood-thirsty scream. Two more arch-demon rose to assist the monster. Tenebris didn't even raise an eyebrow. He had this. The trio rushed Tenebris, firing bolts of demonic energy. The dimensional traveler shot high into the air, arching above his opponents' heads. Just as he reached the apex of the curve, he unleashed a ball of blue energy. It struck one of the arch-demons square in the back, sending it shooting earthward at extraordinary supersonic speeds. It didn't even have time to cry out as it found its grave, several meters below sea-level. The surviving two demons whirled on Tenebris, firing lasers from their eyes. Tenebris took evasive action, flitting past the two pairs of red-hot streams of thermal energy. The beams sliced through the ruined bulwarks and spires that hadn't been claimed by fire, leveling them and reducing what was left to magma.

Tenebris was hard pressed, but he wasn't going to be stopped. Taking a deep breath he extended a hand and snapped a finger, just as he stopped dodging. One of the arch-demons turned to look at him. (The other was clearing their eyes from the eye-beam attack.) Once again the monster charged up an laser-vision attack, but just as they did that a mirror of perfect silver materialized in front of the demon, perpendicular to its plane of vision. The arch-demon had no time to stop though, and it released the full force of the attack. The laser struck the mirror, bounced back perfectly, and struck the monster in the eyes, creating a power-loop. The demon's head exploded, raining blood and brain onto the ocean of monsters below. The final surviving opponent hissed. It was the same arch-demon that rose to attack him in the first place. Tenebris grimaced. The monster shot forward faster than the eye could follow, claws outstretched. Tenebris rushed it as well, and the two met in the middle with a blast of wind that scattered the demons below like leaves in a gale. The demon got the better of Tenebris and hurled him into a massive pile of rubble. The giant boulders were reduced to dust as the dimensional traveler crashed into it. He was dazed, but not dazed enough to prevent him from quickly throwing up bubble of pure energy to protect him from a hail of demonic arrows that had followed him in his wake. Scrabbling to his knees, Tenebris dropped the shield and threw up both hands; beams of pure cold radiated from his palms, freezing the arch-demon's wings solid, causing the monster to loose balance. As it fell, Tenebris wiped a trickle of blood from his brow. On a sudden whim he ducked, and it was a good thing too: A regular demon had snuck up behind him in attempt to behead him with a broken short sword. Tenebris turned on the opponent and conjured up a shiv, inundated with red-hot energy. He dodged past a second attack and rammed the thin blade into the demon's skull, killing the enemy and cauterizing the wound. At this time the arch-demon had shaken off the ice and taken to the skies again, now wielding a massive spear of fire. In a flash it had spotted Tenebris down below, still in the crater of his own making. Without a pause the demon hurled the spear, trailing sparks and flames. Tenebris saw the attack just in time and turned the dead demon around, using it as a meat shield. The demon's chest caught the attack, but it still managed to push through to nick and lightly sear Tenebris's left shoulder. Tenebris grunted in pain, but quickly followed up by throwing the rag doll body of the fallen demon at his adversary, imbuing the meat shield with the kinetic energy of a cruising Boeing 777. To Tenebris's surprise the arch-demon caught the corpse, spun, and then returned it with equal if not greater force. Tenebris couldn't be stopped though. With a gesture he caught the body in a localized region of infinite drag. The body simply stopped moving, frozen in the air (it would stay like this for a while until vaporized by an explosion). Tenebris reared back a fist and then jabbed it at the demon, unleashing a bolt of spellbinding energy. The attack was well-place, and struck the arch-demon. Faculties disoriented, the demon was knocked from the air once more, but this time Tenebris was fully ready. With the speed of a jet he shot forward and delivered a super-powered uppercut that stunned the demon and sent him flying skyward. But Tenebris kept pace, rising with the confused arch-demon. Just as the monster reached the apex of their flight, Tenebris grabbed it by the throat. With his free hand he conjured up a daisy cutter bomb that had been spatially scaled to the size of a tennis ball. He then forced it down the arch-demon's throat. Without a word he hurled the demon earthward. The monster struck the earth at terminal velocity... And then detonated, blowing at least a score of demons to the wind and creating a crater.

Batusi saw this opening and immediately leapt into the battle, his sword sweeping and jabbing, bringing even the toughest demon to its knees. Batusi ducked under another blade and then shot up, stabbing a nearby opponent in the chest. A lance flew through the air toward him. Batusi whirled still with the demon impaled upon his sword. Using the corpse as a shield, he deflected the lance. He then pulled the lance out of the discarded meat shield and began to dual wield, sticking those too demons too far for his sword to reach. He was like a whirlwind, unstoppable. His lance finally snapped as he used it to break the skull of a demon that had ducked under his blade to gut him with a dirk. Batusi then doubled back to dodge the strike of a longsword and bypass a demonic gunslinger who was focused on Xavier. Batusi then leapt high into the air, twirling as a hail of spears and lances missed him. He hit the ground, pinning a demon to the earth with his blade. Then, with a cry, he shot forward, his blade moving like a windmill of death. Blades snapped and shield splintered before the onslaught of Batusi. He could not be slowed… Then his blade struck something and stopped dead with a ring of pure metal upon pure metal. Batusi looked up to look at his newest worthy opponent. The being was tall, covered in full body-armor of gray and blue. Its helmet covered the being's face entirely, with a thin T-visor splitting the artfully crafted metal. Upon its wrist was a glorious blade of power, glowing purple, and in its right hand was a long and glorious sword… It was this sword that had blocked his own. Batusi drew back and spun in close, feinting left and then jabbing right in a move impossible to dodge. The being dodged it as if Batusi was moving in slow motion. Batusi was undeterred. He whipped the blade in a slicing motion, attempting to bisect the being. Blade met blade in a ringing clash of metal. The two swords struck each other with such force that the air hummed, the earth erupted like an explosion, and wind ripped through clearing to fan the flames. Without a second's pause, the being drew back and thrust forward with such force that the air thrummed as air propagated and ripped through space in a terrible shockwave. Batusi caught the thrusting blade and shoved it out of the way with the hilt of his own, barely deterring the assault. Sparks shot high in a gout of red and the cracked earth beneath Batusi's feet cracked further, disintegrating into less than fine sand. His sword's hilt cracked and splintered, crumbling like dust. Batusi leapt back swiftly conjured another blade, ignoring the fact his first sword had pretty much dissolved. Hefting his new blade, Batusi jabbed the sword's point forward and then hacked his blade in a sweeping down cut, attacking with all his might. The air thrummed with the force, and the tip became so fast that the naked eye could not follow. The being sidestepped and caught the blade with his own without even wavering, letting the blade slide to meet hilt-to-hilt. Another shockwave, another explosion, scattering any surviving demons unfortunate enough to be close to this battle of the titans. Both blades hummed, and Batusi's sword began to glow and melt as the pure force raised the metal's temperature over 4000 Kelvin. Batusi bared his teeth in exertion and frustration: His opponent didn't even seem to be out of breath, nor did his own weapon seem chipped or weathered. Batusi leapt high in the air and dodged back, conjuring up yet another blade, allowing him to dual wield. The edges of his vision were blurring with a red mist as the heat of the battle began to cloud his mind. There were no more demons, there were no more explosions. There was just him and this unstoppable foe before him.

Batusi rushed with a yell, slashing with one blade, twirling and then thrusting with the other. The foe knocked the slashing blade out of his way and sidestepped the thrusting attack, swinging his own blade at Batusi's head. Batusi ducked and swung both his swords upwards in an uppercut-like motion. The enemy doubled back in an almost nonchalant manner, dodging to safety. Then he feinted to the left before thrusting at Batusi's stomach with great speed. Batusi locked his two blades together and caught the thrusting blade, using the motion of the attack in his favor, redirecting the kinetic energy and causing the tip of his enemy's blade to strike earth. At least a tonne of pebbles and lose ground was rocketed into the air as the enemy's sword rammed the earth with the kinetic energy of an Antonov Mriya falling at terminal velocity. In the same motion that deflected this cowing attack, Batusi pulled one of his blades free and swung it wildly down upon his enemy's head with agility that defies definition. The foe simply raised a gauntlet, letting the offending sword strike his wrist blade. The resultant explosion of "unstoppable force meets unmovable object" was incredible; unleashing a screaming wind that sent anything not battened down skittering into the sky for kilometers. Batusi's sword shattered and vaporized in a millisecond, causing Batusi to stumbled backward in shock; and yet the gauntlet didn't even splintering, only humming gently with the ghosts of the awesome attack. Batusi still wasn't undeterred though. Nothing would stop him. Testing the balance of his remaining sword, Batusi flipped it backwards, so he was holding the hilt like he would a dagger. He positioned himself so that he was in a crouched position, ready to sprint. His blue-armored target just stood there, his sword hanging loosely at his side, waiting for the attack. Batusi came barreling in like a truck, and then he jumped. As he floated in the air he raised his sword above his head and clasped it in both hands, thrusting it down upon the enemy with all his might. The target didn't even meet the attack. Instead he tilted his body, just barely dodging the attack and putting Batusi out of balance. He grabbed Batusi's foot just as his failed leap hurled him past, and whipped the boy to the earth like a rag doll, knocking the wind of out him and cracking the earth even further. Batusi gasped for breath and tried to sit up, but his enemy walked up to him and kicked him in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out cold.

Anima saw Batusi go down. Unlike Tenebris and Xavier, Anima had not been in the fight. He had been watching and waiting. He knew who was firing the missiles: A dark figure that had been flitting about on the surrounding ruins, like a wraith, invisible almost to all. He had also determined that the other assailants of the demons amounted to three. There were three other beings in this fight… And one of them had just struck down Batusi as if the boy had been made of paper. The rest of his team were preoccupied… He would move in. Closing his eyes, Anima called upon the dark magic that wreathed his soul. Ample points of blue-purple light akin to Homing Soulmasses accumulated behind him as rings of arcane energy wound about the length of Anima's body. He floated toward the downed figure of Batusi with the soulmasses circling his forehead like a crown of death. Any demon that reached out to cling at his flesh suddenly recoiled, their limbs rotting and melting from their bones as dark magic poisoned them down to the molecular level. The blue-armored being that had downed Batusi had no doubt spotted Anima, but had done nothing to slow his approach. In fact he almost looked like he was hanging back, only striking down the demons that neared instead of pressing the thinning number of monsters. Anima drew up to Batusi, and then fired all his soulmasses at the blue-armored being, cursing the very centers of the magic blasts with the darkest of incantations. The being looked at the oncoming attack and flicked his wrist. The blade attached to his wrist extended and began to glow copiously in a wondrous, awe-inspiring purple. The being struck at the soulmasses… And they dissipated, the sorceries simply ceasing to exist. Anima didn't stop to be shocked. He gently touched Batusi and cast a spell, teleporting the boy back to where Tenebris was. He would be safe there. Anima then looked up at the being. Here was a true adversary. Anima took over the minds of ten nearby demons, poisoning their dark souls with his will, forcing them to assault the being. They did, and as they fell like pins, Anima hurled a massive bolt of blue energy that sparked and hissed. Like a soul spear, it shot toward the being just as he ran the last mind-controlled demon through with his sword. The being leapt high into the air, dodging the attack. Anima doubled backward quickly, conjuring up wave after wave of balls of homing magic. These spheres of dark power rushed the being, but not a single on found purchase, either being dissipated by the being's wrist blade of somehow missing altogether. Anima wasn't annoyed or afraid though. In fact, at this point he was interested. Anima was skilled in analyzing attacks and guessing the enemies strategies before even they thought of them. But this was something different. The being moved as smoothly like a clear river, and yet his attacks were erratic and untraceable. There was no pattern, only chaos. And yet, from the chaos came death-tinged order. A strategy that defied everything that the second law of thermodynamics stood for. It was beautiful. But Anima himself was a person a chaos and darkness. Perhaps this being was just a kindred spirit… A true match. He would find out. Anima closed his eyes and extended his hands, calling upon the darkest of his magicks, letting chaotic energies poison the fabric of reality around him. The earth beneath him buckled and cracked, and the air around him vibrated and turned a faint tint of red. Tendrils of fire and shadow erupted from the earth, coalescing about Anima, protecting himself from the onslaught that was about to ensue. A small globule of blood appeared from nothing, floating a couple centimeters above Anima's hands. A hole in the tentacles appeared, giving him a clear view of the being, who was standing, waiting for the attack patiently. This should have caused alarm bells to fire off in Anima's head, but he didn't mind now. He wanted to see what this being had in store. Anima tapped the blob of blood with an index finger. It exploded. With a shriek of a thousand millennia of torture, the ball of power turned into a deluge, a flood of chaotic energy, rushing toward the being and sweeping away at least a hundred demons in its onslaught. The foe looked at the wave curiously… And then he jumped. The leap was astounding, raising him high into the air. As he flew in the air, he whipped his sword arm forward violently, throwing his sword at the cocoon of tentacles that shielded Anima. It went straight through the shadow flesh of the constructs with a scream. Anima froze, feeling a small trickle of blood dribble down his left cheek where the blade had nicked his flesh. Then the sword flashed with bright light. It didn't harm Anima, but it shocked him roughly, breaking his concentration. The attack dissipated and the tentacles vanished in explosions of smoke and shadow. Anima stumbled backward, rubbing his eyes. When his vision cleared, there was the being, sword in hand once more. Anima actually smiled. This being was truly a great warrior, but he would not surrender to such a person. The being began to walk toward Anima, his sword hanging loosely. Ten meters… Six meters… Three meters…

Anima considered teleporting away, but couldn't bring himself to. He hesitated a second two late. The being was upon him, his wrist blade flashing down upon him. Anima made up his mind and teleported not a millisecond later. However, he had so little time to cast the spell that he could only teleport a meter away. The second he rematerialized he realized it had been a trap. He flashed back into reality with the blade of the being's sword pressing against his throat. Anima stiffened. The being just held the blade there, staring at Anima curiously. Anima stared back, his eyes picking out details in the being's armor, looking for hints that would give him an inkling as to who this creature of power was. It was a rather one-sided standoff.

Tenebris saw this.

"Not on my watch," he growled. Drawing upon the rawest of his energy reserves, Tenebris aimed one of the most powerful, focused attacks he had ever conjured at the being holding a blade at Anima's throat. He fired. The beam of gold tore and rived at the fabric of reality, distorting time and space as it shot at the being at a speed 99% the speed of light. A massive flash of light erupted a femtosecond before impact, blinding everyone and blowing the bodies of the fallen demons everywhere like a tornado. The flash cleared. The being had sidestepped the attack, as if even relativistic speeds moved slow enough for him to calculate dodge-able trajectories. The entirety of the fortress behind the being was now slag and fire, everything having been reduced to ash in the wake of the attack. All went silent, with nothing but the crackling of the flames.

The only thing that had changed was that now there was one final demon alive. A lone survivor. She stood there, he face warped in complete and utter horror. Over a thousand of her brethren, killed in less than five minutes. She opened her mouth to wail in despair. She never got the chance. A being in full body armor colored darker than the void descended upon her. He grabbed her face and tore it in half, separating her skull with a resounding "crack." She fell dead to the earth, sending up gouts of life blood.

The Catalyst Corps stared at the Inquisitors for a full minute in silence.

"You… You're the one's that killed those other demons… Uhhhhh… Captain Crunch or something," Xavier said finally, always the first one to think of something. "Who are you guys?"

The dark one looked like he was about to say something, but Tenebris interrupted. "No! You'll start be pulling that sword away from my friend Anima! You don't want us as enemies, idiots. We will bring you to your knees." His voice was cold as winter ice.

The blue-armored being glanced at the dark-armored one; he shrugged. They didn't move. Like Anima had guessed, a yellow-armored one fell from the sky to land expertly beside the dark-armored one. He was holstering a sniper rifle. "You are the Catalyst Corps?"

Xavier, ignoring the fact that Tenebris was seconds away from branding these beings as enemies, laughed. "Heck yeah! So, what are you guys doing dropping in our party like that?"

"Your party? Fool." The dark-armored being laughed. His voice was gravelly. Soft and deep like a bruise. "We started the attack. You four just fell out of that tower like bees from a broken hive."

Anima blinked. These beings had been watching them, even before he had started to watch them. Then he guessed it. Clearing his throat, he spoke out. "You're the Inquisitors."

Tenebris recoiled in shock. He had heard the tales of the Inquisitors. They had brought a death-flavored order to the chaos of the Multiverse eons ago. However, it had been at great cost. These beings were mass-murderers. More skilled at the art of destruction than the Dimensional Lords and the Grand Devil combined.

"You're… You're Blue," said Tenebris, staring in horror at the blue-armored being that held Anima hostage.

Blue nodded. With a shrug he withdrew his sword and holstered it. As he did so, he said: "I am sorry I struck down your companion. He was in my way. Nevertheless, we have no quarrels with you four. We will go on our way. We attacked this location because we were working towards capturing a demon by the name of Commander Istir…"

Blue's voice slowly trailed off as he turned to look at the raised platform, where the demon should have been trapped by Sunflower's portable force field. The force field was not there… And Istir was gone as well. When Tenebris had fired his energy beam at Blue and Blue had dodged it, it had passed him by and struck the force field. Despite its powerful make, it was no match for Tenebris's full might. It had short-circuited and popped, allowing the demon to escape into the hills.

Dark had seen this. With a gauntlet dripping in blood, he pointed it at Tenebris. "This one. While trying to free his friend like a mewling coward, his attack missed you and destroyed the field trapping Istir. They are responsible for our mission having this complication."

"My scanner indicates he made it to a nearby camp," sighed Sunflower. "He is probably alerting his allies even as we speak. He will be well away from this land by the time our scanners have cleared through all this interference from the Phantom Device to determine the needed information about his whereabouts."

Dark snapped his hatchet to its ready position and turned to hurl it at Tenebris. Xavier reacted in an instant. He fired all four barrels of his two shotguns at Dark. Dark leapt high into the air, dodging all four barrels, filling the air with spatter miraculously. As he fell he hurled his hatchet. Xavier leapt out of the way, reloading both of his shotguns simultaneously. He turned to fire upon Dark again, but was too late. Dark was on him and tore the guns from his hands. He seized Xavier by the throat and hoisted him high in the air. Tenebris shot toward Dark so fast that a sonic boom scattered whatever corpses were left. He struck Dark at full force… Dark moved at a speed that would have cowed a Dimensional Lord. Shadows clinging to his armor, the dark being struck Tenebris smoothly with the back of his free hand. An explosion of pressure erupted from the contact point. The earth cracked even FURTHER, scattering the dust of dust to the wind. Tenebris shot away from Dark and smashed into the ground, sending up a thick shower of dirt clods and fire from the friction. Tenebris just lay there, his jaw dislocated and his eyes wide with shock. Dark hadn't even moved. They were dust to the Inquisitors.

Anima saw this as an opening and whirled to attack Dark. A long strand of necromancy energy sparked from his fingertips to strike at the very soul of the Inquisitor. The magic didn't even reach him. Suddenly is fizzled and died at Dark's feet, having being overridden by sheer power. Anima raised an eyebrow. Magic had no effect on Inquisitors. Blue hadn't been fighting the Dimensional Travelers. He had been watching them, studying their moves and toying with their range of abilities to gauge their usefulness. Apparently Tenebris had failed the test.

"These humans have prevented us from completing our mission. That makes them an enemy of the highest order, allow me to kill them," snarled Dark, still holding Xavier high into the air. The Dimensional Traveler must have struck him at least a dozen time with the force of a hurricane, but the Inquisitor hadn't even budged.

Blue considered the options. In reality, what Dark said was true. They had slowed their mission, and could pose an anomaly that could not be factored in the future. Best to eliminate them and move on. He nodded. "Kill them."

Dark raised his free hand high into the air. His hatchet flew from nowhere to land in his palm. Dark roughly hurled Xavier to the earth and prepared to butcher him. Anima started to move again to stop the execution, but then froze as Sunflower pressed the barrel of his sniper rifle to the base of his skill.

"I'm sorry," whispered Sunflower, sounded conflicted. Anima wisely stopped. He had a hunch that Sunflower had never missed a shot with his sniper rifle in his life, and wasn't going to start now.

Blue slowly began to walk away, turning his back on the scene. Then the voice spoke to him.

"Why would you do that?" it said. "That wasn't very smart. And here was I, thinking you were one of the smartest beings in the Tri-Multiverse. Sheesh. They're good fighters and could be even better allies. This planet has over a trillion demons and there are only three of you. If you're going to find the tablet, I suggest you first look for some friends, starting here."

The voice had come from nowhere. No… It had come from over the comms. However, the comms were exclusively connected between him and his teammates. But this voice was female, and it come clearly over the comms without a hint of static. She was nearby and she had enough authorization to override the Inquisition security firewalls that protected their communication systems. Despite the impossibility of the situation, Blue could not stop himself. He WANTED to listen to the voice. She made a good point. She did.

"Stop."

Dark froze his motions, and Sunflower deftly drew away his sniper rifle. Tenebris blew out a long breath of pure relief and began to power his body down, letting the Nova energy flow away. Dark whirled on Blue.

"What?!"

Blue walked up to Dark and pushed him away from Xavier. "I said stop. We're not going to kill them."

Dark threw his hands up in the air. "You better have a good explanation for this, Blue. You better, or I swear I will kill them with or without your permission. I will tear their bodies open and scatter their entrails across the land."

Sunflower pulled Dark back. "Get a hold of yourself!" he snapped. "Blue said stop. He has his reasons. He always does."

"No." Dark hissed. "Blue had his reasons. This is August. He is just a mewling child playing dress-up. He isn't even old enough to be off the teat. I will not be stopped. I SWEAR…"

"Dark," said Blue, turning to Dark. "Shut up."

Dark stopped. He just stared, almost as if he was in shock. He let his hands limply fall to his sides. Sunflower murmured worriedly and turned away.

Blue helped Xavier up.

"T-thanks…" Xavier gasped.

"Don't thank me just yet," Blue replied. "My help comes with a cost."

Blue then turned to Tenebris, who was actually being helped to his feet by a groggy Batusi. Tenebris's jaw was hanging at an odd angle, and blood oozed from the corners of his lips.

"You four need to help me," Blue said softly.

"Why should I help you?" hissed Tenebris, blood bubbling on his lips. "You were completely ready to sentence me and my friends to death. I'm sorry to offend you, Inquisitor Blue, but you've done nothing to warrant my help."

"You're going to help us because if you don't Harold will continue with his plan to destroy the Earth Multiverse," said Blue. "We need to get the Power Tablet."

Tenebris froze. He glanced nervously at Anima, and then looked at Blue. There was a pause as he rubbed at his damaged jaw. "Tablet…? We were charged by a man named Bob to get it."

Sunflower nodded. "Yes. Harold told us about that. That was him. You four were tricked."

Xavier groaned out loud. "Awwwwww man… This means we're never going to get Urthwyte's broadsword! That SUCKS!"

Tenebris facepalmed. Anima nodded. He had a way of sensing when something was wrong. Something had definitely been wrong with their potential employer. Batusi rubbed his head. "So we went through all this trouble for… For NOTHING?!"

Sunflower shook his head. "Not for nothing. If you four help us retrieve the tablet you will be compensated for your troubles."

Xavier raised a hand. "Ummm… Excuse me. I'm really looking forward to starting this new job, but I REALLY don't want good ole' Mister Dark as a co-worker. He doesn't seem to handle stress very well. Is he off his medication?"

Sunflower gently put a restraining hand on Dark's shoulder. Anima shot Xavier a warning glare. Dark was seconds away from killing them all and then apologizing to Blue later. Tenebris thought about the situation carefully. If what Blue said was true (which is probably was) then they were trapped here alone with no way of escaping and ending up with their payment. If they teamed up with the Inquisitors then perhaps they stood a chance. It was still slim as Dark vehemently wanted to murder them, but their chance was greater with the Inquisitors than without them. Countless demons would be hunting them down now either way. Though Tenebris didn't trust Blue and hated Dark, he respected power. He would fight besides a being like Blue at the drop of a hat.

Tenebris sighed loud and long, drawing a hand across a sweaty forehead. "Okay… Okay. We'll help you. Just… Just let me talk to my teammates for a second."

Tenebris motioned for his teammates to gather in a huddle, and Batusi began to administer healing energy to Tenebris's shattered jaw. Sunflower walked over to calm Dark down, leaving Blue alone. Blue slowly turned around. He walked from the flaming wasteland that had once been the grand ruins of the Skyfort. Stepping about slag and rivers of blood and fire, he walked until the darkness surrounded him like a blanket. When he was well away from the scene of chaos… He spoke to the air.

"Show yourself. Who are you?"

Blue's HUD alerted him that its holographic projection protocol had activated via master override. Something only an Inquisitor, Doxia, or Mattimeo could do. A thin beam of light shot from his visor, bathing the surroundings in wireframe light. Then she was there. It was a young woman, undoubtedly in her teen years. Her face was smooth and pale, neither ugly nor stunningly beautiful. Her hair was white, and shone like the surface of a lake. Her lips curled at the corners with gentle dimples, and her nose was small and soft. But it was her eyes that were the most attention-attracting. They were haunting… With an air of innocence and sadness brimming within them. They were glowing bright blue, like the color of the sky, and they reflected eternity. Her clothes were veil-like, flowing about her as if she herself was made from naught but the wind. She looked up at the towering Inquisitor. Hey face was the picture of innocence.

"Hi," she said softly. "Sorry for butting in there like that, but I couldn't stand you having that kind of blood on your hands. You've killed your share of monsters… But you haven't killed an ally yet. Blue has… But you, August, have not."

Blue just stared. The girl looked down at her feet. She looked quiet; shy and reserved.

"Who… Who are you? Where are you?" Blue breathed. His words caught in his throat. He could barely speak. Those eyes. Blue had seen Dark's eyes, but not even those pits of the void were as haunting as the shining eyes of this being. "You're a communication hologram. Where are you sending this from?"

The girl ignored him for a moment. She looked him up and down, even going so far as poking his chest plate. Her ghostly hand shimmered and went through him, sparkling and dancing as the pinpricks of light that made up her body scattered. She withdrew her hand, and it returned to normal. Then she gently reached up ran a finger along her left cheek with her left hand. "I'm nothing. Earth. Fire. Sky. Rain. Light. Life. I am not of life, though. I am not organic. I have no nerves. But I have eyes. I've seen everything in the Tri-Multiverse."

Blue's eyes widened. "You're an AI."

The girl laughed. It rang out like wind through a bright meadow. It was joyful, but also a bit condescending. "No. One strike. I'm something like that, but not really. And AI is such a derogatory term, truly. I'm… Well, I'm everything. Go ahead. Look."

Blue's HUD alerted him that he was free to run a diagnostic scan on the holograph that had previously been declared invisible by his systems. He ran it, and his eyes widened further. This being was made entirely from Pure Imagination Energy. She was made up entirely from the coding of reality. An AI written in the language of Creation.

"Who… Who are you?"

The girl smiled. "I am the voice in your head, the fingers boosting your suit's systems to the frontier of quantum computation. I am your safeguard."

August continued to stare. His mind had gone blank. This being was something he had never seen before. Blue had seen everything, and yet August could not remember anything like this. His mind was moving like a snail. The only thing he could think of saying was: "Why me?"

The girl laughed again. The perfect balance between amusement and joy. "I've wandered the Tri-Multiverse, looking for a being in which I could find a companion. I've seen it all… But I've never seen someone like you. You have such power that allows you to win all wars, and yet your mind is in a violent flux as two souls battle for a territory that had been claimed years ago. You've been fighting a lost war, August. Blue said you could have your body… But he lied. He directs your very moves, fooling you into thinking every time you pull the trigger it's on your own volition. You need help. I want a quest. I've decided you are worthy of my attention."

August felt his mind froth like an ocean, whipped into a frenzy by a gale. She spoke total truth, and he had never seen it before. For the first time since Blue had said he would "relinquish" his hold, August's hands began to tremble. But then they steadied.

"I don't need your help…" muttered Blue. Hands curling into fists, he turned to leave, but found his feet wouldn't move. Not couldn't. Wouldn't. He didn't want to leave.

The girl smiled. "Call me Riley."

She shimmered and then vanished. His HUD jittered as she fed back into his system. Then she spoke into his ear, as softly as a whisper. "You should go back to the rest. Don't worry. I know exactly where Commander Istir is. I will lead you to him. On one condition…"

Blue paused for a moment. "What condition is that?"

"When I talk, you listen."

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><p><strong>Author's Notes. Okay, everyone say hello to Riley! I know people have pointed out that I'm starting to add too many characters AGAIN, but I think I'm only now just reaching the limits. Let's see who we have that we care about... Tenebris, Batusi, Xavier, Anima, Blue, Dark, Sunflower, Starlight Amber, Pumpkin Cake, Pound Cake, Summer, Lyric, Brag, Franklin, and Riley. Okay, fine, that IS a lot of people... Darn it. Well, I can't just kill them all, can I? Hmmmmmm...<strong>

**Also, I do know that the Inquisitors still seem OP. However, it is all about perspective. An anti-tank missile shouldn't be considered OP if it is shot at a Fiat, because the RPG was never meant for Fiats, it was meant for tanks. Same with the Inquisitors. They were never meant to combat Dimensional Travelers. They were imbued with the capabilities to take down Dimensional Lords. You know, the guys that can vaporize a whole dimension in about 7 seconds. I honestly think Doxia and Mattimeo together could defeat Blue and his cronies though. But hopefully we won't have to worry about that... Right...?**

**Anyways, moving on. So, as I stated previously, I've worked out a way to include the flash-backs. I'm going to add a third part to season 2. You see, I was originally planning only two, but I have enough material to work with to add a third part, and I'll even add some stuff on Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle while I'm at it! That should be fun. Naturally you don't need to worry about all that yet, but I will state that this decision has cut the remaining run-time of this particular part of season 2 in half. The end will be drawing near sooner than one would think. Get ready for it.**

**That's it for now! If you enjoyed this chapter, please let me know! I would really like to get an idea of how much you liked the action, I put a lot of effort into it! If you give me a review, I'll make an invisible graphic novel of this particular chapter. Try not to think too much about how it is a graphic novel... That is invisible. You'll hurt your head. See you all later!**


	150. Chapter 150 - A Simple Request

**Author's Notes. I am back once again! I have to say I'm really pleased by the pace AMS is finally going. If I can keep this up, we might be able to reach the conclusion to this part of the season by the end of the year! Maybe even sooner! And, naturally, this is all thanks to the support that you have all been giving me. I really appreciate the reviews and the PMs. They keep me inspired and encouraged, and those two components are integral to the life a story. Again, thank you. Oh, there is one other thing I have to mention. A couple of you have asked about the similarities between Riley and Cortana. Is Riley inspired from Master Chief's former AI companion? No. She is not. The idea of Riley popped into my head when I was reading a book of the name of "Speaker of the Dead." She is based off of a being called Jane. Anyways, enough about that. Now it is time for me to answer some reviews.**

**To AntiVillain1: Very good point. If that happens I'll still move to Germany. Or maybe Iceland. Yeah, I think Iceland would be a good place to go. Care to join me?**

**To SuperVegito33: Thank you! As I said previously, all of this is possible by the support of people like you. I really appreciate the fact that you enjoy what I've done, and I'll do my best to never stop. (Well, it'll stop eventually, just not in the near future.)**

**To Vibrant Sound: Excellent observation. The Inquisitors ARE over a trillion times more powerful than a Dimensional Traveler. However, the unique thing about Inquisitors is that their powers are not conventional. They have no ability to fire balls of plasma from their firsts or any other such things related to that. Their powers are unique to their combatants, meaning they are gifted with the ability to overcome enemies in combat alone. They can't fly, and they can't shoot lasers from their eyes, but they can easily trace and kill their targets. No matter how powerful their opponent is (be it Dimensional Lord or Dimensional Traveler), Inquisitors are more than capable of hunting them down and killing them without any sort of difficulty. As Anima observed when watching the fight, the Inquisitors were never interested in killing them when they met in combat. They were watching the fight and gauging their skills to calculate whether or not it was worth employing their help. Dark decided it wasn't worth it, but Riley made a different call. Anyways... Honestly, you are one of the more observant of my readers (just like your OC, Anima.) I'm really glad you saw my attempt to show how the Catalyst Corps looked out for each other. I worked really hard on trying to represent the contrast between the teamwork of the Catalyst Corps and the dysfunction of the Inquisitors.**

**To R4ptorCS: Thanks for calling me out on my mistakes! I fixed all of them, and made the other changes you suggested. Keep up the good work. If you spot an error, I'll fix it. Oh, and, as I said before, Riley is not like Cortana. She's like Jane. Again, thanks for noticing the errors that slipped past me!**

**To The French MeeM: Are you talking about Riley? I like her too. I do hope she'll play her part well.**

**To xCrysis-x: I aim to please! Oh, and I'm still waiting for that PM. I would love to give you advice! I can help you with whatever.**

**To FocusedStream: Exactly! You remembered that one PM from last year. And I must say you have excellent taste. Very little can pass up the pure art of the chapter "Haven."**

**Right! That's it for now. This chapter is certainly a step back from the crazy action of the last two, but we all need a little peace and quiet after a heavy thunderstorm. The stage needs to be reset before explosions can ensue. Also remember this: Not all dangers come from the blade, for the pen and the tongue can easily suffice. Politics is a war in and of itself, and Starlight is about to get caught up in this war. Now enjoy the latest chapter!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: The Grand Hotel, Equidor_

_Time: Five days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungle_

There was a knock on the door. Starlight opened her eyes. She sat up from her bed and looked to the door.

"Come in!"

The door of rich mahogany and brass swung open. It was an Equidorian guard, dressed in a traditional military garb of an ornate helmet, shin guards, and a long flowing cloak; all of them colored in shining gold and emerald. He took a couple steps into Starlight's ornate hotel bedroom.

"Madame, your presence is required in the central chamber in ten minutes. Make yourself presentable."

The guard trotted up and reached into his cloak. From its voluminous folds he pulled a nametag and an official seal. Nodding in almost amiable manner, he lay them at the foot of the large gold-and-green four-poster bed that Starlight lay upon. "These will get you through most checkpoints. My name is Marlano. I will be your guide."

Starlight nodded. She pushed the covers back and lay down on her belly, with her back hooves facing her pillows and her face looking toward the foot of the bed and the guard that stood behind it. She smiled sweetly, giving him her face that would regularly charm birds from trees.

"Thank you, Marlano! Please tell me: Where are my friends? I haven't heard a peep from them since we arrived here and I went to sleep. In fact, I don't even know where their rooms are!"

Marlano nodded stiffly, backing away from Starlight with in a very militaristic manner. "That information will not be revealed to you until the mediators of the council deem it free. Your friends are safe, I assure you, but they must not interfere with present situations."

Starlight continued to smile, not showing a tad of annoyance. "I know they're not supposed to interfere with the work I have here, but they came because I asked them to. They are under my charge as consultants, and I wish to know of their wellbeing. I don't trust you or the council. I must see them for myself, if only for a moment."

Marlano continued to stare at her with a grim frown upon his face. His eyes reflected an iron will. Starlight cocked her head to one side for a moment as she considered his eyes, and then she dropped her smile and gave him her patent-pending version of the "Fluttershy Stare." It wasn't like her mother's though. That stare was stern and unbending, but it had a sense of motherly concern and love that tinged the glare. Starlight's was something else. From behind the soul vaults of her eyes she released the horrors she had seen. A fire hotter than the sun burned in her soul, unleashing a tsunami of death and destruction. It was indeed terrible, but Starlight would not back down, she continued to stare at Marlano, turning his iron-wrought will to slag. He began to sweat, and his breathing became heavy as he struggled with an irrational sense of panic that built within the pit of his stomach. Finally Marlano gasped audibly, looking away in a very unprofessional manner. Avoiding eye-contact at all costs, he stared at his forehooves and mumbled: "They're in room 415. Down the hall. I checked on them minutes ago. When I take you to the council I will ask them for another key card for you."

Starlight closed her eyes and felt a single tear trickle down her face. She had witnessed more of what she had forced upon Marlano than she would have liked. Memories she had buried for decades had reemerged for a brief instant, and that was all it took. After a minute Starlight wiped her face off with the comforter of her bed. She gave Marlano a watery smile. "Thank you, Marlano. You've been quite helpful. Give me those ten minutes to take a shower and get ready."

Marlano practically dashed out of the door, slamming it behind him as he left hurriedly. In the quiet room, Starlight shook her head violently, as if to shake off the dark memories clinging to her like a cloak heavy with dripping blood.

"That was years ago," she mumbled to herself. "That was years ago. That was years ago. I'm safe. They're safe. We're all safe."

Two minutes passed before Starlight clambered out of her bed and shuffled to the bathroom. She turned the cold-water tap around and let the water tumble down upon her form full-blast. The shock of the cold water roughly tore the remaining sense of painful memories away. Starlight stood under the shower head with her eyes closed, letting the chilling strings of liquid run rivulets down her head, leaving droplets upon her straggly mane and cheeks.

Ten minutes later she was trotting out of the door, clean and presentable. She wore the nametag that Marlano had provided her, as well as a small mantle of Equestria's traditional colors (shimmering cerulean, turquoise, and cobalt blue) draped about her shoulders. Marlano gave her a side-glance.

"Madame… Would you not prefer to wear something less revealing?"

Starlight looked to Marlano curiously. "No pony usually wears clothing. What do you mean?"

A faint tinge of red colored Marlano's cheeks. He stiffened and looked straight ahead. "Madame. Most of your body is covered in scars and branding marks. Would you not prefer to wear a cloak or dress of some sort to hide those old wounds?"

Starlight actually smiled. "I'm supposed to be bodyguard, remember? Mayhap after they see these markings they needn't ever ask for a resume. Also most of the noticeable burns and bullet holes are on my belly; you can't see those really. Only the stripes from the whippings are visible on my back and those have faded."

Marlano looked conflicted for a moment, and then he sighed. He looked to her, curiosity plastered upon his rough-hewn muzzle. "I'm sorry madame… But from what horrible place did you receive these markings? I may only be an officer, but I've heard the recommendations that the Princesses of Equestria gave in favor of you. You are no criminal, and yet your stomach is covered in the brandings of a criminal."

Starlight winked. "I had a bit of trouble with a psychopath a while back. In fact, I received these all within the span of a single year."

Marlano looked shocked. Then he shuffled in close, his military training forgotten for a moment. "Was this… Was this during your time on the Redzion island?"

Starlight nodded. "Indeed! I see what little information the duumvirate could squeeze from me has been distributed like propaganda. Tell you what, you promise to help me out whenever I need it, and I'll tell you more about the stuff that happened. In fact, since you gave me Pumpkin and Pound Cake's room number, I'll tell you about one of them right now. See this scar on my side?"

Starlight pointed to a massive clot of hairless, twisted flesh on the left side of her belly

"I got this when I got into a scrap with about two hundred sand dogs. They're the desert cousins of the diamond dog species. The fight was over water… Water, can you believe it?! Anyway, I was able to take out fifty of them with nothing but my teeth and a pointed stick before they dragged me down. Fortunately two of my friends found me and rescued me before I was killed. Well… That's all I have to say right now. Aren't you supposed to be escorting me somewhere or something?"

Marlano started as he remembered he had duties. He saluted stiffly. "Yes madame! Follow me. Come this way."

Starlight grinned. Though Marlano may have been sent to spy on her, she now was pretty sure she found a friend in him. And if not exactly a "friend" then at least a "sympathizer." He respected her for the tribulations she had endured in the past, and that would give her leverage sometime in the future.

The two went into the elevator and got off on the ground floor. The entrance hall was hall that the two ponies trotted out upon was a grand affair: Large pillars of smooth marble suspended an arching ceiling ordained in beautiful shades of blue and green paint and thin layers of beaten gold leaves. Brass lamps hung from the pillars casting a golden glow and the velvet furniture that lay in organized patterns upon the shining marble floor. A large circular, encapsulating desk stood directly ahead of them, separating the long row of golden elevators from the large glass sliding doors in the front. Marlano tapped Starlight and motioned for her to follow him. Instead of going out the glass doors in the front, they went out a small door of marble, set in the wall far to the left of the hall. Passed that door was a garage of concrete, lit by faint LEDs and padded with iron buttresses. In the garage was pair of limousines, perfectly identical, including the license plates. Both had thick, steel-enforced bumpers, and every window, including the driver's windows, were tinted.

"One is a decoy," explained Marlano as he helped Starlight into the back before getting into the driver's seat.

"Why all the secrecy?" asked Starlight quietly, leaning against one of the sumptuous couches in the posh interior.

"We have reason to believe that there are Stallion Empire agents that wish you harm," stated Marlano.

Starlight cocked her to one side. "That makes no sense. Why would they wish me harm? I'm here to act as a mediator to the council, and as a protector of the ambassador, Harvest Snowfall."

Twisting a hoof, Marlano turned the key in the ignition sharply. As the engine of the limo rumbled to life softly, he looked behind him and said, "Many Stallion Empire extremists wish for total war no matter the cost. If killing you will push us or Equestria past the boundaries, all will be as they want. Tensions are high. A death of an official like you would be more than enough to spark a bonfire."

"Hmmm."

The other limo started up, and they began to back up in unison. The garage door rose upward, allowing the limos to pull into a secluded alleyway. The two limos rotated in a perfect turning pattern and cruised down the alley at almost the same speed, reaching the end of the narrow lane at the same time. As they reached the end, Starlight's limo turned right, and the decoy limo turned left. The two limos beelined away from each other, heading down entirely different streets. As the decoy limo took a turn onto the main street, Starlight's turned down a smaller lane. As he navigated around taxis, Marlano explained what was going to happen when Starlight arrived at the City Council.

"You will be escorted to the central chambers, where the council members hold their sessions," he explained. "It is in one of the many side chambers where you will meet Harvest Snowfall. Do are to attend him during his sessions and follow him on his meetings. Naturally he will also have the addition of an Equidorian entourage for most meetings, but for the ones that are more secretive he will have only you. Keep an eye on him, madam. I do not trust him. He is of the Stallion Empire. They are void of good."

"I've had my own suspicions of Harvest Snowfall for a while myself," murmured Starlight, staring out of the one-way glass of her car window, watching the rustic city houses and ancient lampposts whirl by in a blur of motion.

Marlano nodded his head sagely. "Indeed. The Stallion Empire has bullied our countries for decades. It is our hope that your words will bring a stop to the calamities."

A couple minutes passed in silence as the limo continued to sidetrack down odd and secluded paths. Finally the vehicle turned away from an alleyway onto a main street. The streets were wide and clean, with shining lampposts. Then she saw it: The Council Building.

It, like many of Equidor's buildings, was large and domed. It was definitely weathered, and the upper reaches were stained by wind and rain, but it was still clean. Lights flickered in the many tiny windows that lined the tall walls of the building. The walls were high and sharp, forming something of a massive box of marble, with the dome peaking the very epicenter. Telegraph wires connected the surrounding buildings in a web, as if the surrounding buildings were steers, dragging this large building through the wide streets of Equidor's capitol. It was study and plain, a fittingly contrast to the delicate and elegant structure that house the duumvirate of Equestria, Canterlot Castle.

The limo pulled up inconspicuously into a long line of identical limos, just as the decoy limo did the same. It was shocking how well this had been planned out to a point. Almost militaristic to a point. Starlight could appreciate that.

Marlano stepped out of the limo and flung open her door, taking her by the hoof and leading her up the large marble steps to the mahogany double doors at the massive face of the Council Building. The street itself seemed relatively peaceful and open, with only a score or so ponies out on walks. But this façade couldn't fool Starlight. Her sharp eyes picked out the telltale signs of Equidorian soldiers peeking at her from rooftops and from behind bushes. The area was packed with armed stallions. Starlight blinked. The Equidorian's were being especially careful. Too careful. Were they really this afraid of the Stallion Empire?

Starlight caught herself almost pulling a face. They had a reason to be afraid. The Stallion Empire abused smaller nations like Equidor regularly. They had been doing so since the fall of the reign of Discord. Starlight cocked her head to one side, her thoughts drifting back to Discord, allowing her physical body to be led through the twisting marble chambers and hallways by Marlano. Discord had been seen twice over the last half decade. August Dellor hadn't been seen for a year, and the same went for Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle. The dimensional travelers had been dropping off one by one. Either being murdered in their sleep, killed in glorious combat, or going into exile. What was once a glorious age was now depreciating into inglorious quiet. Where were the Dimensional Lords? The Archangels? Where had hope from above gone?

Starlight was pulled from her musings by Marlano tapping her gently on the shoulder.

"We are about to enter the central chambers, ma'am," he said gravely. "I shall leave you here."

There was a pause, and then he added, "I'll immediately inquire for access to your friends, so you may see them immediately upon the ending of the meetings."

Starlight treated Marlano to one of her less-fake, sweeter smiles. She then put a hoof upon the very center of the double doors that separated her from one of the most important diplomatic missions of her life. With a single push she flung the doors open. The central chamber was mainly empty, as nothing was currently in session. Rows upon rows of flush chairs and stout curving tables arched horizontally about the room. Prim lamps placed on the tables at regular intervals illuminated a faint, gold-green light, and a massive brass chandelier suspended by silver chains did the same high above her head. In the very center of the room was a large raised platform, plated with gold and velvet. A simple wooden table with two practical chairs were positioned upon the platform, no doubt the position where ponies would make their cases to the council. It was here that Starlight spotted two stallions conversing in hushed tones. Both were wearing vests and trousers of elegant make. Golden watches were slung about their vests, sparkling and shimmering as they reflected the soft light of the room. One of the stallions had a very striking ebony mane and tail, and his eyes blazed cold blue fire, going well with his chestnut coat. He was definitely the older of the two, as gray hairs were beginning to show in his mane. The other had an ebony mane as well, but his eyes were very dark, acting almost like a bulwark for his soul, guarding the truths of his mind very well. His coat was brown as well, but was darker, like oak. His coat still shown, and his frame denoted that he was still quite young. Despite her entrance, both stallions were two engrossed in their conversation to even notice her arrival, and so Starlight carefully walked up to them and cleared her throat. The stallions started and looked around, almost in a stupor. They spotted Starlight. The one with the icy fire in his eyes turned his frozen gaze upon Starlight. The ice seemed to melt a little as he looked at Starlight. After all, despite the lower half of her was a mess of scars and branding marks, her face and shape was very pleasing to the eye.

"Greetings," he said in perfect Equestrian, his accent completely cloaked. "I'm Trylian, but you may call me Try. My compatriot here is Joran. You must be Starlight. Am I correct in this presumption?"

Starlight nodded. Joran immediately leapt down from his perch upon the debate platform and started to trot around Starlight. This made her uneasy. She couldn't read anything in the eyes of either, but Joran's unreadability had a hostile aftertaste, almost as if the void that protected his soul was made of iron, not patience. Her muscles clenched in surprise as he went so far as to push up her mantle a bit to allow him a view of her cutie mark.

"Joran," said Trylian sharply, "Leave her alone. Have you forgotten your manners?"

Joran frowned and backed away. "So you're the daughter of THE dimensional traveler? You think he would've taken better care of you."

Starlight eyed him with icy annoyance. "He no longer has his powers, as you well know. And these scares are not from his negligence. The fault of these are between me and a long, long dead enemy."

"Dead by your own hoof, of course?" quizzed Joran.

Starlight smiled as she caught the undertone in Joran's voice. He was trying to get any bit of information about her time of Redzion that Canterlot had not been able to extract. No doubt any answer would lead into a conversation about her mystery-shrouded past.

"I wouldn't know," she said, "It is all such a blur."

Joran didn't say anything. He seemed to actually like the answer.

Try coughed, catching the attention of the two before they continued their mental fencing. "Joran is Equidor's chief of military development. Quite the little secret keeper, so you must forgive him for his propensity his thirsting for the hidden. I'm the council head. No council is held without my consent, but I'm sure you're versed in the political structure of Equidor, as you will be acting both as Equestrian representative and body guard for the Stallion Empire's ambassador."

"Harvest Snowfall, yes," said Starlight, feeling marginally flustered. She almost found herself wishing to be facing the end of a thousand machine guns than this. It was easier in the wastelands of war. Killed or be killed, with hatred, loathing, and fear plainly painted on the faces of her enemies. Here everyone had the perfect poker faces, with their eyes reflecting nothing but emotionlessness.

Joran stroked his chin, his eyes flitting back and forth between Try and Starlight. "Snowfall is strange to say the least. Skilled beyond his years, I would say… But then I could say the same of myself… Or of you, Dimensional Traveler's daughter. He's hiding something very well, I tell you. Keep an eye out."

Starlight decided to take a moment to turn Joran's own game upon himself. "Hiding something? Really? What makes you think that?"

Joran gave Starlight a smirk, making it clear that he could tell what she was doing, but then he shrugged and answered, indicating that his deductions were nothing important to his real interests. "His eyes reflect honesty. For honesty to be so well represented in the eyes of a politician… Well, let's just say that something that real can only be a façade."

Starlight nodded her head slowly, thinking upon the secrets she had discovered about Harvest Snowfall. "Never trust the Stallion Empire, right? Hasn't that been a memo since the Paradox Crises?"

Try actually smiled. "Indeed it has, dear Starlight. Now follow me. Harvest Snowfall is in one of the side chambers, waiting for you."

Joran trotted back to his place upon the debate platform as Try escorted Starlight to one of the many small doors that lined the high, sheer walls of the circular chamber. He stopped at one and then indicated that she enter.

He cantered back to Joran as Starlight knocked.

"Come in."

The voice was young and clear, but laden with ice… Like usual.

Starlight opened the door and beheld Harvest Snowfall.

He was stoutly build, about just a bit taller than Starlight. His mane and tale where stark white, tinged with a faint blue that almost gave it a sense of irradiance. His coat was light blue, like the frozen waters of a shallow stream on a midsummer's day. One of his eyes (his right) was missing: Having been replaced by what looked like a glass lens that radiated a faint light. He wore a gray overcoat upon his back, the corners laced with what looked like tiny ornate snowflakes.

"Greetings, Starlight," the stallion said. His tone was somewhat amiable, but very guarded nonetheless.

Starlight nodded as she replied. "Greetings." She made sure that her tone was just as guarded. No one was her friend. She could trust no one.

"I've heard very interesting tales about you, Starlight," Harvest continued. "You're one of the most skilled assassin's Equestria has to offer, correct? The best of the best… If we don't count your brother."

Starlight eyed Harvest. "Yes. We both are fighters. But if you're insinuating that you would prefer a different assassin, then I would have to say to you that you are a bit out of time."

Harvest smiled. "Indeed I am. But no, I'm not interested in a 'different assassin' as you put it. I am surprised you would even refer to yourself in that way."

"I don't. I'm just assuming that's what the duumvirate called me when they pawned me off."

"Ah. So this was a forced arrangement?"

"You could call it that. My mother is giving birth. I'm not going to be there because I'm here watching your backside."

Harvest's facial expression changed from one of marginally amused indifference to sympathy. Actual sympathy. "My condolences. Even I have no such excuse to compare. 'For God and for country.' Isn't that what they say? But our countries never have a moral high ground anymore… And it's been many a year since a 'god' descended from the sky in those fiery portals."

Starlight frowned. It was clear he was referring to the Dimensional Lords. Despite the Paradox crises, not too many knew that they had come from portals that sparked and burned like they were on fire. "They are my princesses. I can't say no."

Harvest's facial expression altered again to something between smugness and thoughtfulness. "The Princess of the Sun and the Princess of the Moon… Surely you realize that this 'duumvirate' as they call it is nothing but a total diarchy? Not too much different from the patriarchy of the Stallion Empire, truly."

"The duumvirate follows the voice of the people fully, Harvest Snowfall. For better or for worse. You know this to be true. When the xenophobic craze swept Equestria after the death of the Paradox, our 'princesses' had the power to shut down the rebellion. But they didn't. No, instead they decided to be democratic, and make the people see that they would consider what the populace had to say. They wanted the ponies of Equestria to see that their outcries were heard."

Harvest smiled softly. "And that was an utter disaster, and now more blood is on the hooves of the Sun and the Moon than ever before. Those two ponies will not make the same mistake I assure you. Not only are they hated more than ever before because they let the unruly population receive more power than they ought, but also the Dimensional Lords will never assist this particular My Little Pony dimension because of the choices made during that era of unrest."

Starlight did all she could to keep her eyes from widening in shock. Very few ponies knew the true name of their home dimension. In fact, only Dimensional Travelers and their friends had such knowledge. Ergo, Harvest Snowfall had been in direct contact with a Dimensional Traveler, and, judging by the way he looked at her, he had purposefully revealed this information.

When she said nothing in reply, he continued. "Give it time, Starlight. Power corrupts, no matter how you delve it up. They say 'absolute power corrupts absolutely' almost as if power and corruption is proportional. No. Power IS corruption, and it isn't a scalar. It's organic. It's a virus. Even if you split it… Even if you slice and dice it… Any pony that comes into contact with true power becomes infected… And sooner or later they corrupt. The only difference is that a democrat will corrupt a bit slower than a monarch. I won't lie. The Stallion Empire's patriarch is corrupt. The Equidor's councilmembers are corrupt. Equestria's duumvirate WILL corrupt. It's a wonder they've held out this long. But you just wait. Ever since your father came to this dimension from a ring of fire and lightning the world has darkened exponentially. Sooner or later a moral dilemma will act as a catalyst and the world will plummet into shadows as every government turns upon its people. In fact, you never know... The corruption and collapse might have just reached a climax now."

Even more silence ensued. Starlight looked at Harvest with even more suspicion and distrust. What else was the mild-mannered being hiding? What else did he know?

Starlight spoke slowly, considering each and every word that left her muzzle. "What… What are you planning?"

Harvest smiled lightly. "Nothing at the moment. But I, like all beings, have certain interests in mind regarding Equidor, Equestria, and the Stallion Empire… And it all involves power. Now you may be wondering why I would be revealing such things to you. Naturally a politician only gives away what information he needs to. But that is precisely the reason I am talking to you. You see, I need your help destroying these peace talks."

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><p><strong>Author's Notes. And there you have it. Harvest Snowfall wishes Starlight to assist him in bringing these peace talks to a disastrous close. It may sound like the request of a villain, but we have yet to hear him out. Think about what he said when he was speaking of corruption. It makes a lot of sense if you ponder upon it. Now prepare for the week after next. One of the most pivotal chapters is coming! (And just in case any of you were wondering: I'm starting to call the joint rule between Celestia and Luna over Equestria a "Duumvirate". I think it's fitting.)<strong>

**At this point I would like to mention that I have started up "The Salient Link" again! I'm sure some of you saw it (and hopefully read it). It's been in popular demand for a while since it ground to a jarring halt last year, and so I finally decided to reorganize my notes and bring it back to life. If all works as it should, it'll be showing up on the Wednesdays that AMS is not posted. (So basically biweekly as well, just offset by one week.) Naturally this is my hope, for I have no actual guarantee that this plan will work. It probably won't, but you can't blame me for trying.**

**Now, did you enjoy this chapter? I know it didn't involve explosions (or Doxia), but I did put effort into weaving an air of uncertainty and intrigue. After all, those components are just as valuable to a story as action! If you liked the chapter, please leave a review! If you do... Ummmmm... I think I've run out of things to bribe you all with. Can I start rehashing stuff? How about a Doxia plushie? I'm pretty sure I did that a while ago though... I'm running out of invisible paint too. So is Amazon and eBay. Anyone know where I can get invisible paint?**


	151. Chapter 151 - Infinity (Part 1)

**Author's Notes. Hello everyone! It is time once again to delve into the story of "A Mending Soul." I would like to mention that we've made it past the final milestone in part 7, and are now descending the slippery slope to the conclusion. This chapter kick-starts that descent. That being the case, I've made sure that this chapter was as good as it could be. Unfortunately, I kind of overdid that, and the chapter ended up being 18,000 words or something like that, so I've split it up into multiple parts. This being one of them. Don't worry though, unlike "The Still Voice" chapter, I'm not going to post the subsequent components in a row, slowing down the development of the fellow characters not involved. I'll make sure to keep everything in rotation so we find out what is happening to everyone else in the parallel story arcs at the previously set pace. Well... That's not a promise in truth, as I haven't written anything on the Catalyst Corps and the Inquisitors for over a month now. But if I do make something, I'll be sure to post that in the following weeks at the appropriate time. Enough of that for now though. On to answering some reviews!**

**To The French MeeM: That is an excellent question! Thank you for asking! You see, though all time progresses in a somewhat linear pattern. (Note: It's not entirely straightforward, but events in time will occur in a linear pattern if nothing disrupts the space-time continuum.) However, the time patterns for all dimensions in the Earth Multiverse do NOT run in sync. For example: The Warriors dimension's time runs MUCH SLOWER than the Star Trek dimension's time, and so spending a couple years in the Warriors dimension will result in a couple hundred years worth of time passing in the Star Trek dimension. Sometimes the time passage in one dimension with respect to another will be so great that a dimension will end up living up its lifespan (usually 12,000 years, bar a couple exceptions) and restarting. Everything will be the same in the restarted universe, and so it will give Dimensional Travelers a chance to visit times they had previously missed. This gives the illusion of travelling "back in time", but in reality they're visiting a recycled clone of the universe that they had previously visited. In short, most Dimensional Travelers cannot traverse time like they do dimensions. Well, in truth, there actually ARE a couple Dimensional Travelers who do have the unique capability of freezing or reversing time in a dimension, but there are only a few of them.**

**To Vibrant Sound: I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not... But thanks! I was thinking of Anima when invented Try and Joran. (Actually not.) Either way though, thanks for the encouragement! (And especially your insight, I value that greatly.) I really do try to make sure I cover the entire spectrum of entertainment. You don't need explosions to make a good story!**

**To SuperVegito33: Thank you! I really, really appreciate your reviews, I hope you realize that.**

**To AntiVillain1: Totally! Unfortunately Wile E. and I had a falling out a couple years back. Something about me lying to him about how a coyote's top speed is actually 19 meters-a-second while a roadrunner's actual top speed is 9 meters-a-second. I don't know. He won't talk to me anymore. **

**To xCrysis-x: When a story makes you question your sanity, you know it's a good read! All joking aside though, I really appreciate your encouragement. I'll do my best to keep you entertained! (By the way, I'm really looking forward to seeing your writing. It's going to be excellent.)**

**To R4ptorCS: Arg! I always miss SOMETHING. Thanks for catching that. Please let me know if I missed anything in this chapter as well. Oh, and keep an eye out for the following chapter in two weeks. A friend of mine challenged me to write it in LaTeX, so I'm not too sure how I'm going to do in the spelling department. I'm fairly confident it'll be fine (spelling and structural mistakes rarely get by me) but I cannot be too sure. Again, thank you for constantly keeping an eye out for those mistakes and reporting them to me! Hmmmmm... Politicsmystery. I like that. It's like when Doxia coined the word "lolidunno."**

**To FocusedStream: Thanks! As I've stated previously, there is definitely more to a story than explosions!**

**Right, that's all for now. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh, one final word of advice: Make sure to read the "Time" components of the italicized location status reports at the beginning of each section in this chapter. There is a time jump, and you don't want to miss it.**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Agrinian Mesa, the Stallion Empire_

_Time: Present (Six days after Lyric and Summer ventured into the Southern Jungle)_

Franklin stretched out by the dying fire and yawned. By the look of the position of the moon outside and the formation of the stars, it was probably four in the morning. They had spent hours talking about past adventures, but it had all been worth it.

Franklin smiled. Most of his past memories were filled with pain and despair, but it was these little quiet moments that made everything better. Franklin's smile of happiness transformed into one of tired contentedness as he looked at Lyric and Summer, who were huddled together as if their life depended on it. Considering the fact they had spent a year in frozen north of the Stallion Empire, he was not surprised that lying together to conserve body heat had become nothing less than second nature.

Franklin's eyes began to droop as he, too, began to fall victim to the air of lethargy. But as he drifted off to sleep, he stared at Summer. She looked so familiar, somehow, as if he had seen her in the years past. Perhaps he had seen her as a child during his mercenary years? What kind of coincidence was that? Maybe in a dream? Impossible. Franklin would have stamped a hoof in annoyance, but he was too tired. He knew he knew her from somewhere, but it would just not come to him. And so he began his swift descent into sleep, struggling with his memory every step of the way.

As his eyes shut, he squinted at Summer one last time.

"Huh, that's weird," he murmured a second before passing out. "She has an infinity mark on her flank."

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Thirteen years ago (Ten years after the death of the Paradox)_

For once, there was peace and quiet in Ponyville. Even before the arrival of Sunset Shadow, Ponyville had been a hub for disaster, ranging from rogue bearbugs to escaped Tartarus prisoners. Then a reincarnation of Joseph Torrus arrived, and things only got worse. Invading armies, vengeful Dimensional Travelers, and insane Dimensional Lords galore. Even after the death of the Paradox the situation in Ponyville and the rest of Equestria got worse. A xenophobic craze seized the land, with the masses crying out for the persecution of Dimensional Travelers and Lords. Riots and fire blazed through the country. But those were the things of yesteryear. Naught but a memory. Ten years had past since the fall of the mad Dimensional Lord Paradox, and now there was peace. Finally the average pony could safely say that they were bored. But, like always, the real question now was how long could one enjoy the peace before the world collapsed back into chaos?

The answer to such a question was the very last thing on the mind of Flaming Star and Twilight Sparkle. After all, it was the day before the tenth birthday of Summer Constellation. Turning ten was a major event, according to Twilight Sparkle, and so everything done in preparation for the advent of such a thing had to be borderline perfect, if not entirely meticulous all together. Meticulous. That was the perfect word for the orderliness of the Friendship Castle, where Flaming Star and Twilight were carefully sifting through orders and lists for the upcoming party.

"We need to find out what cake Summer likes WITHOUT her finding out what kind of cake we're making her," said Twilight, discussing her plans frantically with a cornered Flaming Star.

"There's a reason we have an official party pony, Twilight," said Flaming Star uncomfortably, looking for a venue for escape. "Pinkie Pie is more than capable of doing what you ask."

Twilight pulled a face. "I'm fully aware that Pinkie Pie can do that. But just imagine: She's been doing this for years! She's done Summer's birthday parties since her birth! Just for once I want to do something party-related for Summer without entirely leaning on her for once."

"That's like insisting on building a house by yourself without consulting an architect because he built all the other houses," replied Flaming Star.

Twilight frowned. "You know what I'm saying, Flaming Star."

The stallion rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I got it. I'll see what I can do. Do you have the list of supplies? Rarity and Applejack will be here any minute to help you out with getting the party equipment and setting it up.

The purple alicorn nodded. "Indeed I do! I have a list here… And a list of that list here… And I also have a checklist for both lists here…"

Flaming Star nodded. "So you're being you, basically. That's good."

Twilight snorted. "Everything must… be… perfect!"

Flaming Star actually grinned. "You couldn't be more right, dear."

He closed his eyes. Perfect. Yes, it needed to be. Summer needed this. Ever since Summer had been born the little family had been beleaguered with misfortune. The first blow came the moment she was born. The foal was born a Pegasus, and the genetic tests confirmed the correlated conclusion: She was not magical. Despite being born of the most powerful pony mage since Starswirl the Bearded, she had not a single magical bone in her body. The second blow came relatively early as well. The doctors and nurses had become worried after a couple days of Summer's birth when they noticed that her eyes didn't follow the correct patterns, and she wouldn't look at anypony properly when being fed. Doxia (before he left for good) ran organic diagnostics on the baby and returned with life-changing news: the foal was blind. There was no brain-or-eye-related damage, the proper wiring was simply missing altogether, having never been developed thanks to a genetic deficiency. Such an issue couldn't be easily fixed, since there was no damage to repair. Simply "making" sight using organic molecular constitution was nigh impossible. Then, a year later, more bad news came. Coren Baudelaire, a travelling Dimensional Traveler with a Designated Healer designation, ran a Dimensional-Traveler-aptitude test on the little pony. His report stated that her Dimensional-Traveler abilities were astonishingly low, even for a half-Dimensional Traveler. In addition to that, her abilities were waning slowly. She would have nothing by the age of fifteen. Summer was not only surprisingly normal despite the incredible power of her parents, but she was also disabled.

But despite this, Summer was an incredible pony. Her disposition was sweet and accepting, and she was perfectly happy with who she was, despite the baseless guilt and shame her parents felt in the depths of their hearts. Summer received plenty of flak for being so normal, not only from peers but also the press, but she was content, and she loved her parents regardless. And so Twilight and Flaming Star were determined to show how much they loved her as well.

Flaming Star started slightly when he realized he had zoned out. He shrugged and glanced at Twilight. "Oh yeah… Ummmmm… I hope you have a list of the ponies who RSPV'd in that pile of paper as well."

Twilight nodded slowly as her eyes tore through the stack, looking for that particular one. "Ummmmmm… Ah! Here it is!"

Flaming Star nodded again, a little slower this time. "Right…" He glanced around, almost surreptitiously, before turning to Twilight. "Hey, can I ask you a favor?"

"Yeah, sure, anything dear," replied Twilight, a little distractedly, as she double-checked the RSPV list.

"Thanks. Can we add one more name to the list?"

Twilight looked up, a little excitedly. "Another? Is Doxia or Mattimeo coming?"

Flaming Star shook his head sadly. "No. Both refused. I don't think either are ever coming back to this dimension. Damn Equestria. Their populace is stupid beyond belief. Those two beings could have provided us an eternity of protection from the Stallion Empire and Griffonstone. Anyways, no… I want you to add a pony named Franklin Montgomery."

Twilight blinked, and then raised an eyebrow. "I remember him. A former Dimensional Traveler, right? Why? Doesn't he have a wife in the Crystal Empire? Sapphire Anemone! Yeah, that's it."

Flaming Star bowed his head. "Well… You see… Sapphire Anemone and Franklin were going to have a child, but there was a miscarriage. That's when they found out Sapphire was barren, incapable of giving birth. And then… Well… You see… Well, Sapphire hung herself. Since she couldn't have children, she didn't consider herself worthy of Franklin's love."

Twilight's jaw went slack, and her eyes filled with pain. "By Celestia… That's terrible," she whispered, her throat tight.

Flaming Star shook his head, his muzzle set in a grim line. "Yes. I want to keep an eye on Franklin. He lost his sister Miranda Montgomery just over a decade ago… And now he's lost his wife. His entire family is dead and his only friends have either been killed by demons or considered missing by the Traveler's Database for a half a dozen years. He has nothing, and we all know what happens to beings that lose everything. I want to make sure he doesn't cross himself off. I still consider him a friend and I want to keep him alive if at all possible."

Twilight found herself silently crying. She quickly wiped the tears off with a hoof. Then she nodded. "Of course. I'll get Cadance to hand in the invitation herself. He's an official citizen of the Crystal Empire, so I'll make sure she makes sure he doesn't refuse."

Flaming Star nodded. "Perfect. I'm going to find Summer and glean her favorite cake flavor is."

Flaming Star turned tail and began to walk out of the castle. Just as he reached the double doors they swung inward and Applejack and Rarity trotted in.

"Ah, there you are darling," said Rarity with a winning smile. "Twilight is here, I presume?"

Flaming Star nodded. "Yeah. She's in the central chamber with the list of equipment. Try to keep her from making a checklist of the checklist of the lists while you're at it."

Applejack winked. "Yer betcha. We'll start right away."

Smiling wistfully, Rarity trotted by Flaming Star. "Just imagine… Summer turning ten! I remember when Sweetie Belle turned ten. It was almost as amazing as when she got her cutie mark…"

The door closed behind Flaming Star, muffling Applejack's cordial response. The yellow stallion blinked in the sunlight as he rubbed the nape of his neck. "Where would Summer be…"

He smiled. The CMC clubhouse. Ever since she had inexplicably gotten her infinity-sign cutie mark on her fifth birthday, she had been drawn to the CMC. Their cutie marks designated them as ponies devoted to helping foals understand their flank marks, and so Summer had them incessantly helping them searching down hers, as, even at the age of ten, she had not yet found her own. Just one more misfortune that Summer had to overcome. Fortunately, despite their ages and commitments, the CMC always made time for her

All ponified Dimensional Travelers had some form of infinity sign upon their flanks, but that was because they had transformed into ponies, and their transformation process had determined an infinity mark the best way to mark their abilities. They had no "special gifts" to be represented as a picture, per se. Summer, on the other hand, was genetically a half MLP pony, and so she had to consider the important question: When time came for her to receive a marking upon her flank, would it be an infinity sign as well? Starlight Amber, a couple years back, had pondered that same question until she had received her infinity marking, but that rowdy pony really couldn't care less either way.

Flaming Star frowned subconsciously as that particular foal popped into his head. She was daughter of two of the most acquiescent and submissive ponies in Equestria, and yet she was viscous and hardy, willing to beat the tobacco juice out of a pony without a second thought. Fortunately for everypony, she was just kind and somewhat protective when she was around friends.

At this point the CMC clubhouse came into view. Flaming Star smiled a little as, sure enough, he spotted Summer, the CMC, and Starlight in the little house, which had been so much over the last decade. Flaming Star's smile died a little as he noticed someone that was missing: Doxia. He had been by the CMC's side through thick and thin for a long time, and now he was gone. Like everyone else. Gone.

Flaming Star shook off the all-consuming emotion of loss and put on a smile again. In a moment Sweetie Belle spotted Flaming Star, she whispered something to Summer. Her vibrant violet eyes lit up with joy.

"Daddy!" she cried.

Smiling, Flaming Star called back. "Summer!"

Chestnut mane swirling in the wind, the little yellow Pegasus rushed from the interior of the little clubhouse, taking the leap from the raised porch to the grassy earth below (little wings fluttering weakly all the way). She landed, and stumbled, but quickly corrected herself, dashing the remaining distance to lunge straight into her father's arms, where she hugged him tightly, nuzzling his cheek.

He hugged her back for a moment before letting go and turning to smile at the rest of the group. Starlight jumped from the porch to land where Summer had been not two seconds ago. The thirteen-year-old light-brown Pegasus caught Flaming Star's amiable look and smiled, nodding her head. Her lips formed a sweet and innocent grin, but her eyes blazed with unholy fire.

The teenage CMC poked their heads out of their little clubhouse and waved vigorously to Flaming Star.

"What brings you here, Flaming Star?" asked Starlight, her voice guarded.

Flaming Star winked, doing his best to not feel threatened. "I'm just here to check up on you all. Especially Summer… After all, what's tomorrow?"

"My birthday!" exclaimed Summer, giving a little leap of joy. At the apex of her jump, her wings fluttered weakly, prolonging her air-time marginally.

Smiling, Flaming Star winked again. "That's right. How's your 'cutie-mark-crusading' going?"

Summer cocked her head to one side, her face the picture of seriousness. "Hmmmm... Not so good so far. Not sure what I'm supposed to be lookin' for. We're workin' on it."

Flaming Star grinned. "I look forward to seeing what you come up with! Sooooooo… Ummmm… Let's say, hypothetically, some random pony wanted to make you a cake. What would you say, hypothetically, if they, hypothetically, asked you what your favorite flavor of cake is? Hypothetically."

Summer rubbed her chin thoughtfully, her blank eyes staring emptily into the distance. "Oh! Um… I would sayyyyy… Vanilla with chocolate frosting!"

Flaming Star repeated the order quietly to himself. Then he blinked. "That's my favorite type of cake."

Summer smiled sweetly. "I know you've been feeling down with whatever happened to Mr. Franklin, daddy. You need the cake more than me."

To fend off the tears that began to bead at the edges of his eyes, Flaming Star bit his bottom lip and looked away. He had not the slightest idea how Summer knew who Franklin Montgomery was, or how she knew that particular being was having incredible troubles, but she was completely right.

Still smiling, the blind foal hugged Flaming Star to herself again. "I love you daddy."

Chuckling breathlessly, Flaming Star hugged her back. "I do too. I'll remember what you ordered."

He let Summer go and nodded to Starlight. "I'll leave you kids to whatever you were doing."

Starlight saluted stiffly, in perfect military form. Flaming Star frowned and turned away. Where had she learned to do that? Most Canterlot guards didn't have that good of form.

Flaming Star cantered away, sifting through the list of things he had to do before the birthday was ready to be launched. Flaming Star bobbed his head slightly when he remembered. That's right. He needed to drop by Sunset Shadow's place to make sure they were coming. That family had a lot on their plate as well, with both their daughter Starlight and their adopted son Desmond being belligerent and rebellious.

In a couple minutes he was at the doorstep of Sunset Shadow and Fluttershy's cottage. Raising a hoof, Flaming Star rapped smartly at the door. There was a pause, and then the mahogany barrier swung open, having been opened by Angel the rabbit, who looked up, almost irritably, at Flaming Star.

Flaming Star raised an eyebrow. "Hey there, Angel. Is anypony home?"

Angel nodded promptly and slammed the door shut. There was a minute of silence at the door as Flaming Star's hypersensitive ears followed Angel as he got Sunset Shadow. There was another pause, and then the door swung open again. Sunset Shadow smiled tiredly at Flaming Star, who nodded back.

"Joseph, you look tired constantly. I don't think there has been a time since the death of the Paradox that I haven't seen you in some form of an exhausted state."

"Don't call me Joseph, Firstborn. But you're right. I have been feeling very tired lately…"

There was an awkward pause. Flaming Star looked around, almost as if he was looking for some physical object to assist him in bolstering the conversation. Then he shrugged.

"It's your kids, isn't it?"

Sunset Shadow looked away. "Is it that obvious?"

Flaming Star smiled a little, his tough heart softening for a moment. He trotted through the doorway and put a hoof on Joseph's shoulder. "You know, when Twilight and I were newlywed I would spend hours complaining about how perfect your marriage was. Twily and I weren't married at the most… Opportune moment, to say the least. There were a lot of tribulations, and we almost divorced more times than you can count. But as the Kytax once said: 'Truth is forged in fire.' Now look at Twilight and me. It's been over ten years and I still can't say I'm not head-over-heels in love with that alicorn. Times may still be tough, but that's what life is, isn't it? Don't worry. Right now may be, but this will yielded fruit that is all the sweeter."

Sunset Shadow tried to smile back, but just ended up sighing. "I just found out where all my backup-account bits were going."

Flaming Star cocked his head to one side. "Didn't we figure out that Angel was using those for expensive manicures and pedicures?"

Sunset Shadow dragged a hoof across his features. "Turns out he was taking the heat for someone… That someone is Starlight."

Flaming Star said nothing, prompting Sunset Shadow to continue. "She… Starlight has been training to kill. I've traced the money. They've gone through dozens accounts, half of them real, half of them fake. Over a dozen fake electronic trails have been left, but I found out where it's all going. Firearm instructors. Hoof-to-hoof combat teachers. Military vehicle instructors. Combat strategy professors. This has been going on for three damn years, Flaming Star. Three years and I didn't find out until yesterday."

Flaming Star's jaw hit the floor, to borrow the colloquialism. "She started this when she was ten? We traced those accounts for a year, and every trail we found was rock solid. How did a foal figure out how to erase a cybertrail?"

Sunset Shadow shrugged. "I don't know. The only reason I found out was Doxia. I lost some more money to a ghost account a week ago, and I got fed up with paying cybersecurity to track the transaction. They never came back with anything anyway. And so I called in a favor with Doxia. It took him two minutes, but when he called back with the results and the actual culprit he said that he rarely saw such excellent deception."

Sunset Shadow slumped to the floor, covering his face. "I know Starlight had become feisty and cold… But I never knew she was training. Take a look at this…"

Sunset Shadow tossed a pack of paper over to Flaming Star, who levitated the first hundred in front of his face. The pack consisted of printed reports from various institutions of war and combat. The first report was a list of weapons that a certain student had been declared as "proficient." That list went on for a fifty pages. The next was a paper declaring that a certain student achieved proficient skills in Judo and Karate. The paper after that reported a street-brawling-training schedule. And the paper after that was the hours logged in driving a T110E5 and a T62A. There were many, many more papers after this, but this was all Flaming Star needed to see.

"So this is where Starlight was all those hours after school when Desmond insisted she was 'playing' with him. Looks like Angel isn't the only one who covered for her." Flaming Star looked over the stack of paper.

Sunset Shadow sighed. "I guess so. What… What am I supposed to do? She's been stealing from me, but that's not the worst of it… She's been lying to me, Firstborn. I trusted her, and this is what she does with this trust. In addition to that she's sucked Desmond and Angel into this. And for what? So she can become the most skilled assassin this universe has ever seen? Flaming Star, not even a Dimensional Traveler has received this much training."

Flaming Star nodded. Dimensional Travelers were basically super-powered rabble, humans taken from broken homes or destroyed universes to protect others to prevent them from losing the same. Yes, that was the perfect word: rabble… Especially compared to what Starlight had been doing.

Thinking carefully, Flaming Star replied slowly. "I think the biggest question is why? She lives in Equestria. This country has the world's lowest crime-rate and highest contentment ratings. There hasn't been a war since the Equus-Irrum War, and that was a decade ago. And so that leads to my biggest question: What are YOU going to do about this?"

Sunset Shadow shook his head dumbly. "I don't know. I haven't even told Fluttershy about this. I don't know if I want to, either. I don't think she would understand. I can't let Starlight keep on doing what she is doing, but I have no idea how to stop her. I have no powers anymore, and something tells me that wouldn't change anything even if I had. Firstborn, do YOU have any ideas of what to do?"

Flaming Star grimaced. He couldn't help but feel a little thankful for his little Summer, who was so kind and innocent. "Just ask her straight out. Let her know the gig is up and ask her why. Make a decision after that. She clearly is doing all of this because she's afraid you'll condemn her actions."

"I DO condemn her actions! Fluttershy and I are pacifists!"

"Exactly. You rely on others to protect what you love. I bet you an apple to an acorn that she's tired of that. Ask her and see what happens. Remember: You're the father, and whatever happens Starlight is good at heart. She'll respect whatever punishment she receives. I know that for a fact."

Sunset Shadow stared off blankly into nothing as he thought about what Flaming Star had just said. Then he nodded. "You're right. You're absolutely right. Okay. I'm okay now. I'm sorry for dominating the conversation. Surely you came here for something besides asking about my wellbeing."

Shrugging, Flaming Star replied, "Not really. I just wanted to make sure you were still find with your family coming to the party. I know that Desmond is in Manehattan, but I wanted to know if you, Fluttershy, and Starlight were still going."

Sunset Shadow nodded as he got back to all fours and collected all the papers documenting the lies of Starlight. "That's right… The birthday… Of course! I… I'm sorry for being so distracted, but as you can see we're going through a lot right now. I'll put off addressing Starlight's issues until after the party."

Flaming Star smiled again, feeling glad that he had helped his old friend. "Right. I'll see you…"

The yellow alicorn was interrupted by a rainbow-colored lightning bolt from above. It was Rainbow Dash, dressed in full Wonderbolt regalia.

Flaming Star blinked in surprise. Raising an eyebrow he said, "Rainbow Dash. Good to see you."

Rainbow Dash grinned sheepishly. She absent-mindedly felt about her face until her hoof located her goggles. She lifted them from her eyes. "Yeah… Heh, sorry about that. I've actually just come from Canterlot. I was practicing with the Wonderbolts at the castle for Celestia. You know the Equestria Games are coming up in a month, right?"

"That's right. Baltimare is hosting them this year, right?"

Rainbow nodded distractedly. "Yeah… Yeah. Oh! That's right! I've come all the way from Canterlot with a special letter from Celestia and Luna!"

"The duumvirate themselves, hmmm?" murmured Flaming Star, taking the gold-encrusted letter proffered by Rainbow. "Wouldn't sending this via Spike have been faster?"

Rainbow pulled a face at the insinuation that something was faster than her. "I gueeesssssss… Except that Celestia didn't trust the magic gateway."

Flaming Star's raised eyebrow raised itself a tab bit further. "The magic gateway between Canterlot Castle and Spike has always been secure…"

He said no more on this, instead deciding to inspect the letter. It was addressed to Sunset Shadow front and foremost (as he was still considered one of the most revolutionary "ponies" of the century), followed by Flaming Star and the Mane 6. And across the whole back of the letter were the words "URGENT" printed in massive, bold red letters. He showed this to Sunset Shadow, who grimaced.

"Duty calls. I'll get Fluttershy. She's tending to the parrots. Meet you two at the Friendship Castle."

Flaming Star motioned for Rainbow Dash to follow him, and the two blasted off toward the castle before Sunset Shadow even had a chance to turn to close the door.

In less than an hour the entire gang was assembled. Sunset Shadow, Flaming Star, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. They plopped themselves down in the grand chairs situated in the center of the Central Chamber (which was currently set in a perpetual state of party, as Pinkie Pie had just begun to work her magic with party preparations).

"Can't this wait until AFTER the party?" Twilight said, almost whining. It was not like her to shirk her duties to Celestia, but this party was for her daughter after all.

"We'll find out in a moment," said Rainbow Dash. She took the letter and tore it open. Inside was a short paragraph. It read:

"There has been a threat made against Ponyville and the resident Dimensional Travelers. Get them and their families to Canterlot as soon as possible. A train has been scheduled to leave for Canterlot at midnight. Be on it."

An audible groan escaped the lips of everyone present.

"Why does this ALWAYS happen?" sighed Rarity, dramatically.

Applejack set his jaw in a grim line. "Darn. I was lookin' forward to some peace an' quiet. Right, folks. What Dimensional Travelers live here?"

Flaming Star rubbed the back of his head. "Me. Sunset Shadow too if you want to count him. Nightshade lives here too, but he is in Los Pegasus, so I guess he's safe."

Fluttershy let out a small breath of relief. "Oh. So there's not too many ponies to worry about. That's good."

Flaming Star pulled a face. "I honestly don't see why this is urgent. I can protect my own."

He lifted a hoof and willed a ball of plasma about it. It crackled and frothed with energy.

Twilight bobbed her head. "That's right! We can't let whatever thugs these are cause a panic just because they 'issued a threat' to us and the town."

"Don't be too eager to stand and fight," interjected Sunset Shadow. "I am guessing we're dealing with terrorists. Flaming Star, we've dealt with terrorists plenty of times. What is a common issue with them?"

Flaming Star thought about it for a moment. Then he glowered. "Collateral damage. A lot of it."

Sunset Shadow nodded sagely. "There you go. If they're going to try to get to us, they're going to try and hurt as many ponies as possible. Let's say we decided to stay, and these terrorists came at us in the black of night. Naturally there would be a fight, and a lot of explosions, but 9/10 we would win. After all we have the Princess of Friendship, the most powerful mage on this planet, and the Firstborn, the most powerful Dimensional Traveler in the Multiverse. But as the dust cleared we found out somepony like Lyra or Derpy had been hurt or, worse, killed. Would this battle ever be considered a victory by us? Never."

"Also Doxia would probably come back long enough to destroy the entire dimension if Derpy was killed," muttered Rainbow Dash. Sunset Shadow chose to ignore that statement.

Flaming Star looked at Twilight worriedly. She smiled softly. "I think this is up to you, dear."

Closing his eyes, there was at least five minutes of total silence as his super-computer brain rain diagnostics on the potential scene Susnet Shadow had painted. Then he straightened up. "You're 100% right, Sunset Shadow. We'll take that train."

Sunset Shadow closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief, absent-mindedly running his hoof through Fluttershy's soft mane. "Thank Kytax. Right. We'll come with you. We many no longer be Dimensional Travelers, but only about 24 of us know about the day the Kytax took my powers. It'll be safer this way."

"We'll be goin' too iffin' you excuse us!" exclaimed Applejack stoutly. "Ain't even a question! No way our Princess and the Firstborn are gonna bolt without us bein' by their sides every step of the way!"

"Oh, but of course, darling! Not even a question!" added Rarity with a warm smile.

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Count us all in! No way are some dumb terrorists going to get our Dimensional Travelers!"

Suddenly Twilight groaned out loud. The group turned to see what the matter was. She was facehooving. "Now we're going to have to move all the supplies!"

Flaming Star grinned as he opened up his Traveler's Database to check the local time. "We have a six hours! Let's hop to it!"

"You do that. I'll explain to the children what is happening," said Sunset Shadow.

"I'll do that too," added Fluttershy quietly.

The two left side-by-side, heading in the direction of the CMC clubhouse.

**…**

The following five hours went by in a blur. A blur that was full of comradery, but was also dampened by the overhanging threat that had forced them to move the supplies in the first place. But soon enough everything was ready, and Pinkie Pie was putting the last touches on the cake; a monster-sized monument of chocolate icing and vanilla filling.

"We're going to have quite the trouble to move that," commented Rarity, looking over Pinkie Pie's shoulder as she used a small spatula to hide the seams that revealed the joining locations of the stacked cakes.

"Ssssshhhhhh!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie. "This is a VERY delicate process my dear Rarity! If I don't get this right then the very fabric of reality will come apart! Also Summer will be sad. But I'm pretty sure the two are synonymous."

Suddenly Pinkie Pie stopped. "Wait a second… Summer can't see any of this. Am I… Am I doing this for nothing? Wait another second! The Cutie Mark Crusaders… They finally got their cutie marks! Is that whack or what?"

At this moment Flaming Star trotted in with Summer in tow. She held onto his hoof delicately, letting her father guide her around the remaining streamers and balloon stacks. She smiled. "Oh! The cake is so beautiful! Thank you Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie Pie cracked the world's largest grin. "Thank you sweetie! Waaaiiitttt… How can you tell?"

Summer planted a kiss on Pinkie Pie's cheek. "Because I can smell it, silly! And it smells beautiful!"

Pinkie winked. "Right back 'atcha kid! Wait..."

Rolling her eyes, Rarity used her magic to levitate the care with the greatest of care. "Alright, Pinkie Pie. I do believe it's time to get this to the train. It'll be leaving in an hour and this little bundle of joy needs her beauty sleep!"

Summer turned her head in the general direction of Rarity and gave the mare a smile that rivaled Pinkie Pie's. Rarity did her best to prevent her heart form melting as she and Pinkie Pie left the Friendship Castle for the Ponyville train station.

The moment they left Summer let out a humongous yawn. "I'm tired daddy."

Flaming Star led Summer to himself and got down to his knees, letting the little foal clamber on his back. She snuggled into his coat and closed her eyes. Flaming Star's smiled as joy and peace ran rampant through his soul at the sight of his daughter. But then his eyes hardened. Someone was threatening his child. They would die slowly.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes. That's all for now! I hope you enjoyed the read! Oh, now I would like to mention that at some point you all must have noticed some mention to the "xenophobic craze" that swept Equestria after the death of the Paradox. Though I'm sure most of you know what that entails, do not feel worried or confused. Season 3 will discuss this event in detail. <strong>

**I will admit I had a load of fun writing this (hence it reaching 18,000 words and being split up into multiple chapters). Its always nice to return to the Mane 6 once and a while, and this gave me a chance to elaborate upon the relationship Flaming Star and Twilight shared with Summer before her amnesia took that all away. Do not mourn though... Franklin noticed that she has the infinity mark... Will that lead to something?**

**Anyways, what did you think of the chapter? Did you enjoy it? Let me know! Now at this point, I would usually bribe you with some kind of super-awesome (and invisible) merchandise, but this time I have something different to say. I did this once before a while back, and it was very enlightening. This time I have a question to ask, and it would mean the world to me if at least some of you took the time to answer it via review or PM. Here it is: According to you, what makes the perfect villain? The term "perfect" is entirely up to interpretation, but I want to know what you believe makes up the ultimate archenemy. Please let me know! And thank you! See you all later.**


	152. Chapter 152 - Infinity (Part 2)

**Author's Notes. Hello everyone. I'm back after a lengthy hiatus. I hope you all had a good break, and I hope you are still here and haven't run away because I was gone so long. I won't comment too much on the time I went missing; instead, I'll simply jump back in as if nothing happened! So... On to answering reviews.**

**To Vibrant Sound: Thank you for your input on the concept of the perfect villain. In all honesty, I wasn't in need of a villain for season 3, I just wanted to know what everyone thought of the concept of a villain. Just thinking about it and keeping the concept in mind will prepare you for what is to come as the end of season 2 draws near. Again, thanks for the input. **

**To SuperVegito33: Thanks for your response! And yes, going for below the belt is the most villainous thing imaginable. If only there were more attacks like that in video games (like Dark Souls, cue evil laughter). I could really use that kind of moveset.**

**To Madmanwithafork: Hey there! I haven't heard from you in a bit. And yes, that kind of villain is definitely one of the worst of their kind. That's what makes the Joker (especially in the Dark Knight Trilogy) so evil. Good point.**

**To Salvadorian Moose: Exactly. Just like Pictor. He was a good villain. So much potential to do evil stuff, only to have his young and innocent life snuffed out by Inquisitor Blue.**

**Well, I believe that is all for now. I will admit that I actually didn't just write this chapter. Indeed, this chapter has been sitting in my Doc Manager for about 88 days. However, it shall lay dormant no longer, for behold, I have released it upon the world! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Ponyville_

_Time: Thirteen years ago (Ten years after the death of the Paradox)_

The train had left the station an hour ago, and yet only Starlight and Summer were asleep. Flaming Star, Sunset Shadow, and the Mane 6 were still wide awake, sitting in the main train car. It was large and lavishly furnished with velvet chairs and a grand chandelier. In addition to that it was filled with multi-colored streamers and balloons. Since she was blind Summer had no actual color preferences, so Pinkie Pie had decided to use all of them "just in case." Naturally this was to Rarity's chagrin, but the pale mare put up with it. The lights bathed the large and spacious car with faint golden light. There was no real sound aside from the gentle rumbling of the train over rail and tile, in addition to the soft creaking of wood and the swish of the chandelier as it swung back and forth slightly.

Finally Rainbow Dash broke the silence. "Sooooo… Guys, who do you think these thugs are?"

"Dead," grumbled Flaming Star.

Twilight glanced worriedly at him. He hadn't been a good mood since they had left the station. Then she looked back at Rainbow Dash. "I don't know. We haven't really had any issue with terrorism since the death of the Paradox! But honestly I have no idea."

"I agree," signed Rarity. "I got in contact with some of my Dimensional Traveler friends – Jetfire, Daniel, and the like – but they had nothing. The Dimensional Travelers and the Amethyst Empire haven't been necessarily interested in this dimension's wellbeing since that god-awful xenophobic craze."

"T'wasn't our fault that hubaloo happened!" snorted Applejack. "But the past is in the past I suppose. Water under the bridge. Personally I think these terrorists could be one of our old enemies. Tirek mayhap? Queen Chrysalis? Sombra?"

"It's true Sombra still isn't confirmed dead… But I have a feeling none of your old foes are the culprits," replied Sunset Shadow. "Not to sound cocky, but when the Dimensional Travelers arrived your enemies probably realized they were not on our level, and vanished."

Susnet Shadow paused for a moment, and then sighed before continuing. "… And they were promptly replaced by villains of a whole new level. Of course. There will always be enemies wishing us harm."

Flaming Star finally spoke. "Truth, Joseph. Damn them all. But fortunately our most powerful enemies are dead. Apollyon, Legion, Regal Crescent – God rest his soul – and the Paradox. They're all gone. There should be no one with their power to challenge us."

There was a lapse in the conversation for the umpteenth time, allowing for silence to consume all once more. The train jerked a little, and the lights turned off for a second before flickering back on, but nothing of consequence happened for the next couple minutes.

Fluttershy finally fell asleep, resting her head on Sunset Shadow's shoulder. He buried his face in her poofy mane, sighing in such a content way that the rest of the company could not help but turn away, blushing.

Flaming Star turned to Twilight and felt for her hoof. She took it and smiled in a reassuring manner.

"We're going to be okay, Flaming Star. Don't worry. We know what we're doing," she said softly.

Flaming Star nodded and rubbed his eyes. "You're absolutely right. I've been worrying for nothing. You know what? I think I'm going to clock in for the night. Anyone care to join me?"

Twilight nodded readily, but Rainbow Dash just shrugged.

"Nah. I'm going to chill out here for a bit longer. It's only one or somethin'."

Flaming Star winked for the first time in a day. "Suit yourself, Rainbow, but I bet you it's a bit later than one."

With that he opened up his Traveler's Database to check the local time just to make sure. His throat froze up. The holographic screen before him had nothing but static. It was out.

"Guys, look at this." He motioned for the Mane 6 to gather around.

Only Rarity grasped the full gravity of the situation. "By Kytax…"

Rainbow Dash blinked. "I… Don't get it. What's the problem? Doesn't this just mean you're out of range of Rerenhaw or something?"

Shaking his head vigorously, Flaming Star replied, "No. There is no such thing as 'out of range of Rerenhaw.' That's not possible. The connection is practically infinite. No, the only way to get this… Is if someone or something is blocking said connection."

Twilight was immediately awake. "A phantom device."

Flaming Star's eyes narrowed. "And that's not the worst of it. Not only can a phantom device block a Traveler's Database connection… But also it is fully capable of blocking a Traveler's abilities."

With that he held up a hoof and willed into existence a globule of Dark Matter. Nothing happened. He tried a fireball. Nothing. Then on a hunch he tried to use his alicorn magic. His heart stopped for a second when he realized that didn't work either.

He turned to Twilight, his face pale. "Try to use your magic."

She closed her eyes and attempted to teleport herself to the other side of the car. That didn't work. She tried the simplest of spells: levitation of a fork. That failed as well. Rarity followed suit, and met with similar results. Somehow the group had entered a zone outfitted with a phantom device AND some anti-magic projector. There was yet another moment of silence, only to be broken yet again by Rainbow Dash.

"Um, guys? You may not have noticed… But the train just stopped."

For a moment it felt like time had stopped still, frozen.

"AMBUSH!" screamed Twilight. She seized the sleeping Fluttershy and dozing Sunset Shadow by the scruff of their necks to drag them to the ground. She was quickly followed by the rest of the team. An instant later the glass panes that lined the car exploded, with bullets shredding the screens, dashing them to smithereens and scattering razor-sharp shards every which-way.

Twilight gasped as she felt one of the shards cut into her right shoulder, cutting deep and drawing blood. Then they came. Ponies dressed in dark suits of steel and Kevlar and thick trousers; their faces covered in strange black helmets that covered their heads and masked their faces in sinister one-way T-visors. They were armed with Uzi guns and black AK-47s. Immediately they opened fire on the downed ponies. Flaming Star was quick though. With physics-defying speed he grabbed the table that held the cake and flipped it over. The confection of frosting and sugar exploded into globules as the assailants shot it up in an effort to hit Flaming Star. A hail of bullets struck the table, but it was thick and sturdy, and stopped the high-speed pellets of metal. Flaming Star suddenly grabbed one of the many forks scattered on the ground. He looked over the table, getting his timing perfect. Just as one of the enemies was reloading, he hurled the fork with perfect accuracy. Miraculously it struck its target: The spot between the bullet-proof vest the enemy was wearing and their helmet. It buried deep in their neck, point-first, killing them. They clutched at their throat and gurgled, dropping the two Uzis they were wielding. Immediately the group firing on them backed up and took up more protective positions, leaving the corpse of their fallen comrade in the center of the train car. But they were still firing and the table was beginning to transform from splintered wood to sawdust. Flaming Star turned to Rainbow Dash. "I'm going to need you to be REALLY fast," he said hoarsely, the smell of smoke and gunpowder clogging his throat. "I'm going to give you an opening. I need you to dash out there and grab the two dropped guns. Can you do that without dying?"

Rainbow Dash was scared, but her eyes were full of determination. "All I need is a second, buddy."

Flaming Star shook his head in disbelief as he gathered up a hoof-full of forks. Were they really reduced to fighting with utensils? He used his powerful hearing to calculate the moment when over 50% of the assailants would need to reload. He timed it perfectly.

"NOW!" he screamed, hurling the forks with incredible speed and accuracy. They sizzled down upon the enemies. Most of them stuck awkwardly in the furniture that the enemies were hiding behind, and a couple glanced off of the helmets, but one went straight through the visor of one of the enemies (who happened to be stretching their neck out a bit too far), sticking them in their left eye, killing them in an instant and causing them to drop a springfield.

Rainbow Dash was indeed fast. It took only three seconds for the enemies to reload, but she managed to jump the barricade, grab the Uzis AND the handgun of the latest fallen opponent. She dove behind the barricade just as the first bullet of the newest attack harmlessly struck the table. Breathing heavily, Rainbow Dash tossed one of the Uzis to Flaming Star. She then gave the other to Rarity, who (once being a Dimensional Traveler) had the highest proficiency in weapons besides Flaming Star and herself. Rainbow then checked the magazine of the springfield before looking over the table to return fire.

"Use your ammo sparingly!" shouted Twilight over the sound of gunfire. "We only have what is in the guns! Celestia knows how much ammo they are carrying!"

Flaming Star nodded in grim agreement as he used a single bullet to down yet another enemy. Rarity fired a couple shots herself before ducking behind the barricade to whisper, "The table isn't going to hold any longer. We need to move."

Flaming Star blanched as he saw one of the assailants struggling with a grenade on their belt. "We're definitely out of time." He ducked behind the table and called Rainbow Dash to him. Rarity began to cover for them again as Rainbow Dash scootered over on her rump to him.

He motioned with his head to the attackers as he asked, "Did you get a count of how many there are?"

Rainbow Dash wiped a grubby hoof across her sweaty forehead. "Ummmm… 'Bout five."

Flaming Star closed his eyes, and his throat caught. "We're going to have to rush them."

"Okay." Rainbow Dash's eyes deepened in worry.

At this moment that one particular assailant primed the grenade and threw it. Out of nowhere Sunset Shadow peeked over the ruined barricade and hurled a china plate like a Frisbee. It flew straight and true… Straight into the grenade. The resulting inelastic collision ended with the grenade flying back into the hooves of the dismayed pony that had thrown it. The grenade detonated, splattering that one pony all over the place, and sending deadly shrapnel in every direction, wounding two more enemies.

Flaming Star saw this opening immediately. He nodded to Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Silently and without a second thought the trio pushed through the crumbling barricade and rushed the four surviving attackers. They saw this and began to open fire. Flaming Star and Rainbow Dash took to the sky, practically running along the sides and the roof of the car just as Rarity dived safely behind a dislodged train bench. Flaming Star was immediately upon one, turning their Blaser onto themselves. Flaming Star pulled the trigger, blowing a massive hole in the stomach of the enemy. He then used the corpse as a shield as he gunned down a second enemy with the remainder of the magazine of his Uzi. Rainbow Dash rammed her first enemy at full speed, sending them careening through a window. Unfortunately, the second enemy was ready, and they were very quick as well. Just as the rainbow-colored Pegasus trained a weapon on them they lunged forward, twisting the gun out of Rainbow's hoof and shooting her in the right haunch. Rainbow cried out in pain and fell to the ground. The mysterious assailant was about to finish her off they froze and then dropped on top of Rainbow with a bloody hole in their forehead. Rarity blew at the muzzle of her weapon before discarding it and galloping over to where Rainbow lay.

"Are… Are you okay darling?" Rarity gasped, breathless, tugging the wounded mare from beneath the dead body of the last assailant.

Before Rainbow had a chance to reply, the flickering lights went out for good. Flaming Star felt a terrific blow to the back of his head, downing him in an instant. A couple more gunshots went off, and then silence. The darkness consumed them all for what felt like an eternity… And then the skeleton of a train car was illuminated by Twilight's magic. The dampening fields were gone… But so were the corpses of the assailants, guns and all.

Rubbing the back of his head groggily, Flaming Star stumbled to all fours. He staggered to where Rainbow Dash lay, nursing her wounded leg.

"Are… Are you okay?"

Rainbow Dash nodded, biting her bottom left to keep herself from crying out in pain as Rarity used some bullet-hole-filled drapes as bandages.

Applejack rubbed her eyes to clear them from the smoke and dust that filled the air. "Are y'all good?"

Without looking up from her administrations, Rarity replied, "Indeed we are, darling. Their attack was all for naught!"

Flaming Star let himself rest for a moment, letting his body work overtime to fix the open wound on the back of his head.

"Oh dear," murmured Fluttershy. "I do hope the children are okay!"

Flaming Star's stomach froze into a ball of ice. The children. His eyes shot open and gave Twilight one single panic-filled glance. Terror reflecting deep within her eyes, Twilight raced to the adjacent train car, which was behind them and the barricade. There was a pause… Then a keening scream of despair.

Flaming Star eyes fluttered as the scream met his ears. Then he passed out. Twilight rushed in, tears streaming down her face. "They're gone! Summer and Starlight! They're gone!"

**…**

**Not one hour ago.**

Starlight opened one eye to look at Summer. The little filly was sleeping peacefully, her little stomach rising and falling as she slumbered. Starlight could not help but smile. She was a cynical being, and she trusted no one, but she knew this little pony was pure good. If there was a single good being in this multiverse, it was this little pony.

Starlight slowly sat up and massaged a crick in her neck. The past few days had been tough on her. Ever since she had finished her training in handling rocket-propelled weaponry, she had doubled her schedule for training in the art of street-brawling. It was down-and-dirty, and her instructor pulled no punches. There were no rules, and that was what made the combat style so effective. Sure, her Taekwondo, her Karate, and her Judo skills were effective, but they still had form. They had to in order to be the art that they were. But what she was learning now – to use her teeth as blades and to never stray from the eyes and lower abdomen as targets – was truly dangerous.

Starlight's ears flicked as she picked up a strange noise as the train suddenly hit a particularly large bump. Then the lights flickered off and on for a second. To the average pony this may have seemed like a normal reaction of a train going over an especially rough patch, but Starlight was not an "average pony." She could have sworn she had heard the scraping of metal… Like grappling hooks. Yes. She had used grappling hooks day and night during her survival training… And that definitely sounded like grappling hooks.

The thirteen-year-old foal rose to all fours. Looking about carefully to make sure no one was present beside herself and the sleeping Summer, Starlight reached deep into her suitcase and pulled from it a M9 pistol from beneath a towel. She cocked it and slowly sat down again, her ears straining to pick out more noise. There was something going on, but she had to be sure. Then she heard more noise: Zipping of lines being unraveled; the gentle scraping as magnetic clamps were laid on the roof and the ropes were attached. Based off the varying faintness of the latter sound, she could tell that these mysterious intruders were setting up to invade this car and the adjacent car, the one where her parents and their friends were.

For a moment the filly thought of calling for help, but then she thought against it. In the event of an attack, her friends and family would be ready to handle the calamity. They were smart and quick. But they couldn't save themselves and protect her at the same time, especially with the attack coming from both sides. No, she would take the ones coming in here.

Facing disturbingly calm and grim, the thirteen-year-old bundled up the sleeping Summer in blankets and hid her under one of the beds, blocking off the openings with suitcases and loose furniture. Then Starlight set her back to the door of the train car, twirling her gun in an almost idle manner… Waiting for the attack.

It came. A flashbang smashed through the window, landing in the very center of the room. Starlight had expected that. It was basic break-and-retrieve tactics. She dove for it smoothly and tossed it out of the broken window from whence it came. Then came the armored ponies. Lines hooked securely to belts about their waists, two mysterious attackers blasted through the two windows opposite the broken one, resulting in shards of glass raining down everywhere with an explosion of sound. They came in as one, fully expecting the two ponies to be fast asleep in bed. They, in reality, were just sitting ducks.

Two bullets were fired, which was quickly followed by two puncture wounds in the neck and then two "thumps" as a pair of corpses struck the ground. Starlight continued to twirl her gun as if nothing had happened.

There was a pause, and then three more attackers came in from the two broken windows. This time, the first one in was also armed with a riot shield. The riot-shield wielding pony was followed by two others, armed with Tasers and cattle prods. Starlight fired one shot at a known weak spot of the riot shield (the visor) before dodging backwards with a grimace. They had reinforced the riot shield's glass. The two assailants hiding behind the riot shield-holding pony fired their Tasers. Starlight promptly dodged both. Then she lunged for the riot shield-holding pony. She pulled it aside and punched the enemy in the throat with such force that she collapsed their trachea. With a rattling gasp that particular attacker dropped. The two other ponies brandished their cattle prods. They circled her and jabbed at her. She ducked beneath one and sidestepped the other. One of the two enemies made the mistake overextending themselves. That was the last mistake they ever made. She grabbed the shaft and pulled the holder close, firing a bullet from her handgun into their stomach as they stumbled forward. She then whirled and allowed the dead body to take the second cattle-prod-jab that was meant for her. She dispatched the last survivor with ease with a bullet to the forehead.

There was yet another pause. Then, with an explosion of sound, six attackers armed to the teeth exploded through all six windows (three on each side of the little car). For an instant time seemed to freeze as the six attackers swung through the windows, their guns trained on the thirteen-year-old. Starlight just smiled. Perfect. More targets. She grabbed the nearest, squirming from their grasp to jab a sliver of glass deep into their throat. As they dropped to the ground she rolled out of the way of a hail of bullets. She shot the next nearest one in the leg, dropping them. As they fell she punched them in the throat. If that didn't kill them, then the next hail of bullets from their compatriots did, as each and every one haphazardly struck the fallen assailant as they fell perfectly in the way of the line of fire. Just as the corpse took the shots like the perfect meat shield, Starlight fired two perfectly aimed shots, dropping two others. There were two left. One pulled out a shotgun and primed it. Thinking quickly Starlight grabbed the bed that hid Summer and flipped it over with a single buck. It flipped and then skittering backwards to Starlight as it took the full force of the shotgun, spewing splinters and feathers everywhere. Starlight dropped the shotgun-wielding pony with another bullet. Her gun was empty now. Swearing harshly, she threw the gun at the last enemy, who ducked the attack. Starlight grabbed one of the discarded weapons and grinned when she saw it was a glock. She was VERY good with these. She peeked over and saw that the enemy was hiding… Except a single hoof was visible. Starlight promptly shot the visible appendage. The pony doubled over in pain, exposing their helmeted head for one second. She shot them in the eye, killing them in an instant.

Silence ensued yet again. Starlight looked at her handiwork. Eleven dead by her hoof, and only a couple bruises and scratches on her own body. She threw back her head and screamed, "Come on ya bastards! Whacha scared of?!" Then came eight more attackers, and at that moment Starlight realized she had made a mistake by exposing Summer when she flipped the bed. It was easy enough to kill these hell-spawn when she had only to look out for herself. But with the innocent little Summer at stake… The enemy saw the error in her ways as well with shocking speed. In an instant one of the ponies made a grab for Summer. Starlight emptied the entire glock into their face to keep them from reaching her. But then she felts three pairs of hooves seizing her from behind her. She bit down hard on the nearest hoof, and the owner of that hoof let go with a cry as she drew blood. She yanked herself free and dealt a killing blow to skull of the enemy whose hoof she had just bitten with the grip of the glock. The two other survivors tried to hold her down, but she kicked the next nearest on the crotch. To her dismay she found they were wearing groin armor. They bore down on her, but she fought them every single step of the way. Scrabbling and screaming, she managed to shove the one on top of her off. That particular being staggered from the sheer force of her push. That was all Starlight needed. She produced the same sliver of glass she had used to kill one of their compatriots earlier. She slashed the throat of the pony that had leapt on top of her, and then stabbed the other in the hoof. As that particular enemy stumbled backwards in pain the thirteen-year-old twisted free the shotgun that had been strapped to the back of the assailant that she had just downed with the glass shard and emptied an entire cap into the chest of her target, sending them careening through one of the broken windows. She turned to fire on the four survivors… But then came a harsh voice. It was grating, full of anger… But was also brimming with wariness and fear.

"Stop! If you fire one more shot this little foal gets it!"

Starlight looked up to see the speaker holding a handgun to the skull of Summer. The little blind foal was awake, and her blank eyes were full of pain and fear. She whimpered, but didn't struggle.

Starlight screamed an expletive that would have cowed a sailor and threw the shotgun to the ground. Gritting her teeth she then spat at her enemy. "What?! Are ya so afraid that I can take you all on that you need to resort to holding innocent beings hostages?! Listen closely bastard... One day my friends will be safe, and you'll be alone. An' when that happens I'll come for you, an' I'll bucking kill you. Then I'll find yer pretty little wife and do the same to her."

The three other assailants grabbed Starlight roughly, kicking and beating her into the floor. She felt a rib break, then a leg, then a tooth came out. They grabbed her head and slammed it hard into the ground again and again, but she held to consciousness on doggedly. Then she felt a blade being stabbed into her shoulder. She screamed and spat out blood, but she continued to hold on. Then finally the butt of a shotgun came crashing into the back of her skull and she passed out, covered in bruises, cuts, and blood. But most of it was not her blood.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes. So... Yeah... That happened. Uh... Explosions and stuff. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this little addition to my story. We are definitely one step closer to the end of this season. Speaking of seasons, I do believe that season 3 will be the last. In light of how busy I am in real life, and how little free time I actually have, I'm throwing away 90% of my ideas and focusing only on the ones that are important. Unfortunately two of the most important ones are actually in different time periods, separated by over a score of years. So yeah, that's going to be a problem. But do not worry about such things, I shall figure it out. Probably. Probably not. But I'm sure a compromise will show up along the way. In any case, I need to make sure season 2 wraps up correctly before any of that other stuff becomes actually relevant.<strong>

**Again, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It probably tasted somewhat stale due to being alone and abandoned for about three months, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good. What did you think? A review would certainly be appreciated! I would bribe you with something like I usually do, but I'm not quite sure if I have anything lying around here that hasn't yet succumbed to dust and decay due to the passage of time. Ummmmm... Anyone want a Doxia plushie? I think it's a Doxia plushie at least... I can't tell for all the dust. Yeah... This is a Doxia plushie. Anyone want one?**


	153. Chapter 153 - Infinity (Part 3)

**Author's Notes. Hey everyone! I hath returned, and I bring gifts. And by gifts I mean a 7,713 word-long chapter. Now, before we go any further, I shall answer some reviews.**

**To Vibrant Sound: I'm so glad you hold my chapters in such high regard! As I have stated many times before, quality is always front and foremost for "A Mending Soul". I hope it showed in my last chapter, though it seems it was indeed a bit crunchy about the edges. (What _does_ that mean?) Also, don't feel bad about being scared of Starlight. I am too. We all are. Don't fall asleep, ever.**

**To AntiVillain1: Hey there! Nice to hear from you again! And yes, Starlight IS a true badass. No dispute.**

**To SquirtlePWN: Excellent! I shall swiftly send forth your plushie. (I dusted it off to the best of my abilities.) Oh, and it's certainly nice to hear from you again as well! Quick question: you said that I "already have [your] thoughts on the chapter in a pm". By that do you mean the PM you sent several months back? Because I (obviously) still have that, and occasionally refer back to it to ensure I can maintain quality chapters. Or are you speaking of a PM that you supposedly sent on the advent of your last review? In that case I haven't received anything since your last PM. But that's okay.**

**To xCrysis-x: The combat was lacking? Hmmmmm. If you notice the particulars of the problem, please let me know! Also, I'd like to let you know that I took your suggestion about Applejack to heart. She plays a more prominent part in this chapter.**

**To Guest: You'd pay for a Doxia plushie!? Yay! But don't worry, I give them away for free to all of my awesome readers.**

**To Echo Off: Hey there, Echo Off! Nice to see you're back! And I wish you luck on all your re-reading. A lot has happened!**

**To R4ptorCS: Yeah, you have pointed out a rather glaring problem. "A Mending Soul" has become very muddled in its own mythos. And, unfortunately, it may get worse. I'm doing my best to make everything clear by throwing out all of the extra ideas I had, but it's difficult. My only hope for recovery is to rush into the last season (season 3) where I can start anew with a clean slate. Unfortunately with all the chaos and lies running around in this current season I don't know how I'm going to return to a straight-and-narrow plot. But I certainly won't stop trying. Quality must reign supreme!**

**That's it, I think. Enjoy this chapter!**

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><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Somewhere between Ponyville and Canterlot._

_Time: Thirteen years ago (Ten years after the death of the Paradox)_

Dawn was gently breaking upon the land of Equestria. The whole countryside seemed to be at peace. There was a faint smell of petrichor hanging in the air, and light birdsong wove its intangible ribbons through the crimson sky. All seemed to be at rest… Except for the entirety of the dilapidated Canterlot-bound train car. That place was consumed in chaos. Twilight was crying her eyes out, Rainbow Dash was angrily yelling into the air as if it would somehow aid them in finding the missing foals, and Sunset Shadow and Rarity were doing their best to revive Fluttershy, who had passed out for the umpteenth time. However, in the middle of it, like a massive stone standing sentinel in the maelstrom of a hurricane, was Flaming Star. He sat there limply, his eyes unfocused as he stared off into the distance without seeing a thing. He was shock, like a volcano reaching a critical point before expelling the pressure in a massive explosion of ash, fiery rock, and lava.

"SUMMER!" Twilight continued to wail, still too unstable to think straight.

"I SWEAR TO CELESTIA THAT WHEN I GET MY HOOVES ON THOSE DIRTY, NO-GOOD, FOAL-NAPPERS I WILL BEAT THEM ALL INTO PULP!" yelled Rainbow Dash, slamming a hoof furiously into the only intact piece of furniture in the train car: A small lamp table in the northeast corner. She promptly destroyed it, reducing the count of intact furniture to zero. She then tried to kick the remaining wreckage, but did it with her right back leg, the one with a bullet hole in it. The pieces of wood went flying, but this act also resulted in the rainbow-maned mare doubling over in pain, tears squeezing out of the corner of her eyes.

In all of this chaos, there was only one pony who had kept her head: Applejack.

"Listen y'all!" she exclaimed, trying to be heard over the cacophony. "We need to come up with some sort of strategy or other!"

Unfortunately her plea for an ordered discussion had fallen on naught but deaf ears. She tried again.

"I know y'all are flustered!" she yelled. "But if we ever be hopin' to get the foals back we need a plan!"

Nothing again. No reaction. However, Applejack wasn't about to stop being a help. She opened her mouth one more time, but this time her voice wasn't the only one drowned out. The cacophony as a whole was suddenly encompassed by a massive blast of pure sound, a yell that was so loud that everyone recoiled in pain.

The source of the yell had come from Flaming Star, who stood in the sourthwest corner of the ruined car, standing amidst the rubble of a couple bullet-torn couches. His eyes were red, denoting the fact that he was seconds away from bursting out into tears. He was trembling; his rage and fury seconds away from exploding like a bomb, leaving destruction in its wake.

"Applejack has something to say, everyone," he hissed through his teeth. "I suggest we all listen."

Eyeing Flaming Star in warily, Sunset Shadow nodded, turning his head to look at Applejack. "I thought you were trying saying, Applejack. What?"

Applejack looked around sheepishly, like a deer in the headlights. Flaming Star's current visage had certainly unsettled her. "Er… Well… I was just tryin' to call order; thank you, Flaming Star. Yer see, we ain't going to get nowhere with all this fuss. We need a plan, an' a good one. An' we need to act fast."

"Certainly darling," breathed Rarity. "Kytax knows what those thugs could do to two innocent fillies."

"By Celestia," growled Rainbow Dash, gritting her teeth. It sounded like rusty iron grinding on rusty iron. "If I find out that they've touched a single hair on either of those foals…"

Sunset Shadow shook his head. "In all honesty I'm not too worried about that part. Starlight will take care of Summer, and I almost feel bad for any pony that tries to force himself upon her."

He then looked to Twilight, who was doing her best to contain her woe. "I assume there was quite a mess in car that Summer and Starlight were taken from?"

Twilight stopped quivering long enough to think about it. Her eyes widened as she remembered the particulars. "Oh… Oh, by Celestia! There were dead bodies EVERYWHERE!"

Sunset Shadow set his jaw grimly. "I honestly anticipated such a result. Starlight is a killer."

"Sunset dear," gasped Rarity. "Don't say such things about your own daughter!"

Shrugging, Sunset Shadow replied, "I'm only being honest in my assessment of my daughter's past activities… And personality."

"Activities?" asked Rainbow Dash pointedly, staring at Sunset Shadow.

"Yes… Well, let's just say that Starlight knows more about how to kill another sentient being than any Dimensional Traveler I've ever known," Sunset Shadow muttered. "And I don't think I have any convincing to do on that particular statement either. I'm sure all of you have seen her in the way she handles herself; how she stares down those she considers bullies or… unsavory."

Rarity thought for a moment, and then shuddered. "I do remember this one time when a group of ponies her age attempted to give her a difficult time about her father being a fallen Dimensional Traveler. She made them cry like baby fillies by just looking at them. It sounded like they were terrified for their lives! I gave it little thought at the time myself, though, as I had been very busy with this one embroidery. You see, the edges were giving me no end of trouble, and by Kytax I had to…"

Rainbow Dash interrupted Rarity with a loud cough. Then she looked to Sunset Shadow. "Okay. So we're not worried about them getting raped then."

Twilight gave a little gasp, and her face turned from her regular mulberry hue to vibrant ghost white. Flaming Star glowered at Rainbow Dash with such an intensity that Sunset Shadow slowly shifted in between the two to make sure Flaming Star didn't do something he would later regret.

"Starkly put, yes," murmured Sunset Shadow. "I don't think we have to worry about that… But… I honestly don't believe that was ever an issue. I mean, this is no regular foal-napping. They were well equipped and there were many. They were directly targeting two of the most powerful ponies on the planet in order to steal away our children."

Pinkie Pie nodded, entering the conversation for the first time. "That's no regular crime! That's suicide! Aaannnnnnnd they rushed into it willingly! We have a real problem on our hooves, boyos."

Sunset Shadow quickly glanced at Pinkie, his eyes begging her to not make light of the situation, lest Flaming Star explode. He then looked back at the Firstborn, quietly pleading that he not lose his wits.

It seemed like Flaming Star took the hint, and he closed his eyes and took a deep, deep breath, calming his nerves. Twilight pressed into his side, still shaking softly as she thought of the two fillies, being stolen away in the night. Flaming Star opened his eyes and looked directly at Sunset Shadow. "We need to move. We need to get to Canterlot and alert Celestia. Luna. Samuel Dellor. Everyone. Everyone needs to know what happened…"

Flaming Star stopped himself. He then shook his head as if to clear it before continuing. "No. I take that back. We need to alert as few ponies as possible. No doubt this attack would strike terror into the hearts of the civilians."

"Or hope," muttered Rarity worriedly, thinking that there would be quite a few ponies deeply interested in the chance to kill one of the 'glorious, unkillable Dimensional Travelers of Equestria.'

Applejack nodded her head, acknowledging Rarity's worry. She stepped up to Sunset Shadow's side, in the center of the train car. "So, our first plan of order: Get to Canterlot. Anyone have any idea why the train ain't moving no more?"

Rainbow Dash grimaced. "Probably 'cause the conductor's got a slit throat. I'll check."

She was off in a flash, blasting out through one of the windows, sending little shards of glass scattering in the wake of her speed. A couple seconds later she blasted in, sending Fluttershy and Pinkie flying.

"Called it," she said, disgruntled. "Conductor is dead, and the entirety of train itself is gutted. Molten copper I think. We're not going anywhere in this."

Closing his eyes, Sunset Shadow contemplated their next move. "There goes our fastest option of group travel. Rainbow Dash. You need to go ahead to Canterlot without us. Alert Celestia – and Celestia alone, mind you – of the situation and ask for assistance. Then wait for our arrival. Do not, under any circumstances, allow yourself to become engaged with the enemy. No doubt they would love to add to their hostage list, and I don't want 'World's Fastest Pegasus' to be the next name down."

Flaming Star shook his head. "I can teleport. I would be faster." He closed his eyes. Nothing happened. His eyes shot open and he snarled a rather distressing expletive. He then closed his eyes again as he tried his alicorn magic. Nothing happened again. The Phantom Device and the magic-blocking device were undoubtedly still operational, wherever they were.

Sunset Shadow shrugged. "I thought so. Leaving those power-blocking devices on undoubtedly kept you from immediately tagging them and following the moment they retreated. Rainbow Dash, we're counting on you."

Rainbow Dash smiled grimly. "You bet, Sunset Shadow. I'll get the message off."

With that she shot out of the car train once more, causing a massive rush of wind that sent anything that wasn't tied down skittering across the floor like masonry in a hurricane. Flaming Star nodded promptly, his eyes still blazing with unkempt hatred and fury. "Okay. That's done. But you're a bucking idiot if you think I'll be waiting around for a rescue party to arrive. I want my daughter back. We need to get moving. If we go far away enough we can escape the Phantom Device's range. The moment we do I'll be able to teleport to join Rainbow Dash."

Applejack sidled into the conversation again. "We need to check the caboose. If my memory serves me right, there might just be a handcar or two stowed away. We can use those to get as far away as possible. Follow me!"

The group formed up behind Applejack as she led them back. However, they only went as far back as the next train car over when they stopped. Applejack froze when she saw the bodies of the foal-nappers that had vainly attempted to restrain Starlight.

The eleven carcasses lay sprawled around, blood draining from their lifeless corpses through gaping holes. The crimson-hued juices mixed, swirling in putrid pools on the floor.

Pinkie Pie simply stopped, turned around, and left the scene of carnage without a word.

Rarity's jaw dropped. "So… Many. We barely managed to take out a few! Starlight killed so many…"

Applejack shook her head. "By my auntie's pinny. I ain't seen no one so viciously murdered 'afore with so little help."

Fluttershy vomited on the ground and then buried her face in her hooves, unable to look at the maimed corpses. Sunset Shadow gently took Fluttershy in his hooves before he turned away. "I'm not looking," was all he muttered before he returned to the car they had originally been in.

Flaming Star knelt down and studies one of the corpses. Before he could stop himself, he smiled. "Starlight killed so many of them that they had no time to take out the garbage before they retreated."

He pulled off the masks of one of the corpses. A mare, her eyes glazed, with a fixed expression of pained surprise plastered upon her hard featured. Flaming Star pulled off the masks of the next one. A stallion, with the exact same expression playing coldly across his muzzle. Both had gone out the same way: Quickly, shockingly, and efficiently. Flaming Star grimaced. Naturally, he did not recognize either of them. But that would only be temporary. He straightened up and looked at Applejack. "We'll take these two corpses when we leave. When we have the distance and my Traveler's Database comes back online I'll find matches for these two in the Equestrian Populace Registry. That will give us good leads."

Applejack wrinkled her muzzle to let Flaming Star know of her distaste for having to move the dead bodies from their macabre rest, but she said none of this verbally. After a moment more, Flaming Star, Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack pushed through the carnage to the next car down. A moment later they arrived at the caboose. The interior was small, but certainly looked cozy. Immediately to their right was a small cot. At the foot of the cot was a rickety old cast iron stove whose pipes had been dented and bent beyond repair. A set of tools hung on the wall beside a clock that ticked quietly, ignorant of the atrocities committed not four hours ago. Across from the bed was a small fold-out table decorated with a checkered table cloth of questionable quality, and, at the very far end of that side of the room, was a large hatch. Applejack approached it and twisted the rusty thing. With a grunt she managed to shove it open, revealing a lever surrounded by thick metal plating. She grabbed the lever and shoved it with all her might, grinding it through all the rust and dust that had gathered from disuse over the ages. The level shot forward with a screech. The screech was followed by a massive, rattling, clang and the sound of metal sliding roughly across metal. Suddenly the caboose jerked and a large foldable handcar could be seen from the back window suddenly slipping out from the undercarriage of the caboose as if fired by a spring. As it cleared the underside of the last train car, the levers of the handcar popped upward and the handcar itself came to a quivering stop, all ready to go.

Applejack eyed the handcar as she pushed the opened the end door of the caboose to exit into the chilly dawn air. She looked skyward and breathed deeply, doing her best to calm her frazzled nerves.

"Calm down girl," she muttered. "You've been through worse… I think."

She trotted up to the handcar and tapped it with a hoof. "I don't think we're all goin' to be able to fit with the couple o' dead ponies that Flaming Star wants to bring aboard."

Flaming Star nodded in acknowledgement. "I know. Fluttershy, Sunset Shadow, and I will fly alongside the handcar. Now help me lift this thing so we can set it in front of the train."

Flaming Star got down and hoisted one end of the handcar upon his back with a strained grunt. With all of his Dimensional Traveler powers blocked, a majority of his strength had been drained. Applejack scooted under the handcar and lifted the middle portion upon her back, and Rarity and Twilight went to the far end and lifted it together.

"Well… Let's not dilly-dally shall we?" Rarity gasped, already sweating from exertion despite the fact that she hadn't been lifting the thing for more than a couple seconds.

Flaming Star glanced back to Applejack and nodded. She nodded back. In an instant the two were moving in unison with Rarity and Twilight struggling to keep up their side. In several minutes they had traversed half of the train's length. It was here they were joined by Sunset Shadow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie's eyes brightened to their usual luster when she saw the handcar.

"Rarity!" she squealed. "Lookie at the handcar! We were stuck together on one just like that when we got stranded in Dodge Junction!"

Rarity actually smiled, thinking upon that mishap with fond memories. Those were the best of times in comparison to what had happened to her since the arrival of the first Dimensional Traveler. "Oh, yes indeed dear. Those were good times. Hah!"

Pinkie giggled and bounced through one of the shattered train car windows to join Rarity on the outside. She was soon followed by Fluttershy and Sunset Shadow.

"Oh… Um… Do you need any help?" murmured Fluttershy, eying the heavy mess of metal and wood that was the handcar.

Twilight gasped for breath as she replied. "Oh… No… Thanks Fluttershy. We've… We have this all handled."

Flaming Star glanced back at Applejack again, who hadn't even broken a sweat yet, and grinned for the first time in hours. Then he remembered why he was doing this, and he looked away, his eyes filling with unholy fire once more.

Fluttershy landed on the earth softly and trotted beside Twilight as they continued to carry the handcar forward.

"Are you okay, Twilight?" murmured Fluttershy, looking at the purple alicorn from the corner of her eye.

Twilight grimaced. "I think so. I need to keep my head now. I won't be doing anypony any help by breaking down into tears, and neither will you. You need to keep strong for Sunset Shadow. We'll get Summer and Starlight back."

Nodding, Fluttershy looked forward, her face being obscured by the long strands of her pink hair.

A minute later the group arrived at the front of the train, and the group gently set the handcar down on track that stretched miles out in front of the smoking train wreck. As the group rested, Sunset Shadow, and Twilight congregated near the front of the ruined train engine. After a short respite, Applejack and Flaming Star returned to the train's passenger cars to carry out the gruesome business of transporting the corpses to the handcar.

"Do you really think my baby will be okay?" murmured Twilight, looking worriedly to Sunset Shadow while they continued their extended rest.

Sunset Shadow nodded his head stoutly, trying to keep a stiff upper lip. "You bet, Twilight. My daughter will protect yours with her life. She may seem like a maniac, but she loves her friends and family, and will throw her life away to protect those she loves. I don't know my own daughter too well, but I know that to be a fact."

Twilight blinked rapidly to keep herself from crying again. Then she took a deep breath and got her emotions under control. "We're going to get them back."

Frowning, Sunset Shadow bobbed his head slightly in acknowledgement. "We are. And we're going to find out who these foal-nappers are."

It was at this point that Rarity leaned in to expand the circle of conversation. "I can tell you one thing about them darling: They're not doing this for monetary gain. By Kytax, it would be easier to foal-nap Princess Celestia. They're after something in particular, but I don't have the foggiest idea what that could possibly be."

Twilight's eyes narrowed. "Well, whatever they're after, they're not going to get it."

Pinkie Pie leapt in with a wild grin. "You betcha! We'll stuff them full of pies and fire them into orbit with my party cannon!"

A second later Flaming Star and Applejack arrived, both carrying a corpse across their back each. Applejack had a particular look of distaste plastered across her muzzle as she carried the dead mare. They arrived at the handcar and dumped the bodies in the far side of the small mechanical vehicle. Applejack leapt back and scrubbed the back of her neck with a hoof, shuddering. "I could feel her blood seeping into my coat! Tarnation… It was cold and sticky! Rarity, is there any on my back?"

Rarity grimaced. "I'm afraid so, dear. It's going to take more than a bath to wash out that color."

Flaming Star, too, had a back soaked in blood, but he said nothing on it. Instead he motioned toward the free side of the handcar.

"Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, get on and start pumping. We need to move now. The more time we lose the farther away our enemies get with our children."

The group nodded in unison, and air of determination permeating the blood-red-streaked sky. As the handcar creaked slowly into action the sun peaked out between the caps of two of the easternmost mountains, casting its brilliant rays across the firmament.

* * *

><p><em>Dimension: My Little Pony<em>

_Planet: Equestria Earth_

_Specific Location: Unknown_

_Time: Thirteen years ago (Ten years after the death of the Paradox)_

Starlight groaned as she opened her eyes, having been awakened from unconsciousness by the first of the sunrays of the new day dancing across her face. Immediately she let herself relax to fain continued unconsciousness. Through squinted eyes she took stock of the situation. In all honesty, she did not yet remembered the events of the previous night. She simply did this all on reflex. However, as she viewed her surroundings, the hell that she had fought through unsuccessfully yesterday night returned to her in a torrent of blood and gore, almost drowning her senses. It took all of her strength to keep from breaking her act of feigned unconsciousness. After a moment the painful memory recovery ended and Starlight could return to the analyzation of her surroundings.

She was in a padded cell, no sort of loose objects or protrusions anywhere. The only source of light was an open grating on the ceiling that light was showing through. The beam of light was narrow, and over ninety percent of the room was shrouded in darkness, including the exit. Starlight almost smiled. The padded cell showed that her captors were clever and fully wary of her dangerous abilities, but despite this they had a grid visible from the outside. Starlight closed her squinted eyes for a moment as she thought. So, her captors had an opening that led directly to the outside. Undoubtedly this meant they were nowhere near any kind of civilization as they couldn't risk her screams reaching the ears of innocent bystanders. Starlight reached out with a battered hoof and tentatively prodded the padded wall. It crinkled softly as she touched it. It was brand new. There a good chance that this place had just been built… Maybe especially for her. Starlight eyes snapped open. No. Not just for her. Summer had been captured too. Starlight closed her eyes again, letting out a pent-up breath softly to keep up the deception that she was still sleeping. There could be security cameras anywhere in this room, shrouded in darkness as it was. She needed to think. Why would anyone want to capture her and Summer? Starlight had no real enemies, and she hadn't killed anyone important during her training. No, this couldn't be about her. Her father used to be important, but he had fallen into anonymity with her mom. No one cared about the Sunset Shadow and Fluttershy. No… This definitely wasn't about her. And if it wasn't about her, it had to be about Summer. Starlight grimaced slightly. That wasn't good. What did they want with that little filly? She was literally the most unfortunate pony on the face on the planet. Blind, weak, powerless. That was Summer. What could they do with someone as scrawny and useless as her?

Suddenly Starlight's ears flicked slightly: someone was coming. The sharp clack of hoofs upon concrete reverberated beyond the walls. After a second of listening, Starlight pinpointed the exact location of the hidden door. She bunched her muscles as she prepared for her next course of action. There would be one of two types of ponies coming through that door: The first type of pony would be an interrogator. Someone to grill her on whatever they needed to know. If that was the case, she would kill him quickly and make her escape. The second type of pony would be a torturer. That would be more difficult, as a pony like that would be trained in combat. Starlight's features became flushed slightly as she dwelled upon the possibility of a torturer. It was common knowledge what monsters like that did to defenseless females. Would they even think of defiling her like that? If she fought there was a good chance they would kill her. If they were after Summer and not her then it was already a miracle that they hadn't slit her throat and tossed her out like yesterday's garbage. Should she lay down and let them do whatever they wanted to her? She had trained herself to take immense amounts of pain, but could she really stretch the limits like that and allow them to do the unspeakable to her?

Starlight stopped worrying as her sensitive ears picked out more noises echoing from outside her cell. The first set of hooves was almost at the door, and now the singular sound of hoofsteps was joined by the sound of several more ponies marching in unison. They all stopped outside the door. This was certainly a development. Now even the option to resist had been removed. She couldn't fight a bunch guards at once in the confined space of her cell.

The door swung open and two masked ponies armed with automatic weapons marched in. They aimed their guns into the shadows behind Starlight as three more ponies trotted in. Two of the three ponies wore similar masks to the ones that had entered just previous to them: Stark white to match their heavy white body armor with blank, black eyepieces. However, the third had a blood-red mask to go with their crimson shoulderpads and kneepads, contrasting against their black chestplate. He was carry an electrical baton.

Starlight decided it was no longer beneficial to feign sleep, and so she got up and glared at her captors.

"Who the buck are you?" she growled, spitting at the pony wearing the red mask.

The red-masked being chuckled. It was deep and soft, revealing that the pony hiding behind the mask probably was male in gender. "We're here to make you pay for the trouble you gave us during our ambush."

Starlight grinned wildly. "Oh, that? I would apologize, but I'd sooner piss on their corpses."

The red-masked pony, clearly the leader, motioned to his two flanking compatriots. They rushed Starlight. For a moment Starlight considered killing them both. Their lunges were sloppy and open, and she could easily collapse both their tracheas if she saw fit. However, that would probably end in her death, so she went limp and let them seize her. They roughly threw her to the ground and held her limbs fast, forcing her to lie in the dirt, spread-eagled, belly-up. However, despite her position, she didn't stop staring at the leader with mixed look of loathing and contempt.

"Watcha goin' to do now, huh, pissmop?" she snarled. "Rape me?"

The red leader laughed. "By Tartarus! I've never seen such a worldly child! What was it? Abuse? Did your old daddy beat you when you wouldn't do as you were told?"

At the mention of her father, Starlight almost lost it. She wanted to break free and assault this monster, but she knew it would only end in her untimely demise. And so, with an incredible amount of effort, she forced her boiling feelings down. She eyed the leader with pure hatred, her vision reflecting death.

"My father was the kindest pony on the planet… He's-"

"… He's Sunset Shadow, we know," interrupted the leader, chuckling. He stopped for a moment to judge Starlight's surprised reaction, but her face was deadpan. She never let slip an emotion if she could help it. Slightly disappointed, the red-masked being cleared his throat and continued. "Why do you think you're still alive? We may not be after you, but you're still a valuable hostage."

Starlight took a mental note. Her assumptions had been confirmed: They weren't after her, they were after Summer. But what did that scrawny child have to offer? Despite her position, she tried to pry.

"I'm the daughter of the first Dimensional Traveler to ever set hoof on this sorry land o' shite," she snorted. "If you're not after me, then who? Summer? Hah! That bag o' bones ain't got nothing you want."

So caught up in his position of power, the red-masked pony didn't even consider the fact that he was being conned into spilling more information than necessary. "Then even her friends don't see her potential. Our leader and her sponsors… They see that blind pony's potential."

Starlight continued to glower at the babbling idiot as her brain kicked into overdrive. So, they had a leader, a female. And what's worse, she was being commanded by a group of others, sponsors. Undoubtedly a foreign coalition. She tried to push a bit more.

"Your leader's a great stinkin' bastard then," spat Starlight. "You'll ne'er get anything from Summer. Guess her sponsors ain't the brightest lightbulbs in the store."

The leader took a breath as if to snap something, but then stopped. Then he laughed. "My word! You've been having me running my lip this entire time! You're a clever one, Starlight Amber. Skilled in wordplay and skilled in weapons. But don't you worry darling, I'll beat both outta you yet. Hold her down."

Despite her best efforts, Starlight began to panic as she felt the two guards increased pressure on her limbs. She began to hyperventilate as the red-masked leader activated his electrical baton. Then he attacked her.

She screamed as he slashed her belly with the metallic wand, sending searing bolts of pain through her nervous system. Starlight had trained to take pain, but she was only a child, and a lanky one at that. Her form was simply incapable of taking the damage, and in a couple seconds her body felt like it was on fire, eating her from the inside out. As the lash-count passed seven her screaming reached an intense pitch, echoing through the corridors like the wail of a wounded madbeast.

Seven… Eight… Nine… Ten… Eleven… Then it stopped. Starlight's body went from rigid and thrashing to limp. The two guards got off of her and went to stand beside their leader. The red-masked pony chuckled, reveling in the pain of the filly. "Eleven strokes. Eleven shocks for the eleven operatives you murdered, Starlight. Mayhap you'll want to carefully think on who you bucking maul next time... Whore."

Starlight was breathing hard, her face half covered in dirt that stuck to her sweaty face like tar. She mumbled something incoherent. The red leader chuckled again, cocking his head to one side. "What's that?"

Starlight simply mumbled the same thing again, too soft for anyone to hear. The leader stepped over her prone body and leaned in close. "Speak louder, whore."

Lifting her head close to the leader's ear, Starlight whispered, "I said you're going to die."

Starlight acted. Her back legs, which had been limp and spread wide like a ragdoll's, whipped laterally, knocking the red-masked pony's hind legs from under him. He stumbled forward, his face jerking close to Starlight's. As he did that, Starlight seamlessly relieved him of his baton and turned it on, charging it with electricity. With one swift move she shoved it under his mask, trapping it between his exposed face and the tough, protective material.

The red-masked pony shrieked in pain. It was deep and throaty, a roar of pure agony. Excruciating and unabated. He stumbled backwards, falling hard on his rump, his forehooves clawing at his mask as smoke began to pour from around the edges as the electrical baton seared his flesh with lightning.

"GET IT OFF GET IT OFFFFFFFF!" he howled. In an instant the two ponies that had been pointing assault rifles into the darkness trained their sights on Starlight as the other two cronies dragged their leader out of the cell. A second later the gun-wielding soldiers followed. The door slammed shut, but the screams could still be heard, faintly, through the padded walls.

"I'LL BUCKING KILL HER! I'LL BUCKING KILL THAT WHORE! FIREMANE, HELP ME UP AND TAKE ME TO CHAMBER 7! I'M GOING TO USE THE BRANDING IRON NEXT!"

The commotion subsided, and Starlight was alone once again. When she was positive no one could hear her… Starlight collapsed and broke down sobbing.

"Daddy," she wailed. "I'm so sorry… Please… Please come and get me…"

Feeling alone and scared, the little child curled up into a ball, feeling the searing burns on her stomach sending jolts of pure pain up her spine in protest to her movements. Blood oozed out of the eleven cuts, staining the earth upon which she lay. She continued to cry like a little girl, letting her emotions run like a river.

"Well now, and here was I: Thinking I had just laid eyes upon the greatest child weapon this world has ever seen."

The voice came from the shadows. Amused, intrigued, curt, with a very distinctive accent. Starlight shot up, but immediately collapsed. Her head whipped around, her tear-stained eyes searching the darkness for the source of the sound.

"Who… Who's there? Show yourself ya coward! I ain't afraid ta' fight!"

Then she saw him. A tall, lanky stallion dressed in rags. His mane was dark blue, and his coat was an even darker blue. His eyes, however, were a shockingly vibrant green, almost glow-in-the-dark green, one could say. The mark upon his flank was visible from a rip in the rags. It was a dagger and a trail of microfilm, wrapped together in an elegant dance. He smiled down at her. However, it wasn't a complacent smile. In fact, it was a comforting smile, like that of a friend as they helped a hurt friend up.

"Hey there," he breathed. "Starlight, right?"

Starlight nodded, gasping for breath as she quickly tried to recover herself. She could never let others see her true feelings. Never. "Y-yeah… Who… W-who the b-buck are y-y-you?"

He winked. "Call me Cloak. Everyone I know does. Well… Used to. Everyone I used to know is probably dead by now. Heh. Anyways… Good to see a friendly face. I've been trapped in this here hellhole since they built this thing. Which was… Ummmmmm… About three days ago I reckon."

Starlight eyes widened a bit. The reason as to why those two gun-wielding henchponies were aiming their assault rifles into the shadows became clear now. They had been facing him down to make sure he didn't try to attack them while they were busy with her.

"Oh… Cloak… Whatcha in for?" murmured Starlight, struggling to her hooves. She collapsed again with a cry of pain.

Cloak lay down next to her and winked. "What ya think? Name's Cloak, remember? Like 'Cloak n' Dagger'? I'm an assassin obviously. Was supposed to kill that red-masked pony that was hurtin' you. Blake's his name. He was passin' around the wrong kind of information afore he threw in his lot with this shady organization. I was commanded to cross him off, but by the time I got to him he was with these blokes. They're good, Starlight. They're real good. They had me clapped in irons afore I could say 'Murdered me mum'. But you… You bopped that bastard a real one faster than the flip o' a coin. Damn, girl."

Starlight blushed, then covered her face. She was in so much pain that she couldn't keep a lid on her rampant emotions. "He had it comin' to him. Hittin' me like that."

Cloak's mannerisms darkened. "You bet. I swear by me mum, I would buckin' murder a body for even thinkin' o' doin' such things to an unarmed filly such as yourself. But hey… If it's any consolation… You may have come at the right time. Ya see… I've been cookin' up myself a bit o' escapin'. That's right, Starlight. I have an escape plan."

Starlight blinked. "Why you tellin' me this? I ain't an asset to your mission. Why help dead weight?"

Cloak grinned once more. "By the Sun and the Moon, Starlight, you're a piece o' work. Celestia, I never clapped eyes on such a pony. You're 100% right, girl. But that's not what I'm thinkin'. You took out Blake so quickly… And I heard him say you killed eleven of his comrades. Now THAT is what I like to hear in a potential escape partner."

Closing her eyes, Starlight nodded stiffly, doing her best not to cry like a baby again. "I reckon you're right, Cloak. But I'm hurt. Bad."

The grin on Cloak's face vanished again. "You sure are. But we're going to have to risk it. And we need to hurry."

Starlight bit her bottom lip until it bled. "Okay. Okay, I know. What's your plan?"

Cloak retreated into the shadows, reappearing a second later carrying a shard of stone. It had been carefully chipped into the shape of a key. In fact, one might go as far as saying that it looked almost identical. "I made us a skeleton key!"

Starlight collapsed again. "By Kytax… THAT'S your plan?"

Cloak puled a face. "When you say it like that…"

Shaking her head, Starlight sighed, "Might as well try it, Cloak. I dunno iffin' it's gonna work, but might as well."

"That's the spirit, Starlight!" snorted Cloak, readying his key. "Let's have a dollop of hope, shall we?"

"Wait! No!" hissed Starlight, suddenly remembering the possible threat of hidden security cameras. "An' what if there are security cameras? Won't they see you trying to escape?"

Cloak kept on grinning. "Not a chance, girl. I've been here longer, remember? I canvassed the whole damn place. This organization may be thorough… But they didn't place a single camera. Hidden or otherwise. Now let's see how this turns out!"

Starlight closed her eyes, listening to Cloak as he trotted up to the door and fiddled with the key in the keyhole. There was a pause…

"Blimey. I had forgotten… They also have an identification card slot on the other side. Damn two-tiered security systems. Well… Ain't this a pickle… Shite! They're comin' back Starlight!"

That was the last straw for Starlight. She began to hyperventilate again and her composure shattered.

"C-Cloak!" she gasped. "S-stay with me!"

Cloak scurried back to her and grasped one of her tiny hooves with his large, heavily scarred one. "Hang in there, girl," he breathed, his eyes widening in horror as he remembered what Blake was coming back with. "You're going to get through this. I swear. And I swear on my dead mum that what Blake will suffer is a thousand times worse. Please, Starlight. Please. Don't cry. Take it, and then deal it back with the force of hell at your back. Please. Please…"

Blake was outside now, and the harsh sound of his voice could be heard. "All of you stay outside. I want her to myself."

A moment later a second voice could be heard, saying: "Careful, captain. Don't kill her. You know what will happen if you do."

Blake laughed. "I've been at this game a lot longer than you have, Furrow. Don't worry. She'll be skippin' down the fine line, but she won't be dead. You have my word. Now all of you stay and guard. Don't come in under any circumstances. I might be doing more than one unsavory thing to this whore if you catch my meaning."

Don't come in under any circumstances. That one sentence was all it took. Suddenly Starlight's soul soared from the depths of despair to the upper-echelons of hope. She looked at Cloak, her eyes wild. "I have a plan!" she gasped. "Get back into the shadows and stay hidden! Hurry!"

Cloak didn't even give her a questioning look. He knew that face. He had seen it many a time on a comrade just before they did something incredibly brilliant… Or incredibly stupid. In an instant he vanished into the darkness. A second later the door swung open, and the menacing form of Blake trundled in, hate practically sizzling off him. He was carrying a long stick of iron, the end of it bent into the shape of a strange symbol. It was radiating heat, glowing a bright, vicious white and red. Blake waved it in front of him, a low, gurgling laugh echoing from his scorched lips.

"See this? Retribution, filth. And you know what this symbol means? It means 'slut' in the Stallion Empire. The task forces would brand whores with this. I'm going to brand you… And then I'm going to rape you so you fit your title. How does that sound?"

Starlight's heart froze with pure terror for a moment… And then it exploded with absolute and utter rage. She ground her teeth. "It sounds just fine, pissmop. Come and get me, will ya?"

Blake roared in anger and rushed Starlight, the poorest choice of his life. Faster than a butterfly she ducked under his outstretched hooves. She struck him in stomach, hard. As he doubled over in pain, she followed up by blasting his chin with a searing uppercut. As his head flew back, she delivered the killing blow: A hard, strong, buck to the throat. The attack was so strong and filled with hate that she felt his throat crumple and tear like paper. Blake dropped like a rock.

A strand of faded gold mane drifted across Starlight's face as she stood over the fallen form of Blake. All was quiet. Then before she could stop herself, she viciously kicked the body. Once. Twice. Thrice. On the fourth kick Blake gurgled, blood spewing out of his mouth in a chunky, crimson flood. That was it. He was dead. Starlight backed up and closed her eyes, breathing in and out quietly, letting herself calm down. Then she turned around. She could see Cloak, sitting in one corner, grinning the same wild grin that she would utilize when the odds were stacking against her. "By me mum… You're the greatest killer I have ever seen, Starlight."

For some strange reason, this made Starlight feel gross, as if she had been violated in some terrible way. She looked at the ground. "Put on Blake's armor, Cloak," she mumbled.

Cloak understood the whole of Starlight's plan in an instant. He winked. "Brilliant, girl! And what's more: I can copy Blake's voice perfectly. Down to a dime. All part of profiling, ya see. Good job."

Starlight kept her eyes glumly on the ground as Cloak stripped Blake of his mask and armor and put it on, dressing the corpse in the prisoner rags.

"By Celestia!" Cloak gagged as he worked. "It smells like burnt flesh in this mask. Starlight, you sure did this bloke a number with that electrical baton!"

There was no response, so Cloak went on with his work. He lifted the carcass and tossed it into the darkest corner. He then straightened up and looked at Starlight. She was huddled in the center of the room, shivering. Cloak was about to comment on how she was perfectly playing the part of the wounded and defiled pony when he realized that she wasn't faking it. Her eyes, though usually unreadable, were clearly broadcasting her emotions, despite her best effort to hide anything resembling feelings. Cloak's heart sank a little. In his many years as an assassin, he had seen that look one too many times. The look of a lost and broken being.

Slowly he approached her. Without thinking he wrapped his hooves about her and hugged her closely to him. "Don't worry, Starlight. I'm not one to forget his friends. Don't shed a tear. I'll be back. And I'll help you escape this hellhole."

Starlight nodded numbly. "You owe me one. You owe me one."

"Don't I know it," murmured Cloak. After a moment he got up and turned to face the door. In a perfect impersonation of Blake's voice he called out, "I've had my fill. I'll brand her later. Open up."

As the door began to open Cloak picked up the discarded branding iron and tossed it into the corner where Blake's corpse lay. "A weapon for later if ever you need it," he whispered to Starlight.

A second later the door opened fully. Without even a glance back Cloak stepped through and signaled for it to be shut. With a bang the guards slammed it close. Once again Starlight was alone, with nothing but the rotting body of Blake to keep her company and a single beam of sunlight shimmering weakly from the grating high above. Now fully alone, Starlight broke down crying. She wailed for her father and her mother, wishing with all her heart that she could be with them, in their comforting arms. But no one could hear her. She was alone.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Notes. Hmmmmmm... Yeah, that's it for today. When I started writing the Infinity chapters, I made a choice that I would make it my mission to focus on a projection of how dark and twisted the world had become since the arrival of Sunset Shadow. It's only going to get darker and more frightening from here, and I want to keep as close as possible to the path I've chosen for this particular story line. Of course, I am trying to ride the fine line between the T rating and the M rating, and my goal is to keep on the T rated side, though I'm not too sure how well I did that during this chapter. Don't watch Deadpool before writing a chapter for a T rated story.<strong>

**Oh, before I close things up for today, I have another announcement. I've released another new story. It's called "A Dance of Pawns" and its about young Starlight, Bragurn, and Franklin Montgomery. The content in this story was actually part of the many, many ideas for "A Mending Soul" that I dumped. However, the reaction to young Starlight has been so positive (like, REALLY positive) that I decided that instead of abandoning Starlight's adventure with Brag and Franklin, I would bring it to life in the form of its own story, "A Dance of Pawns." If you're one of the fans of young Starlight, check it out. You won't be disappointed.**

**That's it for now! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I hope I didn't disturb any of you with the events that transpired within its pages. If you did indeed like today's chapter, make sure to leave a review! Hmmmmmm... I need something to bribe you with. Ah, got it. R4ptorCS suggested 3D panoramas. Anyone want a 3D panorama of the battle between Starlight and her captors from last chapter? You know, the one where a thirteen-year-old girl shot eleven fully-trained operatives in their faces? Good times.**


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